This is outrageous and another reason I’m the long list that I never have a desire to be a usef member. I had considered being a TD (obviously would have to be a member) but frankly this is a hard pass from me.
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And that’s exactly why people don’t bother complaining to the USEF, as it is in their own writing that the burden for everything is laid solely on whomever brings complaints/accusations about abuse or inappropriate behavior and you have to P-A-Y them just to take that first step.
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And let me guess. USEF’s flippant response to anyone who questions that policy would be something along the lines of, “Well, don’t do anything that might cause a competitor to complain about you or sue you, and you will be fine.” 
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Just an fyi,TD’s are hired and paid by show management, just like judges. They are independent contractors, and take all the risks/benefits that come with that. All the training comes through USEF, but all at the expense of the individual, just like judges. It’s quite expensive to get credentialed as either a judge or a TD.
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Sorry for the delay. I was on a river trip on the Lower San Juan in CO… 
The GMO Roundtables are focused on GMO issues, with a moderator and sometimes an expert, and we gather ideas etc from members who attend. The attendees are divided into groups according to GMO size and rotate through the three Roundtable discussions - so the ideas shared are most appropriate to a GMO of your size.
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I believe that is a federal law issue? The WSs should go to LE and report it…
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If they (stewards, TDs, etc) are treated as independent contractors, would it be possible to offer some sort of (group) professional insurance to cover job related liability? I will have to defer to an insurance expert on this…
edited for clarity
To those folks who repeatedly asked if I reported the abuse at the show. No, I didn’t. We stopped by the show just so I could see the FHP venue. I thought we should find an official and say something, but my husband (an old-time classical horseman who knows his stuff) told me to say nothing. He knew very well the TD’s and show officials would not challenge Parra.
He knew Parra had taken lessons with a trainer in Germany that Hubby knows and respects. Hubby asked Trainer how Parra was doing. Trainer replied, “He will never get it.”
Parra was a Neanderthal then and he’s a Neanderthal now. And that’s an insult to Neanderthals.
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You didn’t report it then, but you could and should report this now! There is no time limit on reporting. Help us ban this POS - file a report with USEF!
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He’ll have to be more careful now anyway, since USEF has passed this strangely worded rule. Of course he has until December to keep abusing horses at home, under the new rule.
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I’ve been warned that you report someone like Parra, you WILL HAVE TROUBLE forevermore.
Thanks, I’ll let TPTB deal with his sorry a$$. Whatever that means for him…
Karma will catch up with him – it’s gaining ground on him now.
No showing, no clinics, (hopefully) no horses in training, no one willing to work with/for him, a besmirched reputation, it’s all good!
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And yes, there is always the fear of repercussions to the one doing the reporting!
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I say in a general way: I am so sick of hearing ‘karma will catch up with so-and-so’.
Yeah, no, lots of times it doesn’t. It’s not real or reliable. And if some monster eventually gets their comeuppance due to this mysterious karma everyone is so sure will happen, lots of people and animals are harmed in the years and sometimes decades it takes for this mystical catching up to happen.
Karma will catch up so I don’t have to do anything is a cop out, plain and simple. Better to simply say, outright, I’m not willing to take on the blow back by being a reporter of this behaviour. That’s honest and, in that respect, marginally more honourable.
I’m sure all the kids and animals hurt by these criminals were not and are not taking comfort in thoughts of karma as they are being beaten and abused.
Like ‘thoughts and prayers’, can we not with the ‘karma will catch up’? Both are equally disingenuous and useless to the victims.
ETA: And when ‘karma’ catches up to someone, it is invariable actually the result of someone being brave enough to come forward and report it to someone brave/intelligent enough to believe them. Don’t take away from the bravery of those reporters by labeling instances in which someone was called to accountability, ‘karma’.
It’s the hard graft and exposure to enormous risk of the people brave enough to take on fear of repercussions and the trouble forevermore who bring these things to light - not ‘karma’.
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Unless one has video proof that can be dropped anonymously, I would not judge or call someone a cop out for not officially reporting. Being sued and or harassed can ruin you / your family financially, can ruin your health and well being including that of your family. There is a reason whistle blowers need protections and even where the law provides it, most often end up worse off.
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Never said there weren’t repercussions. I said enough with the ‘karma will catch up with them’. It’s brave whistleblowers who catch up with them. Credit where due. 
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Thank you, omare.
FitzE, your disapproval is duly noted.
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Don’t know if this has posted here. USEF hid fact of catching CP drugging a horse during evidence discovery in horse “sale” scam by CP. Not first time he scammed a sale. But here USEF was caught covering up a violation of CP.
And now USEF can check abuse at home stables.
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I’m reminded of my work career where we were given ID cards to swipe in and out of work so no one would steal time when all along it was the bosses stealing time and they were excluded from the time card.
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Stupid rule, stupidly written. Not that true abuse doesn’t happen away from the show, but this just opens the door to all sorts of PETA claims.
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Well, they seem to think they can. I assure you, if someone showed up at my barn claiming to represent the USEF and they were ostensibly checking for abuse, I’d call the cops and have them removed as trespassers.
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