LOL I couldn’t agree more. Never been a fan of his so this moronic opinion on going forward with pony finals doesn’t surprise me. At least Robin Greenwood has some common sense.
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I’ll admit I was thinking more “zone” than regional, but that still makes the point that those regional states are all hot spot states. Most of the barns coming from TX are mainly coming for Bluegrass & now JHF, but usually get there the quieter first weeks, layover outside of KHP PF week, and then move back in. I guess the one good thing is many of those barns will be coming directly from Chicago & Traverse this year cause they were all jonesing to show - so they will have been out of their hotspot states for awhile.
BUT its still all such a cluster, IMO. I know KY is a horsey state and the gov is trying to help that industry, but this particular series of shows (including PF) is just a hot spot waiting to happen. Cancelling PF will limit some of the other outside states from participating, but I think still continuing with PDF, DF, GHF, and JHF will bring those west and east coast in as usual. Running races is different and doable without spectators/limiting people on the grounds. Horse shows have already shown themselves not to be as manageable. :no: I can’t even imagine how that makes you local Lexington’ers feel, especially since you’ve all been so good at managing this outbreak from the beginning.
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As I understand it, the first two weeks (Summer Horse Show and Summer Classic) sold out in a matter of a couple of days, with a very long wait list for stalls. There hasn’t been anything coming out of the Governor’s office by way of updates. I wish there was.
What’s interesting to me is that Robin’s statement was equally against due to the virus, but also the lack of events/fun for PF. I don’t think the latter is a factor for many in their decision making. In my barn there are several kids who are aging out/leases ending/getting to tall for their ponies. This is their last year to go, and they want to.
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I like the idea someone proposed of having kids who qualified in 2020 automatically qualify for 2021. Yes, some will have aged out (but maybe the management can put together something for them, as an acknowledgement?) but others won’t.
I feel badly for the kids who will age out this year. It is a huge disappointment if Kentucky decides at the last minute that the increase in cases = cancelling the show (if that should occur), but surely they are mature enough to understand why it might have to happen. We all know life isn’t fair. This year in particular for so many. But with a year to plan for 2021, surely something could be done on their behalf.
No easy answers, obviously. And I’m presuming that something will happen and Gov. Beshear will close it all down. If not, may everyone who is there be triply careful. Masks, face shields, washing their hands regularly, keeping 6 feet or more from pretty much everyone… The less any one person trusts to luck, the better.
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The KY horse park has a billion rings they can use to spread people out. If masks are the new normal and a vaccine is years off we need to figure out how to keep in going within the restrictions its providing.
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Tennessee had an average of 1,392 new cases per day last week, up from an average of 963 new cases per day the previous week.Their numbers are not going in the right direction. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/03/16/816707182/map-tracking-the-spread-of-the-coronavirus-in-the-u-s
I wonder if your Governor is aware of what USEF is proposing to do? Hundreds of kids coming from out of state to show ponies…
I can imagine him being unaware of USEF’s plan for that specific show to go forward, because what organization could be irresponsible enough to even suggest such a thing? 
Oh, right, it’s USEF. It’s embarrassing.
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Oh sweet lord in heaven, I cannot believe the magnitude of this problem’s first-worldliness. Are actual governing bodies deciding that we should risk furthering the spread of pandemic because children will be disappointed that they can’t show their ponies? Yes, I understand they’ve worked for this goal. But people are dying. I have two daughters and, as their mother, I would be ashamed of myself if I prioritized my child’s pony riding career over the health of a community. What kind of message does that send these kids? This right here is the selfish mentality that has made America the world leader in Covid cases.
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People have to travel to get to the show. They have to sleep somewhere. They need to eat. It’s not all about the horse show grounds. It’s about the spread of the virus by out of state people from Texas, Arizona etc… where the virus is raging, into a State and a community that has managed to keep their COVID case numbers down.
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So well said!
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Gosh, I sure do wish there were more people in the world like you…in many ways!!!
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[B]I don’t know how to explain to you that you should care about other people.
A risk for you is not just isolated to you, because if you get infected you are part—innocently or inadvertently—of propagating the dynamic process of a pandemic.[/B]
Dr Fauci said it better than I, and did so without expletives.
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Infer a lot? We are going to have to figure out how to run life in the restrictions given.
When more is known about the virus sure. In the meantime we’ve “figured out” the hard way that we can’t open things up so quickly without making many many people sick and overburdening hospitals and health care workers.
People need to be prepared to make sacrifices for the common good. I honestly don’t understand why it is so difficult for some people to wrap their minds around this.
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You and others are assuming that just because people are trying to make life work within the guidance provided that we a. don’t care, b. aren’t making sacrifices, and c. are just acting willy nilly. I’m following the rules, don’t have a kid nor are going to KY. I’m just simply stating that the world is going to have to figure it out.
Obviously, but figuring it out needs to begin with essential things, like school, not pony shows.
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True, but the way to figure it out is with “baby steps”. Take a page from the play book of any excellent horse trainer and set the horse up for success before asking for something new. Just teaching your horse its leads one day does not set it up for learning flying changes the next day. Doesn’t mean the horse won’t eventually learn its lead changes, but it will learn them faster and more thoroughly if there is a methodical plan in place to teach them. There are some very obvious “not a good idea, right now” things that may be attainable down the road (as we figure out how to run life in the restrictions given).
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And I am not saying I am against horse showing if people are willing to abide by the rules. I do think they need to postpone PF.
Pony Finals is a huge gamble with health and public safety. If I were in KY I would be raising holy hell. Yes I have a kid, yes I have a pony that could be going. And it sucks. She ages out of the small this year. Oh well. I would rather have her, you, your neighbor or grandmother around than a stinking ribbon from a horse show. Even one we have dreamed about.
I saw someone comment on FB COTH about her child’s mental health in not being able to go. She should be spending her money on mental health if her child is going to have a nervous breakdown over missing PF during a pandemic.
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I don’t feel educated enough to comment on the rest of this thread, but I will say that I worked a recent breed show at the Horse Park 2 weeks ago. There were zero temperature checks to speak of. There was a mandatory mask rule, but it was being emforced by the limited show staff and officials, not the horse park itself. Many people broke the mask rule, despite seemingly hourly reminders. I do understand grooms cleaning stalls/prepping horses alone without a mask. My impression however was that the exhibitors were the main offenders - people sat in bleachers in the covered arena in clusters without masks. Someone brought 2 friends to “cheer her on”, disregarding the no outside spectator rule.
The person I was with did provide me with 5 pages of Covid related release forms that had to go to the show office (they were keeping lists of who was with each trainer). However, I was not once asked for identification at the gate or on the grounds so I don’t believe this was enforced.
Anyhow, I hope this provides a bit of insight. They may have updated their protocols in the 2 weeks since, but this was an approx 250-300 horse show and it was a bit of a zoo. I understand this is not a black and white issue, but I can’t even imagine 600 children running around.
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Should absolutely be postponed.
Just because they could run the show while “following guidelines”, doesn’t mean they SHOULD.
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I agree. The whining by privileged people, when so many kids have it so much worse than theirs do, is getting old.
If I lived in Kentucky I’d be emailing or calling the Governor’s office with my concerns.
Elected officials in my State do respond to their citizens’ concerns. I was pleasantly surprised at the response I received from them when I’ve emailed them in the past.
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