Exactly this.
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That was an uncomfortable read. I too am curious who he was throwing shade at.
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If you are an adult member of the USEF then you have had a (mandatory) chance to take SafeSport’s training. And they have a website that will go further in providing you the education you say they owe us all. For your convenience: ˜https://uscenterforsafesport.org/about/our-work/
So here’s the thing. When you argue that you want your freedom (dammit), and that “too bad the law doesn’t do better” and “I don’t know about SafeSport; it’s their fault for allowing my ignorance,” you are part of the problem that produced SafeSport. There were decades and countless people who stood around and agreed, in principle, that no adult ought to be allowed to sexually exploit children in their charge. And then after that, from those by-standing adults who heard whispers of that, to an ineffectual legal system, to cultural shaming of victims, we got to the place where finally some other, larger and dedicated organization “entered” our cozy sport/industry/national governing body from the outside and took steps to put a stop to our neglecting such a serious problem. To be clear: We could have done otherwise.
We had the option of taking care of this ourselves. That’s true from some almost-eye-witnesses to the justice system to the USEF who has proved itself rather toothless with respect to limiting behavior it defines as illegal (e.g. drugging horses for competition). And more specifically to this point about SafeSport’s Aiding and Abetting clause which is the particular bit you find objectionably, the USEF’s weak response to the horrific horse killings exposed way back in the 1980s illustrated the problem. In fact, the guys who had horses’ legs broken or had them electrocuted in order to commit insurance fraud were convicted. And yet they run businesses just off USEF show grounds. So any one of them would not meet your criterion-- found guilty of a crime in the legal system-- and still can teach you in Wellington Florida a half-mile off the show grounds where you’ll show later in the afternoon.
Is that really a national governing body worth having? It has failed to protect horses from those convicted of killing them for money. Maybe the USEF and our industry isn’t good at protecting children. But ferchrissakes, don’t you think that protecting the lives of competition is squarely within the wheelhouse of the national governing body of horse showing? And apparently we are a ruthless bunch because sheer love of horses (which you’d think everyone one of us in this self-selected group has) is not enough. Instead we need our horses to be subjected to random drug testing and in the insurance fraud case, neither cultural pressure from within the horse community nor risk of any significant loss of business or opportunity from the USEF served as brake on the horse killing for insurance payout plan. The last resort-- the legal system-- did do its job… and yet USEF members who (again) don’t want to be told what to do can send money the way of convicted criminals.
But we are not worse than people in other sports-- we don’t like it when someone else’s kid gets sexually molested, but we’ll find a moral- and practical work-around if we think that coach or doctor has something we want. So when SafeSport saw known pedophiles figure out ways to maintain teaching businesses involving children, they decided to prevent the same species of problem. And so, you see and can read on the SafeSport’s website or hear their spokespeople explain at USEF town hall meetings (now archived if you’d like to watch them) that the goal is to prevent further harm to children, not expressly to punish those found to have behaved nefariously with minors. The fact that any professional who feels punished by his or her ban has only to remember that it was never acceptable to molest children in their work place. I can’t think of any work place where this is acceptable, so no one deciding to transgress in that way should be surprised.
And to the adults in Wellington above-- who wish to take a lesson with someone that the USEF has banned because SafeSport requires it and the USEF has to comply if it wishes to remain the governing body of a sport that will field Olympic teams-- you all too get a bit of schrapnel in the butt as it flies by from the pedophile. But return to the top of this post: If all of these lesson-taking, USEF membership-holding adults had done a better job of protecting children, rather than saying that was someone else’s job while they continued to supply the business that kept these predators around the industry, we wouldn’t have Safesport now using a cruder tool to get that done. Think on it.
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Maybe it’s just me but I don’t get the empathy or gasping over what George Morris is going to do for income.
The man is 81 years old. He collects social security money and lives out the rest of his days.
As for the article, I appreciate those stepping out with their opinions so everyone can make their own educated choices of who to work with and who to avoid. Be the change you want to see in the world. Don’t ask others to do it for you, aka Stefan for Depression, USEF to revamp SafeSport etc.
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Apparently it was common knowledge GM was (is) a pedophile? As I stated, I know very little about him as I grew up in a different discipline.
No, I think that was a jab at a woman rider who has been trying to “make the team” for several rounds now…
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Remember that Stephan married Jeremy’s ex.
I mention this only because there seem to be repeated jabs at Stephan, which seem out of place.
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USEF rules are there to protect the welfare of the horse. Yes, you can drug and abuse horses in the privacy of your own barn. It does not make it right.
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The drug rules in particular are ALSO there to protect fair sport.
Using drugs on your own farm can be very appropriate and for the welfare of the horse. From calming a horse on stall rest or making an anxious horse comfortable to clip, to providing pain relief for an injured horse – drugs are a very good thing. It is not good/fair sport to compete horses on meds, nor is it generally good for the horse to be worked using masking drugs of any type and I fully support even more restrictions like FEI rules.
But I would hesitate to call it wrong to “drug horses” at home across the board.
Abuse, of course, is never OK.
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Yes, there are appropriate times to use drugs, but not in place of time and training.
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Yes, yes, yes. This entire post, but this part in particular needs to be shouted from the rooftops. People deciding that despite all the signs and whispers that so and so was a pedophile it was ok to work with them because it hadn’t happened to them or to their own child is the reason we NEED Safesport to step in for us. They are the reason we need that clause that members are PROHIBITED from supporting pedophiles within our sport.
@eggbutt, you’re basically saying that you don’t agree that Safesport should prevent members from giving money to someone who has raped children because you think their training can help you win ribbons. If that’s how you feel, you are an example of the problems with our sport that got us here.
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Nope… I didn’t say that did I? Do you know that he raped children? I don’t and I’ve said twice that I dont know much about him! IF you knew what did you do to report or stop it? I am all for governing bodies regulating the sport. I simply have issue that they want to regulate what we do on our property that is LEGAL to do. This isn’t about a pedophile per se to me… .again, I dont know what GM did and to whom he allegedly did it to. Were his actions reported at the time? Again, I DON’T KNOW WHAT HIS HISTORY IS AND HOW HE SLIPPED AWAY from legal action. Obviously there is great passion about this man, and I get that emotion.
My job as a parent is to protect my children and be aware of who they are around and who is instructing them. At the slightest inkling of something being amiss, I am on it. I am not bashing the parents of these kids…I am admitting I don’t understand how this abuse occurred.
Well then, it’s a good thing that SafeSport is there to protect you from your own ignorance, isn’t it.
Also, if you don’t understand how those abuses occurred, you are far less prepared to protect your children than you think you are. “The slightest inkling” is probably years too late 
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Yes, we know there have been multiple credible reports that he sexually abused boys in their teens that were in his care. That’s what he was banned for. He’s a predator that made tons of money off our sport while raping children, and the adults at the time ignored those whispers and suspicions and allowed him to continue teaching because he was/is a big name. I didn’t know him, didn’t ride in those circles, and wouldn’t have known if rumors were true… I was a kid at the time and even being far removed from the elite set where GM existed, I remember adults whispering about him. I didn’t fully understand about what at the time, just that GM was a great trainer but a creepy person. I wish Safesport had existed back then, because maybe someone would have reported and nipped it in the bud.
You say your job as a parent is to protect your children and be aware of who they are around and who is instructing them, but you said:
So, if Safesport investigates and bans a pedophile from the sport, you think it’s wrong that you as a private citizen can’t choose to pay the pedophile for private lessons for your children as a USEF member? Yeah, it’s legal to hire a pedophile to teach your children, but does that mean Safesport and the USEF should condone that in our sport and allow everyone to enjoy being a USEF member and financially support pedophiles? If you would consider paying anyone that has been banned for life from the USEF to teach your children, then you’re NOT doing your job as a parent, and are the very reason that Safesport needs to exist and have that clause in place so that they can protect your children from your lack of judgement and decency.
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I’m not sure that it is a jab at anyone specific because there are SO MANY who do this; more like a jab at a system that promotes this.
Sigh, Safe Sport. I personally have issues with it, but mostly with the burdensome nature of the training (my company’s annual anti-discrimination training takes about 1/3 the time, has an easier to follow test, and an affirmation) that is required of people who are doing this as a hobby. Also, I think it encourages trainers not to work with kids (not because they are all pedophiles but because of the risk of the cry of wolf). I believe that such things are best left to law enforcement and to society not tolerating such behavior (and yes even worse penalties on rapist, pedophiles and other sex offendors, and no statute of limitations). I also think children should be educated, not just in sport but maybe in school, to report any kind of predator and to whom to report. I know Jeremy and feel certain that he doesn’t advocate protecting a rapist, but has problems with the non-judicial aspect of the SS system. It is a threat to any trainer. And yes, you can opt out of the organization, but it doesn’t mean that Safe Sport won’t come for you–they just can’t do anything about it.
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The shirt lady…?
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If trainers working with kids follow the SS suggestions, it actually protects them from anyone that would “cry wolf.” Law enforcement does a crappy job in the absence of physical evidence which is the case in far too many instances of child sexual abuse where the child does not immediately report, and unfortunately our “society” in the equestrian world has allowed the pedophiles to continue completely unchecked. Also, if you opt out of the USEF, SS will NOT “come for you” as they then would have no jurisdiction over you.
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I have never done a clinic with JS, however I agree with his written philosophy
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As far as George Morris goes, I have absolutely no sympathy. I have never agreed with some of his teachings. I think the crest release is simply an excuse for bad hands. It establishes a habit that is incredibly hard to break, and causes some riders to never learn an automatic release. He only started pushing dressage principles in recent years/
As a person who started out on the combined training world. I miss riders of the stature of Bruce Davidson, Ralph Hill and others who started usually with OTTB’s, hunted them, jump raced them and evented them, successfully
As for the purchase of made horses, that has been going on for ages in the dressage world. Some people such as Hilda Gurney and Keene did bring them on from scratch. Another is Verdades and Laura Graves. And I am sure I will be bombarded with others.
The Hunter world is pretty much out of my ken, but I realize some are sold, and bought for what to me, are phenomenal sums, same with Jumpers.
Retiring my soap box, on this subject.Maybe;)
Right?
Does anyone worry that the Catholic priests who were (eventually) defrocked for molesting children aren’t allowed to work in their industry anymore? Many of them never faced criminal charges but were still sanctioned by their governing body and lost their livelihoods. Why should someone like George Morris be treated any differently? That’s a question I’d love Jeremy to address.
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And, given that she’s riding and performing well enough to nail down some solid scores, she just might make it 
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