I don’t understand very much of the NGB, and FEI, and such, but if USHJA withdraws from USEF, and doesn’t follow Safe Sport, doesn’t that mean no more international competitions for them? No national teams, and other competitions, like the Olympics, and Pan Am games? Or have I totally misunderstood.
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If, in some insane misguided belief that they could harbour sex offenders, ushja sliced off their own little kingdom, that wouldn’t make them the ngb for horse sport. that would remain usef, so no it wouldn’t impact people who still wanted to show usef, except they would have one less ridiculous fee to pay.
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WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? Regarding Kristin Hardin, you are completely wrong. She does not stand with George or any other abuser. She has been a Safesport witness in more than one case (including mine). I know her personally. George and his friends threatened her family to try to keep her quiet. She intentionally leaves controversial FB posts up for about 2 weeks and then removes them. That is why the post is gone.
Couple of points - Mr. Soresi is not listed as a current member of USEF, not does he seem to have been a member in the recent past as his name does not come up through their people search.
Mary Babick has many personal thoughts about SS, but as the president of USHJA she does not share them with the public. She is doing a great job as the leader of a very dysfunctional organization that has a lot of chefs who think they run the kitchen. I’m sure she will be addressing this in her state of the association speech at the annual meeting.
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Please. I did not say any of those things. I did not say there is no child abuse in Europe. You are making a strawman arguement.
I said only that the horse jumping sports culture is different and healthier there and more enjoyable for families with less money because there is not this gatekeeping and bullying. And that the culture in the hunters/jumpers in the US is unhealthy in a way that often contributes to abuses. This is obvious to anyone with eyes and a facebook account.
Also if you think that a horse coach and a member of a powerful Royal Family are in the same boat in terms of theor jobs, public esteem and insulation from prosecution you really have an insane view of the world. You suggest that a Prince is "arguably"as esteemed and protected as a trainer is really naive. But please remember you and others make this insane comparison, not me. I will not engagr further with this, it is ridiculous.
When you knowingly and on purpose twist my words it is just another way to enforce the rules and defend the culture this man contributed to create. Its like listening to fox news. It is not nice to hear your sport attacked but it is necessary. And for adults to make changes and not hide their heads in the sand or make silly arguements. Ask ice skating or swimming or gymnastics.
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[QUOTE=McGurk;n10522222]
@mvp, I am really confused by this part of your post:
Meh, Kristin…Hardin could have done otherwise. She could have privately, staunchly, even financially supported Morris in his appeal effort. She could have taken a moment to ask if, perhaps, SafeSport hadn’t developed a robust-enough, credible-enough investigation process that, should Morris be found “guilty,” people would be asking WTF of his supporters. She could have given some credence to that and asked herself what she’d do post-judgment if her pal weren’t vindicated. But none of those things prevented her from choosing to be on the side of history she is now, so I think she has chosen and earned the memory of having stood with George.
And not everyone will care. But I do and I will vote with my feet and my wallet. That’s what adults do. That’s what Hardin did, too. We all get to stand up for our values. In fact, I am absolutely sure that Hardin felt the same table-pounding self-righteousness when she “stood up for George” as I have done when I came down on the other side. If that all is true, then I think you know what Hardin’s values are; she was clear that she was sticking her neck out, so to speak, in order to express them. Vote accordingly.[/quote}
Unless I missed something, Kristin Medall Simpson-Ferguson Hardin’s involvement in this story was 1.) to post publicly that she and family members had been threatened about speaking out 2.) later took down the public post.
I also think (I haven’t researched) that she posted publicly in support of Hilary Ridland during the aftermath of the Rob Gage investigation.
So I’m pretty sure she choose the right side of history. Do you perhaps have her confused with someone else?
You are correct.
I just deleted my quotes and responses regarding an inaccurate comment about Kristin Hardin.
To be very clear: Kristin does not stand with George or any other abuser. She has been a Safesport witness in more than one case (including mine). I know her personally. George and his friends threatened her family to try to keep her quiet. She intentionally leaves controversial FB posts up for about 2 weeks and then removes them. That is why the post is gone.
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@oneequestrienne - mvp got confused, and is apparently going to go back and edit their post.
I brought up Kristin because she WAS such a notable person earlier in the summer, in terms of how she spoke out and stood up in the wake of the RG case, and then when GM was banned. I admire the hell out of some of what she dared to say.
I incorrectly assumed she took some of her public FB posts from back then down because of pressure from the SUBSTANTIAL community out West that has mobilized against Safe Sport (it seems to me like a lot of this is about SH being such a popular figure in that circle)
I’m glad to read that she just took the posts down after a few weeks, because that’s how she generally manages her social media. It’s probably been a stressful two years for her though, between having to testify in the RG matter, and then having to deal with intense pressure and threats to family in relation to the GM investigation. I hope she’s doing well though, and kicking on, and going to continue to be a positive example of how to confront tough issues in our sport going forward. We all need to see more of that.
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IMO Babick is doing NOTHING in this moment. Does anyone have a comment from her which I’ve missed? This is the same deafening silence we heard during the Humble ( death) issues. What happened there? NOTHING. These people are spineless and paralyzed with fear of litigation.
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At this point, I don’t think that I can follow all the names and happenings being referenced in this discussion without some charts and diagrams, though I don’t let any of it distract me from the fact that Wendy’s will introduce it’s breakfast menu next year, with a competitive array of offerings that puts it on par with Burger King. It probably won’t be on the same level as McDonald’s, but they will be offering Biscuits N’ Gravy, which has been absent from a national fast-food chain’s breakfast offerings since the demise of Hardees. I don’t know about any of you, but I’m looking forward to giving my tastebuds a test-drive of their new menu to see how it stacks up against the other two big names.
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I posted early on in this thread about my understanding of GM’s history, so I will just say this- everyone knew that there was something going on, if you were around the hunter scene starting decades ago. It was unavoidable to hear scuttlebutt, and occasionally to have someone share a story of his behavior. I think it was simply the old “well, that’s George!” thing, because no one thought about the fact that the children he was preying upon were truly victims. We’ve had a couple of guys in my area who have had “proteges” over the years. Same deal, just generally of age, and usually one at a time. I think…
I have to believe that there are many more victims who did not come forward, whose experiences are from much later years. People who would have their reputations, professional or not, ruined by sharing what they had endured- especially in this climate. There are some venomous SOBs out there.
For most, GM has fallen off of his pedestal, and the good that he has done in the sport is a wistful memory. It’s really a shame that someone with so much to offer did so much damage.
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And when the whole rotten edifice finally collapses, all those people are going to be “shocked! Shocked, I tell you!” that anything nefarious was ever going on with drugging or double commissions on sales, or sexual assault, or employment fraud or money laundering, etc, etc., etc.
They’ll likely also be surprised that most of the rest of the country will not even notice that it’s the end of the world…
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For those wondering how non Americans are taking it, Rodrigo supports the ban, several other euros are talking about what they would do to anyone who touched their kid and expressing disgust and relief George is out.
And then Eric lamaze is still vaguely suggesting these accusations are baseless and then making it about Donald Trump.
So basically lots of good, and then never really a great guy Eric lamaze demonstrating yet again why he’s not a great guy.
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I’m sure Mary Babick is only addressing the USHJA membership that wants to secede from USEF by explaining to them what the consequences would be, if it were at all possible.
I know first hand that she doesn’t tolerate adults bullying minors, let alone abusing them. She’s a good egg.:yes:
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And then they’ll search out, dox, and bully the victims.
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Exactly. Holy crap, the heat people who support the ban are getting… It’s ludicrous. And terribly sad. God forbid you agree with a child abuser being banned.
I admit, I was initially hesitant and on the fence about the process… But watching the comments on FB? I get it. I completely f*cking get it. If this is how people react when their idol topples? OMG, keep the transcripts confidential. It wouldn’t be hard to figure out who is who, and I’m guessing those attacks would be even worse than what we’re seeing on FB.
I feel terrible for Soresi. No matter what he has/hasn’t done, the level of vitriol being sent his way is horrific.
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@ASB Stars - given the length of the thread, and the fact that so much has been said at this point, and so much extreme reaction has occurred community wide with each step of this case… many of us are struggling to remember earlier details and aren’t going to go look back for early posts.
So can you reiterate why you confident there are more recent victims?
And about his history - I can’t remember where in the thread it was mentioned, but someone implied GM was probably a victim as a young rider himself. Is that what you are referencing?
The whole notion that this behavior has been going on for decades in our sport, with coaches and young students is very sad. I know the present moment is messy and hard… but it is positive that people are finally attempting to address these issues and change the culture.
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Ladyj79 thank you for the heads up on lamaze. I have always supported him. Never again.
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I have great sympathy for Eric and what he’s going through, but he sounded like a complete idiot in that post, not to mention the spelling and no punctuation, it didn’t even make sense.
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Please don’t stop the support right now, just keep the vibes good for him. I see it as just supporting their friend and relying on information “leaking” from GM’s team ( not that that is an excuse). I can’t imagine how that must be spun. I have a hard time believing GM has any really close friends that don’t worship him, otherwise he would be in therapy by now and the tone would be different from his inner circles.
