Shame is not an effective method of silencing or controlling people. If anyone has a problem with PV, they will have to come up with some reasons or criticisms that are more substantial than shame.
Badly applied P+ is just abuse, be it to human or animal.
It’s a turn of phrase. No need to be so literal.
I agree with you and disagree with the idea that shame has no purpose. Even if some people don’t have the moral decency not to associate with and line the pockets of someone who did something so vile, I’d at least be happy if they were ashamed enough because of a public taint not to have to have anything to do with him in terms of riding and training. But I guess there is no taint and no shame. Which is really sobering.
there’s a lot of people who probably have no idea what he did over 25 years ago. Just like there are people who haven’t a clue about George Morris. This is not to say I would give either a penny.
Here is what I don’t understand- you KNOW he is willing to be highly unethical in business. Even if you can somehow look past the poor horses, he still committed major financial fraud. I don’t know why you would ever willingly do business with someone you know is capable of that behavior. Do people really think a guy who could do what he did will somehow change his spots and treat them fairly? There are enough ways to get screwed over in this industry. Choosing to do business with someone who has been proven to have dismal ethical and moral standards just blows my mind. How could you possibly have enough trust in the guy to spend major money with him?
There used to be quite a few people on here who rode and trained with him. There would be long arguments about it about once every couple years or so…maybe you could find an old thread.
Their basic argument was: 1. we don’t know the whole story and if we knew him we’d understand, 2. he’s a great trainer and has really helped them/their horse, 3. he is remorseful for his “mistake”. The threads would then roll into all the obvious responses to those, including long arguments about the definition of the word ‘mistake’, with his supporters basically saying those of us who would never ride with him are just dumb nobodies in the horse world, so we’d never understand.
Old timers, how’s that for a synopsis of 2000+ comment threads?
Pretty much summed it up perfectly.
Nailed it.
Yup - here’s a link to one of the old threads.
Note it’s a little confusing as the posts got out of order when the thread was archived:
Paul Valliere Ad October 26
Ah yes, the dismissive insults. Don’t forget we’ve also been referred to as, “a bunch of cackling yentas” or (my personal favorite), “the little people.”
Disturbing, but well done. I didn’t know half the story. I enjoyed watching it, as much as you can enjoy such an upsetting story.
Bad Sport episode 5 “Horse Hitman.”
Excellent synopsis, and I hope we never have to re-visit that type of thread. It left me sad thinking these people called themselves horsemen/women.
On Facebook, Mclain posted something in honor of his father’s birthday. I understand BW was his father, and I don’t reproach him for loving his father, but it made me feel icky to see it-and to see PV in the comments. A friend shared the post and apparently hadn’t heard of the story or the documentary.
I always find that hard to resolve. I try not to judge someone by their family, but McLain was a teenager when all this was going down— old enough not to be totally oblivious. His father was his business partner. It’s incredible McLain has been able to mostly separate himself from the story professionally given how interconnected he was.
I only say this because it’s fresh on my mind after watching the Bad Sport episode yesterday.
I agree. McLain is such an incredibly sensitive and sympathetic rider, and has ridden some of my favorite showjumpers of all time–Rothchild, HH Azur, Sapphire. He’s also generally been a great ambassador for the sport. But I know that his father (while banned from competition/showgrounds) still had a hand in coaching/advising him, at least when McLain was competing as a junior.
Ironically, his father’s ban may have helped his son, because if BW hadn’t been banned for life, he may have been tempted to have more of a physical and public presence in his son’s showing and career.
And he doesn’t have a COMPLETELY spotless record himself when it comes to issues that border on horse welfare (chips in boots, hypersensitivity). Was it an AK situation? No, of course not. Was he caught red handed doing something expressly prohibited? No. But… these things did happen. I think lots of bigtime pros, not just him, will get an advantage if they think they can get away with it. Including some who would do things that bump up against horse welfare issues. There are shades of gray and I think you could view him as being someone who sometimes lives in the gray areas.
I agree about shades of gray.
I tend to believe aphorisms about apples and trees, ya know? Even discounting the family part, I don’t know how your coach, mentor, and business partner can be pushing a hitman-for-hire and that not rub off on you in some way.
But then again, I also think living through that may give a person a very good reason to run an honest (or at least more honest) operation. The Wards were self-made unlike most in the sport and they could have (probably should have) lost everything. Instead, the multigenerational business is still thriving. 
Bottom line: that’s why I said I have a hard time resolving the fact that McLain could be adjacent yet not have it haunt his career.
Agree with all of this. Also, normally I wouldn’t say this in a million years (and I hope it doesn’t sound silly), but I do think the way McLain rides has also had an influence. Not just that he’s athletic and wins, but he truly seems to move with his horses naturally, and doesn’t use gadgets, weird bits, and spank n’ crank them around like some riders. He certainly rides like someone who respects his horses. But I am truly nobody, so I have no knowledge either way if what is in the arena is reflective of what goes on the barn. (Although I’ve never personally heard anyone speak ill of him, FWIW, who did have any encounter with him.).
The cool thing about the Bad Sport episode was that it showed a lot of video footage of BW both in the saddle and just out and about. I was not alive in his heyday. I was a kid when all this went down, so I really didn’t know about it until McLain started making buzz in the Grand Prixs in the mid-90s. By that point BW was in jail. Yet I don’t ever remember people mentioning his father openly; only in occasional barn gossip— “you know what his dad did, right?”
Anyway, in seeing all that footage, I think it’s safe to say McLain could ride circles around his father in terms of ability. Which makes sense given their different origin stories. Also, they seem like very different personality types.
These were both very odd situations - at Aachen someone said they saw plastic chips fall out of the boots and told a steward. They found no sensitivity or injury of the legs but suspended him anyway. The hypersensitivity incident at the world cup was just bizarre - someone “tipped the FEI off” and in spite of the horse not being sensitive at all, they eliminated him just as he was about to win. Smells more than a little fishy to me.
I could not have less respect for Barney, Paul and that whole crew… lets be honest, Paul not only had the horse killed, but then snitched to save his own butt. But I’d be shocked if McClain was doing outright dirty deeds knowing the extra scrutiny he faced as Barney’s son… sins of the father and all.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
