This is the article I always share. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna25623
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You will have to make a user account with the Westchester County (NY) records access system to view his court cases. From what I recall, he got a plea-down agreement to a single underage sodomy charge, but the number of filings indicates it could have been more than that. Without logging in to look, you wonât see much. After the conviction, he moved around with his father, going from kid barn to kid barn as âThe Helpâ and he eventually ended up in rural VA and then, the outer edge of Northern VA, where he took over Riverchase. He is permanently registered in the state of NY as part of his agreement and must register as an offender in any other state that he moves to, but he can petition - where laws allow - to have himself removed from the open state registry.
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they might be interested.
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Was the evaluation for the humane society ?
@NoVAMOM - you should reach out to a few specific people at USEF who handle reports related to misconduct like intimidation and bullying, but that is not directly related to abuse of minors. They might be able to advise you further, or follow up on these issues at the farms in question, if they find that there is some sort of action they can take.
There is a history of Tom Navarro trying to circumvent his lifetime SafeSport ban, and various local people assisting his efforts⊠but USEF canât take disciplinary action on these matters unless people report incidents.
Here is a screenshot of contact information for folks at USEF who oversee some of these misconduct issues
And here is a link to that page of the USEF website.
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I would assume she meant an evaluation lesson.
I rode a couple times at River Chase when I was barn-shopping. Being a returning rider, I wasnât yet plugged in to the area horse scene and didnât know what I didnât know. Even before I found Tom Navarroâs lifetime SafeSport ban for sodomy of a minor, I encountered several things in a very short time that told me to look elsewhere:
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Re-roofing of the shed where the lesson horses were being kept was causing nails, screws, and other sharp debris to fall into their stalls. I showed a handful to staff and they shrugged it off.
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Used saddle pads were stacked in piles without being given the chance to dry, allowing them to get noticeably funky. Given their overall dirt/crusted sweat levels, regular laundering did not seem to be part of the chore schedule.
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The tack I used was frequently in very poor shape. More than once, my assigned horseâs saddle had fraying stirrup leathers, or leathers held together only by their exposed nylon core.
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The last straw was that while waiting for my (late) instructor to arrive, I had a staff member assigned to babysit my warmup. I pointed out to her that, once again, I had found the stirrup bars of my saddle in the âupâ position. I remarked about how that wasnât the safest idea, especially at a program full of beginners and/or kids who wouldnât notice or understand the extreme danger of preventing the stirrup leather from sliding off the bar in the event of a catastrophic hang-up. Her response was that âSome people prefer to ride with them up.â
I picked my jaw off the arena floor, told my instructor about the exchange, and never returned. You donât have to work for the humane society to know a problem barn when you see one.
[Edited to change âoverall conditionâ of saddle pads to words more accurately describing what I noticed. Didnât want to give the impression that I have a problem with pads that are in worn/faded/well-loved condition.]
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I used to drive past River Chase all the time when I lived out thataways and while Iâve never been on the property, I always thought it looked like such a pretty farm with that big stone barn. I had no idea all this was going on. Disgusting.
Iâm grateful that I managed to stumble into two non-sketchy barns as a re-rider. Itâs so, so hard when you arenât plugged into the scene and just want to get started somewhere, or when youâre a parent of a horse-crazy kid and donât know what you donât know. I have no explanation for the folks who should know better, but donât (or wonât).
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I know Ms McDowell who is the USEF contact for Safesport and would be willing to support any issues RE RiverChase and T Navarro. I have repeatedly warned parents on local pages about tue situation only to have my posts removed by the local mods of those pages. I do not know what power these people have but it is time it is stopped.
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Definitely contact the local law enforcement. Depending on his particular case, there may be a prohibition against being around children. If there is it will be on the info on his registry , but the police can address that
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@NoVAMOM - maybe you two can coordinate when presenting information to USEF.
The main point of concern at this time seems to be management of Wulf Crest. Do they still have trainers/management there who are actual USEF members and competing/coaching at rated shows? If that is the case, AND there is an ongoing business relationship with RiverChase Farm (of which Tom Navarro is apparently the CEO according to his social media)⊠that seems like a problem when it comes to SafeSport rules.
But the contacts at USEF are the experts, and they should be the people advising on details.
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I know they hosted the IEA show, not sure if TN was on those grounds. How would someone prove the TN link to the WF barn when heâs not directly involved on papers? I know SW is their coach/instructor and theyâre pretty vocal about that with her picture on their site
SW has a long record as well, although nothing to do with SafeSport.
I think USEF and SafeSport have processes for investigating reported issues and violations. I donât know what that involves exactly, but these are not uncommon issues. They have investigators and procedures.
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On your Horse Abuse thread you mentioned that you witnessed the abuse. It must have been serious for you to start a separate topic about it. So that needs to be addressed as well. What measures are available to you, or someone else, to take care of it ?
Someone in authority - at USEF or local humane society - needs to be told about it (in writing), just to have it on record. If the care and maintenance of the tack is a problem, horse care and maintenance (feed, shoeing, vet, housing) maybe next, if itâs not already happening.
I understand the focus on Safe Sport, and donât mean to take attention away from that.
Animal abuse often goes with human abuse.
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However USEF has no jurisdiction over how often often shoes are done or the laundry run. They are the horse show federation.
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He needs to be gelded.
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Who is SW? You know, name. First & last.
I understand USEFâs horse-show-only-jurisdiction, and you know I didnât say that USEF should handle laundry or shoeing problems.
The OP said she saw a horse physically abused. Thatâs what needs to go on record somewhere.
Its Sarah Kressler now⊠used to be Wilson I think based off a quick google search.
I donât know her, but I think she used to work for TN at River Chase.
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And TN is ⊠Tom Navarro.
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