While I’m not saying they deserve any less of our frustrations, it must be remembered that USHJA & USEF are not one and the same. USEF suspended SS, USHJA put him on the magazine’s cover. The oversight is not as egregious as it initially sounds, nor is it particularly excusable.
USHJA is our tool to influence USEF. And while I know it’s not perfect, there are several committee members that recognize these problems and are working to fix them. I don’t know what kind of D&M authority we could wrestle from USEF but it looks as though perhaps we should try and gain some. Maybe USHJA can slap further fines & penalties on the offenders so USEF doesn’t have to deal with rewriting the rules for our special circumstances, but USEF would have to agree to recognize the bans.
In re: GP horses mysteriously going strong in their late teens while the 13 y.o. 3’ hunter is practically shunned from the show ring: I recently presented several seminars at EAP Finals to the Finalists of the USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge, who were also in attendance. My talk focused on exactly this subject - responsibility for the horse’s welfare beyond the prime show years of 8-12, and why, perhaps, hunters don’t hold up as long. We discussed what the judges are looking for and how that affects “prep”. We discussed alternatives to LTDing, and we talked about being proactive in getting your horse ready to show; ie, not just showing up and riding your class. We talked about the breeders, starters & trainers that worked hard to get the horse to show age, and the generous people that will eventually take the retired show horse on.
My aim was to impress upon these kids that the way they manage their horse now is key to a safe future once it ages. The longer the horse is sound and useful, the more likely it will have a safe place in society. And what it endures during those “prime show years” greatly impacts its long term soundness.
Much to my surprise, though I had kids from 2’6" hunters to 1.40m jumpers, I don’t think I had one “hunter princess” that only showed up and rode. They all managed their own horses at the shows and they were all able to discuss their horse’s quirks and how they went about preparing them. Given that this is a non-riding opportunity from USHJA, making it one of the more affordable programs to pursue, I hypothesize that we didn’t have the upper-echelons of the A Circuit in attendance, where it has apparently become mandatory your horse resemble a robot. But nonetheless, it was inspiring to see these kids give the discussion a great deal of thought, and then get excited about new ideas to get their horse’s brains ready to show without running their legs off… or worse.
I have previously suggested a full-blown Clean Sport promotion campaign… it didn’t get much wind back then, but the eagerness of these young kids to learn has really inspired me to believe that if we act now there might be a chance to save the next generation of horsemen.
