Anyone hear any details on this?
Britain’s James Smith suspended for equine welfare concerns related to photos taken at a recent FEI event.
https://www.britishshowjumping.co.uk/media/news/equine-welfare
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News to me, but this has also been publicized lately ;Swedish Showjumper Under Investigation for Abuse
Perhaps the chickens are coming to roost in Show Jumping as well as in Dressage, as they should.
I have never been an important national or international rider. However it’s easy to see that many of the big time, important “high performance” “international” riders and trainers are killing horse sports for the rest of the happy, non-elite, equestrian population.
My horses are gone and I cannot replace them, but I do care about equestrian sport and I am more than peeved to see the unkind and substandard treatment that our “team professionals” and “high performance equestrians” provide to their horses.
There is no excuse for abuse, and as long as National Federations look the other way (looking at you USEF and your welcoming Devin Ryan to the team) I don’t see a way forward.
I would really like to have had an answer from USEF as to why Mr. Ryan has been chosen for any U.S. team, but there is no answer, only crickets from our NF, which claims to be all about “horse welfare”.
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The article also says that his groom has been blocked from renewing her membership pending the investigation.
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Poling… seriously?!
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I wonder what the Swedish rider Lindelow did to his horse (or horses) that got the Swedish police involved.
I would guess more egregious than James Smith’s poling a horse at a horse show (which is such an incredibly stupid thing to do.)
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FEI event + warm up ring = no steward ?
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Give him a long holiday, FEI.
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