Has anyone else started reading the book “Off Course” that was just written and released about the USEF?

[aohunter0629]

No no, there will be no sport because of the lack of focus on regulation, human and animal welfare, and putting profits above all else. At 21% attrition year over year the org has quickly shrank in the past few years and continues to at that rate and probably more here in the near future.

I have nothing wrong with any race or any of the like, but let’s be real the people who started this sport had slaves, and this sport has never been about equity or equality. It’s impossible to have equality in equestrian sports with the costs. And the funniest part, they’re just playing the part, they are ALL ABOUT PROFITS. They have done everything that they can to make equestrian sports more exclusive

[mroades]

block list about to get busy again…

[hoopoe]

Part of me wants to know what LGBTQ+ agenda " they " are pushing.

I mean, what?

The author certainly is impressed with their vocabulary.

[FrittSkritt]

@aohunter0629

this sport has never been about equity or equality. It’s impossible to have equality in equestrian sports with the costs[…] They have done everything that they can to make equestrian sports more exclusive

This is the most tone-deaf, racist thing I’ve read today. And that’s considering the current political dumpster fire that we live in.

[quietann]

I’m not sure it’s a great ad but I thought it was funny. And not at all obscene.

[OverandOnward]

not that it matters …

@aohunter0629 's first post on this forum, a few short months ago in Dec. 24 (ok those were very long months as it happened, although not because of this post) …

(Link) Are you “good enough” for the equestrian world?

[OverandOnward]

@aohunter0629

No no, there will be no sport because of the lack of focus on regulation, human and animal welfare, and putting profits above all else. At 21% attrition year over year the org has quickly shrank in the past few years and continues to at that rate and probably more here in the near future.

I have nothing wrong with any race or any of the like, but let’s be real the people who started this sport had slaves, and this sport has never been about equity or equality. It’s impossible to have equality in equestrian sports with the costs. And the funniest part, they’re just playing the part, they are ALL ABOUT PROFITS. They have done everything that they can to make equestrian sports more exclusive

the classic quote for the record, as posts can disappear

[aohunter0629]

Yeah I said it and stand behind it. The organization doesn’t even enforce those added to the SafeSport list nor the poor horses being abused and drugged, and DEI is a priority? DEI completely is in conflict with SafeSport rules anyway so that’s very interesting.

[edit]

[hoopoe]

Please expand on your opinion that DEI and Safe Sport are in conflict.

[Old_Mac_Donald]

Wow. Don’t hold back!

No, won’t be reading this one. Spared me the $5!

[2bayboys]

Thank goodness I gave up my membership years ago, before I could be indoctrinated and exposed to the Black and LGBTQ agendas.

/s/

[2bayboys]

Just wondering if this book is a reaction to the USEF 2025 DEI Action Plan?

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan

[ninakl]

With all the challenges USEF faces DEI and WOKE policies are not on my list. It’s an interesting hill to die on. I’m so happy for the people out there who haven’t seen people denied inclusion based on skin color, disability or looking different . This was an issue that needed to be addressed and I applaud USEF for taking a stand. I won’t be wasting my time reading the book. The excerpt, forward and chapel names have already irked me.

[Renn_aissance]

“About the Author
Judy Berkley has been a published writer since 1984. In addition to her freelance work, Berkley was a daily columnist at the Oakland Tribune newspaper in northern California. However, she found political correctness so damaging and restrictive to free speech, she resigned her position. Seeking respite from an increasingly stressful world, Berkley and her husband relocated to rural Ohio and purchased a rundown farm. Berkley planned to turn her lifelong love of horses into the focus of her activities and writing. From what she thought would be a tranquil existence, came the most dramatice and grueling episodes of her life, which she chronicles in Justice for Speedy: A True Horse Story.”

This is from the “About the Author” section of Berkley’s other book, Justice for Speedy.

Justice for Speedy: A True Horse Story

[aohunter0629]

So SafeSport calls for an open and transparent coach to child relationship that requires parents to be included or in the least other adults. DEI on the other hand is about: * Providing a “safe environment for personal introspection. A one on one confidential space to explore tough or sensitive DEI themes without fear of judgement, helping others with discomfort and vulnerability (including parents), and overcoming deep-rooted bias and behaviour. This DOES NOT include parents, or other adults to protect said children, look at the schools who have had policies to not tell parents of non-binary concerns or dilemmas their own CHILDREN ARE FACING. And people wonder why Trump was elected. It’s all of this that unfortunately the democrats took too far. And I’m a libertarian and believe that. These are children. I could go on and on but I will not. I’m done commenting on the topic because obviously we will agree to disagree, but I have plenty of friends that are in total agreement of this industry and organization.

[Ponyplusaninch]

1. Just a head’s up, Mod1 doesn’t have a lot of tolerance for politics in the horse forum. Best to leave political parties out of the posts if you don’t want the thread shut down.

2. You can have DEI and harassment programs run harmoniously together and support each other for a wide variety of people. This is literally a very portion of my job; I know what good looks like here. I won’t weigh in on whether or not it was done well at USEF because I haven’t read into the policies or talking to the people who implemented them.

3. All that said, there is SO MUCH to criticize USEF for that I’d be interested in reading about. But laying it at the feet of DEI as the root cause, which is what it sounds like is happening here, really takes away credibility. I’d rather dig into the finances and the data models. And have a highly transparent AP/AR in terms of what that money flowing in and out is influencing, but I digress…

[Paint_Party]

Thanks for that link. I was unaware USEF had a DEI action plan.

So that’s one of the main complaints of this meandering, wordy diatribe? It puts a whole new perspective on the recent thread about the young black woman who felt ostracized-- or at least unwelcome-- at the dressage clinic, and the h/j discussion about creating helmets that would safely accommodate ethnic hairstyles.

Even without reading the entirety of this rambling rant, I give it 1/2 out of 4**** on the NP Maestro Scale of Irrelevance.

[aohunter0629]

It’s actually not all about DEI TBH. It’s a part of it but not all of it most definitely. It pulls out how everything they do is about profits above all else and provides clarity to that. I think you’d be surprised though if you dug into DEI it actually is pretty polar opposite of what SafeSport is mandating. Again, I’m done commenting but since it was clear it was being attacked because of political leanings, I had to speak my mind on that. I brought it up on here as a focus of all of what the book really is about and see if others had read it and their thoughts on the rogue behaviors of the USEF, the facts on attrition and everything else they’ve done to put profits ahead of horse and people welfare. But of course a few attacked me immediately as they always do .

And for the record, USEF doesn’t care about DEI, they only care about profits and they pay lip service but then do everything in their power to make the sport more and more exclusive, and to get more money in their pockets . That’s part of the irony in the whole thing that she covers. Just like horse welfare. How many emails can we get from USEF about horse welfare while meanwhile they do NOTHING to protect the horses. Unlike the orgs in Europe who are taking it seriously and mandating changes - look at the new fei noseband measuring device going into play.

[hoopoe]

Wow, that is a huge stretch

Good luck to all

[MorganSercu]

No - you have to screen shot it (I just did).