Another H/J trainer from Oregon?
It’s sort of insane to look at the SafeSport list, and note just how many names seem to be people who were on, or relatively close to, the west coast.
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So at this point which list is longer:
The people ON the SS list
OR
The people NOT ON the SS list?
Especially in H/J
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I wonder if it’s because there is a culture on the west coast that has encouraged this sort of behaviour, or if it’s simply that people on the west coast have become more comfortable reporting violations than people elsewhere, just making it seem like there are more offenders out west.
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Just catching up on the thread so I’m a little late but can confirm - I personally know someone who was a party to the SB situation (she was not one of the minors involved, thankfully, but was involved in the SS investigation), and she confirmed it was sexting and the like (again, she was not involved in that personally).
I don’t want to say too much because she’s done her best to put it behind her and I won’t drag her into it again, but suffice to say, I have a lot of thoughts about him based on what she told me and none of them are nice.
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Due process is the sketchy part of safe sport.
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Not a trainer, a barn worker, if I’m not mistaken. I don’t believe he was ever a USEF member but he was at shows, around members, etc. But I’m not affiliated with the barn so take that with a grain of salt.
I do think we have a bit of a sea change in the area in terms of people’s willingness to report to SafeSport—and awareness of what constitutes sexual harassment, abuse, and other intolerable behavior. I certainly don’t believe we have some greater density of offenders.
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Thanks for sharing that detail about it actually being a barn worker this time.
I think Safe Sport made a great decision to pursue investigations against some of the really big name trainers like George Morris. I think it helped increase people’s awareness of Safe Sport and it also gave victims some hope that complaints would be taken seriously and that something would be done. After all, if Safe Sport is willing to go after George Morris, they should be willing to go after the not-so-big-name trainer that abused them.
I think that is, in part, leading to more people reporting.
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He’s a 24-year old farmhand at the Quiet Rein Riding School and helps out with the shows and the IEA riding team there, when he’s not doing his daily farm work. Beyond that, he has nothing to do anything horse-related, it would seem. He apparently has family ties to women/girls who ride there, so that might explain his presence, though I can’t fathom why he has a USEF number, since he has no involvement in the sport. Maybe he has the “Fan Membership” and got a number through that.
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I think I brought up this issue before. Where is the SS rule for a worker in a barn, who has a record as a sex offender. Or an ancillary worker in any other sport facility . Where is the “umbrella” so to speak. What responsibility does the trainer or coach have in assuring a safe environment. Will there be sanctions against a trainer who does not do due diligence and hires someone on the sex offenders just to be farm manager, show groom or bookkeeper
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I think there was another recent post or thread on COTH about exactly this issue. A situation where there was someone employed by the barn who had a frightening record… and there were a lot of clients with minor children who were concerned.
Honestly… I’m obviously pro-SafeSport and support it’s mission… but I think if an NGB imposed career ending penalties on any pro who made a hiring mistake when it comes to contracted workers who provide farm maintenance… it would be problematic for the sport. I think there is a lot of grey area involved in this particular issue
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The running joke (funny back then, definitely not funny now) as a late teen/in my early 20s, was not to sleep with the ring crew or back gate guys. A LOT of them in their mid 20s were getting with riders under 18. Seems like that is the case with the new person from Oregon.
My best friend growing up was 17 when she ran off with our married trainer that was 42. He ended up marrying someone else that was 20+ years younger. I hope he gets set down but I doubt she will ever report him. She isn’t involved with horses anymore and I am guessing not wanting to rehash that part of her life. So very sad.
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I’m fairly familiar with the new Oregon allegation. I’m rather disgusted with the Safesport process actually at this point. Happy to discuss in a PM but suffice it to say there’s not a lot of “there” there. Law enforcement has investigated the claim and found nothing to charge on. I’ve said it before: Safesport is starting to be used in some cases as a weapon for revenge rather than a tool to do good.
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Not the case here.
It’s an interesting problem. No other sport runs such a large complex facility where athletes can be there all day. And where many employees are not even connected to the sport. Like barn help, handymen, farriers, hay guys, other horses owners etc. Plus vets and body workers and saddle fitters etc. Lots of these folks have no reason to be screened and some, like hay delivery or barn help, may be fairly temporary employees.
I think a good trainer should run a place where there’s zero tolerance for sexualized behavior with clients and where clients are not ignored when they complain.
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I 100% agree with this statement. But… as others have noted, barns are sport environments that involve a lot of supporting people for both the equine athletes and the facilities themselves. And some of these people will be independent contractors, and bad apples will pop up occasionally. To me, how a trainer handles that is important. But… it’s a “vote with your feet” issue more than a SafeSport issue.
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I think a trainer and barn manager have a lot of power to set behavior standards. They can talk to employees. They can scan client behavior especially minors and make sure questionable situations don’t evolve. Obviously there’s no filtering one off situations but an alert BM can be alert to grooming situations and when inappropriate relationships seem to be brewing. And making an environment where women are believed when they complain.
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Not just women, I hope.
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Indeed We need to keep in mind that some of the very damaged prior victims have been boys and men.
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Care to expand?
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