I think you are reading into my words what you want to see. I never said: no one should wear masks! Defy everyone!
At the shows I have been to they have been trying really hard to keep everyone safe. Social distancing has been great. Problem is, when you are a groom and the rider needs that martingale/spurs/etc they forgot NOW, and you need to run to the trailer and back, that’s really, really hard to do in a mask. And when you need to go pick up class results and must walk up a big hill, and your not 15 anymore, that’s hard to do in a mask. I don’t agree with the governor’s new laws about masks outdoors at shows. Will I follow them? Yes. But I think that anyone who has been ringside in 90 degree weather knows that being the groom/trainer/etc is just as much of a workout as the person on the horse, and maybe our governor doesn’t understand that.
I agree, masks suck. They’re hot, they’re uncomfortable, and the Governor’s order pertaining to shows appears to be written by someone who has never run a horse show.
However, if someone decides they want to complain to the local Health Dept about non-compliance of COVID precautions and all horse shows in VA are once again shut down because those in charge of such things don’t want to deal with horse people who have twenty different reasons why they can’t follow the rules, then that is going to suck too.
Did you see the email that VHSA sent out to show managers about this very topic? VHSA made it very clear that the above scenario is a real concern. Here it is:
“Governor Northam announced that Phase 3 will being today, July 1, 2020. Please find attached the “Safer at Home: Phase Three Horse and Other Livestock Shows” requirements.
Please follow these requirements for the safety of your exhibitors, staff and yourself. The VHSA, as does everyone, wants our horse shows to continue and does not want any horse shows to be shut down by the local Health Department due to not following the rules as outlined in the attached.
Please note that these requirements are mandatory and it is Show Management’s responsibility to make sure that the requirements listed in Phase 3 are strictly followed.
Your cooperation is paramount for our sport to be able to continue without another State mandated shutdown.“
It would be nice if the office staff at Culpeper were wearing their masks properly as well…
I’ve been here all week and mask compliance seems to be hit or miss, even by the staff.
I agree with you on all points. I don’t want shows shut down. And therefore, I am complying. But I do know there is a whole lot of equestrians that aren’t, but I’m also not going to shame them or tell them to put a mask on or anything.
I’m not sure if it will matter or not with regards to horse shows being allowed vs prohibited. They have got their hands full already with parades, fireworks displays, stores; heck, even the hiking trails around here are overcrowded and very free of masks. Parks are being used, public pools are open, people are going on vacation, etc. So truthfully, I’m not sure he would be able to put this all back in the box anyways.
Towards the end of the ban on inside dining, there were at least 5 separate places that just ignored it and opened just in my area. There was a least one ‘secret’ horse show that ran before May, and I regularly saw groups of bikers that were 15-20 people. It doesn’t matter what the science says; people are bored and fed up and will do what they want.
I’m going to call BS on its tooooo hard to work/run in a mask…please have a viewing of jockeys riding 1200 lb horses at 35 miles an hour during each and every race…wearing a mask!
Yeah, if someone is out of breath because they walked up a hill, it’s not the mask. It’s fitness.
I don’t know, I believe it. I had to carry a ton of stuff today in the heat wearing a cloth homemade mask, and it kept getting sucked up my nose as I was breathing. I could definitely tell there was a difference on vs off. So depending on the material of the mask you got ahold of, I could see it impeding airflow.
But I don’t think those little surgical masks are going to do that.
“In order to compete at the event, one must sign a release, abiding by all these state regulations, and this comes in the mail to us,” Struzzieri said. “And of course, if someone is coming to us from out of state, they’re not able to show … it’s as simple as that.
LOL yea right.
Literally the opposite of what the office girls told an area barn coming from a hotspot state. In fact, they told them to come earlier for fear that they will be turning away agricultural trucks from hotspot states (heading to Lamplight).
Also you can see rider results and entires on the website, Tom.
That quote makes it sound like they’re only allowing residents of New York to show. Am I misinterpreting that?
That’s how I read it, but that would mean all of the 20+ riders in the Welcome Stake on the 1st were all New York residents.
NYS has a list of states that require a two week quarantine if one arrives from a state on that list. So while they are not “only allowing New York residents,” they are saying if you come from Florida for example, you need to plan for the two week quarantine or you will not be allowed to show. Come from Connecticut, good to go no quarantine required.
However, that article was pure lip service to the residents unless they didn’t feel a need to update the online prize list.
Hits posted a clarification on their Facebook page. He was referring to the 16 states that currently have a quarantine imposed by New York State.
That makes more sense.
Exactly. NYCer here, have been in a mask since the second week of March. It’s not that hard, people. My barn is 100% mask-wearing, except when you’re mounted. BTW, in 2011, Olympic marathoner Galen Rupp ran a 10k race in 28 minutes wearing a mask.
I guess I don’t understand this.
If you don’t want shows to shut down, why wouldn’t you politely remind others to wear a mask? And I mean this for everyone showing. Self-policing is really the only way to increase compliance and reduce the chances of being shut down. Honestly, the reasons you gave for horse showing not falling risk to the chopping block sound like excuses and rationalizations to me. What about just doing right the thing? You, in a mask, being around others who aren’t puts you at risk as well as those you encounter. I’d sure be reminding people to put them on.
I find the “I don’t wanna wear a mask” view repugnant. If people don’t want to wear a mask, don’t, and stay home from the horse show. Presumably, people in this position have a choice about going to shows-- its a hobby, not their livelihood. They do not have to go. They are in a position where they have the income and the time to be able to go if they want, but nothing happens to them if they do not go, as in, they do not lose their job, they are still able to pay their bills, or whatever. On the other hand, there will be people at shows who have to be there, because it is their job and if they do not turn up they will lose their job. They need their job to pay bills. On behalf of those people others should wear a mask. Those people may have family members to go home to who are vulnerable. If others expose one of those people to risk of the virus, then others expose their family members. Everyone has a social responsibility to not spread the virus. One way to do this is stay home. Another way is to wear a mask. By not wearing a mask people suggest their comfort is worth more than someone else’s life.
