I just looked up half the BOD of a small (under 75 members) GMO I’m aware of. None of the names I searched were usef members.
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Absolutely parent needs to be cc’d on everything. Its the way of the world, and safesport or no safesport the parent asked and you need to cover yourself. I mean, same stuff they are teaching everyone in education or who workd with children.
I have a 13 year old student that likes to text me and her grandpa is on the group chat but im pretty certain its muted - bc sheccan really blow up my phone. 
maybe i should mute mine.
I am kinda amazed gmo members are exempt. I mean, i understand itd through usef and not usdf and i get it but even like my weight lifting coach (because he competes, and its an olympic sport) has to take safesport.
Imagine if the gmo was made up of all men? Would thry change their tune then?
common sense should prevail, even back in the 1990s when I was a regional youth director it was my policy that no adult was ever alone with a minor and all correspondence was jointly communicate to the minor’s parents/guardians
This was to ensure the safety of Both the minor and the adults
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Even if you weren’t legally obligated to why wouldn’t you?
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Why, oh why, would any organisation NOT want Best Practice? At the very least, imagine how that will play out in court should something amiss happen. And if I was a parent, I would want to know these things have been thought through and policies implemented. On a purely practical note, how many kids don’t tell their parents about something because they forget or because “it isn’t important” or because the dog ate the letter.
People are very strange.
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I am a board member of the local GMO but not a competing USEF member. I am a subscribing member of USEF and have taken SafeSport. I also am a church administrator. We have implemented policies that not minor should be one to one with an adult. Not closed door meetings with a minor, etc.
The parent of the jr board member and I are on the same page as is jr’s mentor. We want to make sure that all correspondence with jr board member and any other parent or board member has the jr’s parent cc’d on everything. The jr in this case does tell the parent and her mentors everything. But, we know that sometimes kids lose things or forget.
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Color me surprised! To each their own!
Oh I’m definitely not saying it’s a good practice (I think it’s incredibly stupid), but I imagine that’s not an isolated occurrence. I continue to be amazed at how many GMO board members do not actually ride or show (and therefore do not join the national organizations/take safe sport training). Obviously YMMV in your area 
I don’t care who the board members are, if they’re members of the organization, if they ride, whatever. If the parent of the junior board member asked to be included on the communications, that should have been the end of that discussion.
The parent needs to be included. Period. End of discussion.
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I was on the board of a small GMO a bunch of years ago. During that period, we had a few board members who were not USEF/USDF participants. We took anyone we could get, it was difficult.
I also suspect that the whole COVID thing resulted in some people not renewing - they got older, horses got older priorities changed, but they may still like the GMO involvement.
Not a parent here but if said parent wants to be included, its a no brainer IMO. I do think its good to have a jr. member, they can learn a lot and provide some different perspective.
Perhaps they are 1. retired from showing and now trail ride, 2. Have baby horses that are too young to show; 3. show at that GMO’s Schooling Show series - and remember USDF now has a Schooling Show Award system. Or perhaps they compete in a non-USEF equestrian sport…
Your surprise is exactly the reason GMO’s exist. Many are primarily designed to be educational. Not all are competition focused…
Your surprise also illustrates why some GMO’s have problems meeting the needs/desires of many of their members - if the BOard is very competition-focused, but many members want education, those members do not feel served by their GMO. We have heard many complaints here on the FOrums over the years. Its a real balancing act, and there is not always another GMO in the area to join,…
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I am curious why other board members don’t want to cc the parent ?
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I never said I was surprised - I understand perfectly well why they might choose not to join USEF. I never indicated they needed to be competition focused. I was just pointing out that it is NOT a given that all GMO board members have taken safe sport training.
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You said you were amazed at how many officers did not ride or show…
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LOTS.
Many of the GMOs are “Dressage and Combined Training” or “Dressage and Eventing” Associations. Eventing doesn’t require USEF membership until Modified and above.
In a DCTA, it is reasonable to assume that half the board members are Eventers, and do not compete in recognized Dressage shows. Plus some board members do not actively compete at all (e.g., parents, spouses of active competitors) . I would expect that 50% would be a reasonable estimate of the percent of GMO Board Members who are not USEF members.
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This ^^^^^^
Another reason to include the parent is simply to ensure that the Jr. member is keeping up with the GMO business and projects.
This is a good summary of the challenges faced by GMOs. I have been involved in a local GMO for over 30 years. The membership has changed, the board has changed and the focus has changed based on those factors. Sometimes it has been education-focused; now it is very competition focused. The statement about GMO members not riding or showing is certainly not true in my GMO or other GMOs in my state.
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Adding a parent’s email address to a mailing list, or phone number to a chat group should not be a big deal.
As a parent of two kids who do “all the things” I can study, peruse, or ignore the voluminous amounts of messages - regardless, I want them. It’s my job to know what my kid is up to. It’s a best practice and easy thing to do.
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I’m on the board of a good size GMO (membership fluctuates but usually between 290 and 300) and I’m not a member of USEF. If you don’t show, there’s little reason to join USEF.
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Better safe than sorry. Include the parent(s). Especially if they have asked to be included.
It’s a no brainer to me.
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