I think some equestrian disciplines (Eventing being one) are beginning to think it could be OK, not to be included in the Olympics.
The Olympics are certainly not the be all and end all of Equestrian sport, and I think many horse people are starting to realize that.
That would take some very specific research, wouldnât it? You are probably in a better place than most of us to find the answer to your question. 
I agree.
Actually I was hoping that someone like Lazaret would chime in as I believe their experience and knowledge has them âin the knowâ.
Yes, when the âgoverning bodiesâ lose track of what the amateur horse owner can stomach, they may lose their membership.
They FEI really needs to think about it, or they may end up being an organization consisting of professionals and those NFs that donât give a damn about horse welfare (see the FEI suspension and violations lists, UAE, Saudi Arabia etc⊠dominate)
Maybe the FEI already IS an organization consisting of pros etc
It is, obviously. However, many USEF and other NF dues are paid by amateurs. I thought that was understood.
USEF, and the FEI to a lesser extent, will be up a creek if its amateurs stop paying dues and go elsewhere.
https://horsenetwork.com/2020/11/non-disclosure-agreements-in-the-equine-industry/?amp=1
A good article on NDA in equestrian business. If a third party already leaked his methods, itâs not really a secret and not enforceable. I think pictures from Williamâs training count as open knowledge of the methods dating from over 10 years ago. Hard to argue they are secret. IMHO.
USEF seems to have the ability to not notice things. They already donât notice abuse, donât notice illegal sex stuff, donât notice shows have lost attendance.
Iâm not so sure if abuse meets the legal definition of a training âmethodâ? Reading now.
I agree. They really are lagging behind the times.
Educated, life long horse people, who rode when they were kids and showed as adults but arenât part of todayâs very expensive horse show culture, are tired of making excuses for todayâs horse sport, and tired of paying dues to tone deaf organizations.
Not sure where the ĂŒber hostile tone towards Knights_Mom is coming from. I really appreciate her professional knowledge from the court admin perspective and can see why she wants to leave pure questions of law to the legal professionals. Hell, Iâm a lawyer and I defer to litigators for trial-related questions all the time.
Not only do NDAâs NOT prevent a signee from reporting illegal behaviour, there are other exceptions. For instance, everyone who ever signed an NDA with CP can now disregard it to the extent required to assist in any investigation of CP about these activities.
Again, someone who does labour law will have even more info than I do based on my specialty, so thanks to @Knights_Mom for asking the question and I hope someone whose practice covers these types of contracts will chime in.
As to an NDA being a red flag re: at trainer or programme: I can see an argument that some trainers feel proprietary about their training methods and want to keep an competitive edge by not having employees spill what they might consider their IP.
However, outside gadgets a trainer would make themselves (e.g., there was some maniac who had wired up spurs in the H/J world if I recall), since humane, proven training methods are fairly universal, I suspect most NDAs in these situations are to cover up the disclosure of horrible stuff like in this and the Helgstrand case.
This. I appreciate that I never competed at the level of CP or the Helgstrands. But Iâm utterly horrified but a lot of what I see and would be very reluctant to join up again with any of the organisations as I am NOT okay with what they tolerate in the sport.
Not saying it was the good old days when I did compete. There was all kinds of 
going down Iâm sure and Iâm also sure I didnât know about most of it b/c I was too poor and too small potatoes to see what the big dogs were doing. But, thanks for camera phones and SM, a lot more is known now and I agree I would not like to pay dues to an org that would allow something like the judge who waived this psychopath into the Olympics and everyone was like, âYeah, that seems fair and right.â
Thank you Fitz.
What leaves to be determined is if believing something is abusive is enough of an illegal criminal act as to be illegal, therefore nullifying the NDA. In some jurisdictions animal cruelty is a felony. In others its not. To some putting shoes on a horse is abuse. So what determines what constitutes abuse that will nullify a NDA?
I donât know if this is common in the high performance dressage world, but it was reported that there were NDAs with Helgstrand (why they fought so hard in the courts to keep the information from emerging) and the Smienks couple have reported on one of their Facebook pages that they are still dealing with the NDA with Parra. Even if there are arguments to be made that the NDAs are unenforceable under the circumstances, it is unlikely that grooms, working students, etc. would have the resources to challenge them against someone like AH or CP. It does help to explain why so many kept silent (in addition to being worried about their future in the sport).
Another way that Parra apparently held people hostage was through their work visas.
Also, if Parra truly had an FEI judge in his pocket as was reported (and who knows if this was the only one), that could also have scared young professionals. AH has all kinds of powerful connections, including his own father who was in an influential position in danish national horse sport.
Yes, I didnât know what Olympians were doing to train their horses when I was young, but I knew what the people who taught me were doing, and it wasnât abusive.
I am so thankful to have been taught by intelligent people who did not abuse their animals or the people who they taught.
Illegality will be the nullifying factor. âAbuseâ is, unfortunately, subjective especially in the U.S⊠Putting shoes on a horse may be considered by some (ignorant) people but it is not illegal.
Having seen the threads on the COTH forums about starving animals in the U.S. and how difficult it is to have them seized, I doubt that the abusive training methods shown in the Parra videos rise to the standard of illegal.
Perhaps in Europe it would rise to that standard? In the U.S.? I doubt it.
Yeah, why would you need an NDA for classical training or following an accepted training pyramid/scale? Itâs already out there in the open for all to see.
You know, thinking about it, I had a good look at one Olympian at the time as far as clinics and his being my trainerâs trainer. He could be a bit terse with a student, but never did I see him do anything abusive to a horse. If something was wrong it was always the riderâs fault and the rider was being corrected.
I do recall people using draw reins, though. I donât remember much about it and it wasnât a big thing or often. This was not a dressage facility but an eventing, H/J, low-level show, and several happy hackers barn so nothing super high-end going on.
Again, I am far outside the high-end dressage world, but I have understood reading on this forum for many years, that there is absolutely hair-raising stuff going on in the EU dressage world, with Germany often mentioned. And, of course, the Helgstrand situation suggests that Germany is not alone here. While I take your point that what they are doing may rise to illegal while the same in the US would not, it seems that perhaps there is a fair bit of tolerance over there for this stuff at least among trainers, clients, and judges.
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