@LadyB yeah that blasé response killed it for me. Then again the company was on here hawking their stuff and got really defensive when people asked questions about their data.
They could have just said sorry you feel that way, but to insinuate poor care???
Am I not looking in the right place???
Can’t believe Eventing Nation hasn’t posted anything about this most recent Bloody Marilyn occurrence.
I wouldn’t hold your breath. They’re probably worried about crossing TPTB and losing their access. It’ll be lucky to get a footnote.
Edit: as Marigold posted, they did write up the bleeding in their wrap-up post. My mistake.
It isn’t just a sport for them; it’s their livelihood. I don’t think it’s fair to expect them to commit potential career suicide over this.
They love Bloody Marilyn…they will not say anything other than to support her.
Same with Eventing Connect, did an article a few years back about how there was a witch hunt for ML.
She is in with the O Connors and in the US that is EVERYTHING. No one wants to be the one to be the black sheep and put a target on their back…
Perhaps we need to do a little digging into the officials who have more than once waived this on, and see where their connections lie.
It’s here: http://eventingnation.com/its-a-cool…d-at-kentucky/
They devoted four paragraphs to it in piece that summarizes the entire event. I am pleased that any person who heads to EN to read the final report of the event will see a line or two about the “National Champion” followed by four paragraphs about how the horse was bloody-mouthed. She can’t just share the article about her championship win on her own page without letting her own followers in on the obviously conflicting information.
I thought this part was particularly pointed:
Event officials later released a statement that “there was no report of blood at the finish,” though blood is visible in photos of the horse on the course, and photos also show the mare’s mouth being wiped after finishing the course.
No report of blood at the finish…geeeeee I wonder if that sprinting groom with the red towel has anything to do with it!
What a joke. This the only 4 star in North America. We need to do better.
Does anyone have written contact info for the FEI? I have fired off my email to the USEF to deal with this on a national level but would like to send something to the actual Powers that Be in this case. On the website all I can find is a form submission box that probably goes nowhere, and a phone number to the HQ in Switzerland.
Perhaps someone with more journalistic skills than I (and maybe a little more clout in the eventing world than my nobody status) would like to write a ‘Letter to the Editor’/Opinion type piece and see if any of the outlets might pick it up?
Looks like a Sam Marsh Pelham, to me?
The puzzling thing about this entire “Scandal” is that I feel like eventers ought to know the 4* horses are often held together with duct tape and cable ties already. And still horses are regularly presented that fail the jog (and others that should probably). If you support this sport, you support a lot of pretty questionable veterinary treatment. I don’t see why this is such a shock to everyone. There is a lot of sweeping all that under the rug unless you see a visible incidence and then it’s all outrage. SMH. It’s why I’ve never wanted to do upper levels.
In the age of social media, I think we need a hashtag that is not an attack on ML specifically (e.g. #notmynationalchampion), but something that is somewhat positive that captures what the grass roots participants and supporters of eventing want it to be.
I am looking at the change.org site - might be a worthwhile effort to get an online petition going. I don’t think an online petition carries the same weight as individual emails/calls/letters, but if 75% of the people who have viewed this thread would sign it, that would be a pretty impressive number.
I sent my email to FEI through their “contact me”, it was all I could find.
I sent an email to the Event Riders Association (International) because they sent out a blast about a meeting of riders at Badminton tomorrow May 1, asking for “additional business” items to add to the agenda.
Perhaps a discussion of the horse welfare issues at Kentucky, specifically the over tight noseband on the dressage leader and the blood in her horse’s mouth on XC. We riders should be appalled at this being allowed, and should be demanding accountability of our governing bodies and officials. If it’s left to the animal rights activists, we will all stand to lose control of our wonderful sport.
Maybe it would be worth while to start something up about the company for gut health due to their shocking response to someone who complained to them? I’m searching for the threads that their rep started in the horsecare forum.
#nobloodyrovers…only slightly kidding. I got sick of seeing them this weekend.
I’m ok with a scratch or scrape on the body. I’m not ok with blood on the face or towels other than white, cream. I doubt there’s any way reasonably to write bitting rules, or is there? The crap on some of these horses put twhs to shame.
I was told that the warm up official sent a photo and warning of ML to the dressage official who then chose to do nothing re noseband
I am happy to participate in the boycott. Oh wait, the companies don’t care since the last time I, for example, flew a horse overseas was…never. We are not their target market for the most part.
Ok well can we see if there’s any truth behind this? Who are the officials, how can we contact them. Any journalists in our mix?
I imagine that if this hit their radar and if they wanted to, the BNRs whose names were dropped could easily retract their testimonials and send back any unused product and move on with their lives. It’s unlikely that this particular gut supplement does anything significantly positive or negative for their horses. Parting ways with someone who sponsors your tack or the feed bill for your entire barn might be harder to do.
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