Question About Trainer's Spouses/Family Members & Amateur Rules

[right_horse_at_the_right_time]

[QUOTE=Bent Hickory;8367744]
Lot’s of assumptions…[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=mvp;8367765]Read this paragraph of the published article and tell me how “off” those lots of assumptions are:

"Lohman got the ride on Davenport by accident. During a stressful work trip, she called her husband and trainer, Alan Lohman, and asked him to put a horse on the trailer for her so she could compete at the Virginia Horse Park in Lexington.

"I told him, ‘Just find me a horse, I don’t care, just throw something on the trailer,’ " she recalled.

That horse turned out to be a barn favorite, Davenport. With owner Dani Di Pietro working abroad in India, “Dylan” needed a job. He and Jessica clicked, and next thing she knew, she had a new partner for the season."

If the husband/pro wasn’t taking money from owner Di Pietro, what should we assume gave the pro access to the horse?[/QUOTE]

^^ what mvp said.

[right_horse_at_the_right_time]

[QUOTE=Deloise;8367785]
Hi guys! Thanks so much for your enthusiasm for the sport! I’m excited there are so many of you! Wow. I don’t know if you will find this helpful or not but I sent Davenport to Lohman Stables the same week of Lexington thinking he would make a nice amateur horse for a completely different client of Alan’s. She ended up not being interested, so Alan asked if I would mind letting Jessi show the horse. I was thrilled and within the same week, Jessi showed the horse at Lexington, and did well, so she leased the horse from me. Dani is away doing wonderful things for the world and we all thought it was a win win. We are all very aware of the rules, we all work together, and sometimes I even train Jessi at shows. Dani DiPietro is my client, not Alan’s. Thank you so much ! I hope this helps. Very truly yours, Deloise[/QUOTE]

Thanks for clarifying and clearing up all the speculation. Must be a super great horse to become a barn favorite in a week.

[Bent_Hickory]

[QUOTE=Deloise;8367785]
Hi guys! Thanks so much for your enthusiasm for the sport! I’m excited there are so many of you! Wow. I don’t know if you will find this helpful or not but I sent Davenport to Lohman Stables the same week of Lexington thinking he would make a nice amateur horse for a completely different client of Alan’s. She ended up not being interested, so Alan asked if I would mind letting Jessi show the horse. I was thrilled and within the same week, Jessi showed the horse at Lexington, and did well, so she leased the horse from me. Dani is away doing wonderful things for the world and we all thought it was a win win. We are all very aware of the rules, we all work together, and sometimes I even train Jessi at shows. Dani DiPietro is my client, not Alan’s. Thank you so much ! I hope this helps. Very truly yours, Deloise[/QUOTE]

Those damn assumptions…

[Tha_Ridge]

Thank you for the clarification, Deloise. I really do appreciate it—the article did imply that Dani was a client of Lohman, not you, so it was confusing. I’ll reiterate that I meant no harm or ill will by my initial post; was legitimately curious.

[yellowbritches]

Just as I said, the Lohmans and Deloise are good people. The kind we need more of in the horse world.

[findeight]

[QUOTE=Tha Ridge;8367755]
If I were 2nd place in the class, you better believe I would.[/QUOTE]

Theres probably been a whole lot of people 2nd to this horse at all the rated shows they competed at this season who are ready willing and financially able to protest at the drop of a hat who would already have done so.

Realize that’s another assumption but far more likely then openly cheating.

I understand the feelings, I was beaten by trainer spouses in the old group 3’ Adults. But they really were Ammies and did not ride all day every day like Pros. I was satisfied and know they were uber conscientious about all the details. No reason to think these people are any less conscientious.

If course if they sucked instead of winning, this never would have come up, nobody cares if you lose.

[Peggy]

She’s OK as long as the trainer/spouse isn’t making a dime off of the horse, or any horse she rides. She also must pay all of the show expenses.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=right horse at the right time;8367803]
Must be a super great horse to become a barn favorite in a week. :)[/QUOTE]

Indeed. But so much of the writing in COTH and elsewhere about HunterWorld is written with lots of exclamation points, the world “wonderful” and a general breathless enthusiasm. You must admit, this kind of “happy, happy, joy, joy” writing is kind of a genre within our literature.

[sixteenhands]

[QUOTE=Tha Ridge;8367743]
Did you read the story? The horse belongs to a client. [/QUOTE]

Did you read the story? I can’t find where it says the owner was a client.

[right_horse_at_the_right_time]

[QUOTE=mvp;8367858]
Indeed. But so much of the writing in COTH and elsewhere about HunterWorld is written with lots of exclamation points, the world “wonderful” and a general breathless enthusiasm. You must admit, this kind of “happy, happy, joy, joy” writing is kind of a genre within our literature.[/QUOTE]

Without question. Leading, of course, to the facebook/COTH/other sites fairy tales.

Reading the truth above from the horse’s (trainer’s) mouth paints a different story, but the PR stories sells hits and advertising, as we’ve seen so much.

[jennifersw]

Perhaps the biggest/worst assumption of all is that the article itself is accurate. I won a big class at Harrisburg last week and was followed out of the ring by the reporter from the show’s PR agency. She asked easy questions. I gave easy answers. About 4 hours later, as I sat in my kitchen at midnight having my victory party of one after the horse had been unbraided and turned out, I opened my laptop and in my inbox was the press release sitting there. I opened it, all excited to read about my horse…and shut the laptop about 60 seconds later, frustrated & let down by how badly the reporter had screwed up what I told her. Huge, glaring mistakes.
So, believe half of what you see & none of what you hear, people. Do you really think that article was sent to the Lohman’s or Dani DiPietro for fact checking? Of course not. Because in modern media, it’s more important to get the story out than to get the story right.

[mvp]

@findeight;8367824

Theres probably been a whole lot of people 2nd to this horse at all the rated shows they competed at this season who are ready willing and financially able to protest at the drop of a hat who would already have done so.

I think the opposite is true: There’s a whole lot of pressure to not make waves. COTH reported on the “shammy” situation long ago and quoted an ammy who explained that “everyone” (competitors) were friends and no one wanted to cause offense.

I watched a friend of mine who had been cheated by a local pro complain bitterly about being ripped off in a horse deal… only to refuse to testify as to her experience when another person ripped off in the same way filed suit.

I think the reluctance to file a protest with the USEF is long standing and well-known.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=right horse at the right time;8367886]
Without question. Leading, of course, to the facebook/COTH/other sites fairy tales.

Reading the truth above from the horse’s (trainer’s) mouth paints a different story, but the PR stories sells hits and advertising, as we’ve seen so much. :)[/QUOTE]

Yes, that is the sentiment I felt. It could be that the author of the article wrote in a way that implied the horse had been in the trainers barn (and his accounts receivable column) when his wife got the ride.

I saw Betsee Parker execute the stone-walling-through-glad-handing kind of pros a week ago in COTH. And I recall lots of that kind of speaking/writing in COTH article over the years. I just get tired of being shined on, that’s all. And maybe everything in one of these scenarios is sweetness and light and not big business or winning at all costs. But when everyone speaks in such hyperbole, it’s hard to tell when anyone’s being honest.

[BAC]

[QUOTE=mvp;8367969]
I think the opposite is true: There’s a whole lot of pressure to not make waves. COTH reported on the “shammy” situation long ago and quoted an ammy who explained that “everyone” (competitors) were friends and no one wanted to cause offense.

I watched a friend of mine who had been cheated by a local pro complain bitterly about being ripped off in a horse deal… only to refuse to testify as to her experience when another person ripped off in the same way filed suit.

I think the reluctance to file a protest with the USEF is long standing and well-known.[/QUOTE]

I agree, I know a number of instances where people will complain amongst friends but won’t file a protest with USEF. And unfortunately, many pros know the rules, ammy and otherwise, and still intentionally break them, they feel very secure that their colleagues won’t protest them, probably because the colleagues will also be breaking the rules as well. Based on the article, I would have made the same assumptions the OP did.

[right_horse_at_the_right_time]

[QUOTE=mvp;8367969]
I think the opposite is true: There’s a whole lot of pressure to not make waves. COTH reported on the “shammy” situation long ago and quoted an ammy who explained that “everyone” (competitors) were friends and no one wanted to cause offense.

I watched a friend of mine who had been cheated by a local pro complain bitterly about being ripped off in a horse deal… only to refuse to testify as to her experience when another person ripped off in the same way filed suit.

I think the reluctance to file a protest with the USEF is long standing and well-known.[/QUOTE]

Agree.

As I stated earlier, I know of three offenders.

I will not be filing any complaints.

Everyone has “extenuating circumstances.” Whatever. It is still wrong, it is still cheating, and it is widely accepted.

[Tha_Ridge]

[QUOTE=jennifersw;8367943]

So, believe half of what you see & none of what you hear, people. Do you really think that article was sent to the Lohman’s or Dani DiPietro for fact checking? Of course not. Because in modern media, it’s more important to get the story out than to get the story right.[/QUOTE]

Meh. I work in news (weekly magazine with 1 mil+ circulation). We fact check everything religiously but, no, no article or story is EVER sent in its entirety to the subject before publish. That’s standard industry practice. I’m sorry about what happened to you, but a “reporter” for a PR agency functions very differently than a true publication.

[Xctrygirl]

I love that you don’t realize that you’re preaching to the choir!!!

[QUOTE=Tha Ridge;8368013]
Meh. I work in news (weekly magazine with 1 mil+ circulation). We fact check everything religiously but, no, no article or story is EVER sent in its entirety to the subject before publish. That’s standard industry practice. I’m sorry about what happened to you, but a “reporter” for a PR agency functions very differently than a true publication.[/QUOTE]

[wcporter]

[QUOTE=Deloise;8367785]
Hi guys! Thanks so much for your enthusiasm for the sport! I’m excited there are so many of you! Wow. I don’t know if you will find this helpful or not but I sent Davenport to Lohman Stables the same week of Lexington thinking he would make a nice amateur horse for a completely different client of Alan’s. She ended up not being interested, so Alan asked if I would mind letting Jessi show the horse. I was thrilled and within the same week, Jessi showed the horse at Lexington, and did well, so she leased the horse from me. Dani is away doing wonderful things for the world and we all thought it was a win win. We are all very aware of the rules, we all work together, and sometimes I even train Jessi at shows. Dani DiPietro is my client, not Alan’s. Thank you so much ! I hope this helps. Very truly yours, Deloise[/QUOTE]

This reply wins the best/most eloquent “well, bless your heart!” award of the year.

[findeight]

[QUOTE=wcporter;8368089]
This reply wins the best/most eloquent “well, bless your heart!” award of the year.[/QUOTE]

Indeed. Nothing like the facts to end speculation and accusation on the webz.

[MintHillFarm]

Adult Amateur Hunter division is different than the Amateur Owners, the latter of which must be owned by the rider or immediate family.

Adult Amateur Hunters can be horses owned by others…