Ah. So he’s of the Poplar Place Beardens. That makes sense, given the middle name.
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Doug Masters - not to be confused with the greatest fighter pilot in the history of the USAF - of Lexington, KY has FINALLY received a Safesport sanction of permanent ineligibility for having relations with underage riders connected to his family stable, Masters Show Stables. Diane Masters, also of Masters Show Stables, has also been sanctioned for failing to report the transgressions to Safesport, with a temporary suspension and stipulations of no contact and re-education.
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I think they just updated the list last week, might be working out kinks. It was down when I tried to check the week before this came out.
Yes, Poplar Place of SF East Bay area. Not Georgia.
I saw my first post today where someone said they didnt believe the allegations against him because she has known him for years, and he never acted inappropriately towards her. Why is it that some people believe that a person can’t be a predator unless they prey on everyone?
I got bad vibes almost 20 years ago watching him interact at shows with a young woman who he was coaching.
Why is it so hard for some people to believe that someone you know can be a bad person?
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Wish I had an answer to this. Of course it shows up in all sorts of crimes, where family, friends and neighbors will say, “but he was such a nice, quiet, kind man toward me.”
The SS case I was involved with had numerous people coming forward with the same type of protestations. “But I rode with him for years and he never tried any hanky panky with me.”
What these supporters and deniers don’t understand is that predators have a type they seek out to groom and manipulate. They want the vulnerable, the meek, the sexually naive… If you (g) are not that type, they aren’t interested in you.
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I can answer this.
Because some people are amazing actors and know how to act around people that they do not want to know about the horrible things they do.
I can not speak for the person you are referring to, because it sounds like their point is more - No way did this happen.
I can say for a fact (and I have talked about this before) that when I learned someone that I knew, I thought well, and interacted with regularly, had a long history of molesting little boys and was once again caught molesting little boys, my first thought was “no freaking way”. But not in a “I do not believe the victim” way but in a “how the freak did I miss all this” way, or “how was I around a person who does this all this time”.
All of us, the group of friends, we all felt the same way. We believed the victims, we believed the police. It was horrible. We had been lied to for a very long time, and that can be expressed poorly in situations like this.
Edit to add - the person I am speaking about had nothing to do with horses and this happened way back in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
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Let me guess, a “pick me” woman was saying that?
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I appreciate you saying this, because I have asked myself this many times since I learned the truth. Sometimes it haunts me, that it was occurring so close to me, and I didn’t see it. I feel guilty about that, because while I benefitted from the equestrian training I received, the lecherous sexual behavior of which I was unaware was hurting and damaging people I love.
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We were all haunted too. We (our group of friends) helped this man have interactions with kids. We all felt so guilty and so stupid for not realizing what was going on.
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I’m no expert, but I think it’s important to recognize and remember that the person at fault for this stuff is the person who does it. Full stop.
Not the people who were unaware of the whole situation.
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Predators groom their character witnesses as carefully as they groom their victims.
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Absolutely. And I try to embrace this sentiment.
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Predators predate for a long time because they are good at what they do.
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110%
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Sam Berry, of Finally Home Farm, has been banned by Safesport for intimate relations with a minor, sexual misconduct involving a minor, violations of USEF rules/bylaws, improper social media/electronic communication, violation of Proactive Policies (Rules and measures meant to prevent offenses), and physical misconduct.
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What is with these men?!
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The sexual thrill of power over the vulnerable. Apparently it is repulsively common – though far from universal – among men, and I’ve occasionally seen it in women as well.
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Did COTH do a recent report on Sam Berry? I may have missed it, they usually do one when someone is permanently banned?
