Yes, temporary suspensions need something fairly solid to go off of.
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All I know of Rich Fellers is that Noelle Floyd video about him and Flexible. I was so impressed by how he really worried about and seemed to love that horse, what a bummer.
Is it really that difficult to not be gross to children?
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That I canât answer, but I can say with 
authority that it really is that difficult for some horse trainers to not act like @ssholes. Itâs the type of career that attracts a disproportionate amount of narcissistic types.
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What a shame.
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and most of them have never worked in a âproper officeâ environment with consequences for their actions.
the good news is⊠they donât even try to hide it most of the time.
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Again, NOT defending Rich or any other person on the SafeSport suspension list, but there are a variety of reasons to be place on it, not all of a sexual nature. (As a teacher, Iâve been taking this type of training and professional development for decades). Harassment, bullying, etc. are all suspendable offenses. And all are deeply unprofessional and we should be supportive of action taken to remove these offenders, and supportive of those who are victims of it. Equestrian sports should be the leader in cleaning up and policing our ranks.
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rich has been involved with girls for years and years. itâs not surprising to people who know him.
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When you say âinvolved with girls,â do you mean simply that he has had many female students, or are you implying he engaged in relationships that went beyond trainer-student?
âInvolvedâ is an interesting, ambiguous word choice.
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I mean [edit]. Let me know if this clears it up for you.
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The statement from Maggie Kehring is not the sort thing youâd read from someone who was bullied. It is what youâd read from someone who had been sexually abused and exploited. She said the following: âI can only hope what happened to me never happens to them or someone they love. No one needs to take sides. What happened to me is something I can never get back and I am working every day on coping with that realization. Things were taken from me that people will simply not understand. I donât understand why me, either. But I can assure you of this, what happened, happened! There is no revenge, there are no lies. Just the pure and simple truth. I know my future holds people who will look at me with anger and those that will support me. Just know, I was a junior rider.
Though we have little information at this time, I would not discount the possibility of the Fellers having groomed and coerced her into a sexual relationship. Itâs no secret that there are power couples in the industry who are together simply for the purposes of association and mutual benefits, while both pursue sexual and romantic relations with others in and around the sport and itâs also no secret that there are many people in the sport who have been abusing minors for ages and getting away with it because it has long been considered acceptable in the social scene. George Morris himself casually bragged that he had unfettered access to young gay boys until the time of his removal and that was because of his standing in the sport and his friends in and around it, whose names we all know by now.
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People need to stop blaming people who report a violation, and wait until the entire investigation is complete. The FB Coth page, and the article linked in the magazine, have a lot of comments that are victim blaming. Let the investigation proceed without blaming a person who say they have been violated.
Other cases that have gone all of the way through the appeals process, and did result in a permanent suspensions, but still have victim blaming, and nasty comments continue.
And people still wonder why victims donât tell. I applaud the courage of anyone who comes forward, and registers a complaint, because they must realize that they will also be attacked for coming forward. No person is too important to escape being held responsible if they are bullying, or abusing. I wouldnât blame anyone for not coming forward, and being slandered, and shamed for telling the truth.
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A reminder re: our posting policies:
Itâs fine to discuss news developments re: individuals in the industry. If someone is making direct accusations of illegal activity that have not been reported by a reputable news source or are being addressed by the legal system, they may only do so if the account is first-person and not anonymous.
Weâve edited a post to reflect that policy.
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Such an accurate observation!
I dont think she told her parents years ago. She moved very quietly (across the country) this fall and it seems abrupt bc she was riding so well. From what sheâs said she struggled with coming forward (which given the FB comments we all can see why).
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It actually is quite surprising to people that know him/them. Very surprising in fact to someone who lived & travelled with them for 10+ years all over the world.
Doesnât mean it isnât true, but donât speak for all people that know them. Most likely better than you do.
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I am having a difficult time reading many of the Facebook comments. However, they brought to light a couple things:
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Just because someone was not a bad person to you, does not mean they are not a bad person. It just means they were nice to you. I am sure there are so many people who are absolutely shocked by this, but I bet there might be at least one or two people who are not.
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We are not a court of law. I know Safe Sport is not either, but we do not know where they are in the process of their investigation. As a result, we cannot (and should not) demand proof, and we also should not speculate. There are SO MANY ways that someone can end up on the Safe Sport list.
Ultimately, I have to commend Maggie on her bravery. To come forward (and it is coming forward regardless of how much information she released) and offer her name in such a way is such a difficult thing to do, especially as an up and coming equestrian trying to make it in this sport.
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No one ever truly knows anyone. The biggest psychopaths tend to keep the best public images.
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I belleve we will hear it was her awareness of what was going on and failure to act/report
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Not bullying
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Agreed, but they donât typically suspend unless its something worse. I think we will find its sexual
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