Rob Gage

[greysfordays]

@endlessclimb

zips flame suit

Let me take this one step farther.

You aren’t harnessing nuclear fission. You aren’t solving climate change. You aren’t helping the starving children secure a clean water and food source. You aren’t coordinating or executing space missions. You aren’t developing an alternate energy source. You aren’t curing cancer.

No matter who these guys/gals are. No matter how good they are at their job. No matter how impactful they are to you personally.

THEY. TRAIN. HORSES. AND. RIDERS.

They are NOBODIES in the grand, global scheme of things. Their contributions will NEVER be earth shattering, no matter how great. Their expertise is so narrow that it is literally meaningless to 99.9% of the earth.

I honestly don’t think it matters what a person does for a living. Solves climate change, mucks stalls. None of it matters. Our behavior towards others on this Earth is what defines us. And it’s why I think this is causing so much mud slinging. Because in this case, we have a complex and flawed person who did a lot of good and as we are learning, a lot of harm.

Rob Gage might have taught me a lot about horses, a lot about hard work, never once taken advantage of me even if I paraded around in copped tops and cut offs under my chaps (:no:). It makes me nauseous but I know I would have LOVED any attention as a randy and misguided 16 year old.

But it is clear to me, someone who initially defended him, that he misused his position of power against other young riders. It doesn’t really matter when. I don’t even think it really matters how old they were, just that they were minors. Just because I didn’t experience it spending time with him up close, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. I have deep sympathy for those he hurt and am humbled by their courage to come forward. I know I wouldn’t be strong enough to do it. Especially with all this mud slinging online.

The lessons he taught me about horses and life are still mine to keep. I would encourage those who were positively impacted by Rob to honor him by practicing those good lessons. But you must also make peace with the fact that he did a lot of harm to several others and that we as a sport need to do better to protect the vulnerable. It doesn’t mean you don’t have compassion for him, or those he left behind, etc. But we have GOT to stand by the victims.

This process is very painful for a lot of people. And I wish there were a way to give folks more transparency without endangering the victims.

I have sympathy for folks who do this for a living and feel what’s on the SafeSport website is a bit light in details. I don’t think that people who are nervous are automatically abusers themselves. I just think that some of them don’t have confidence that a vindictive person couldn’t ruin their business using SafeSport. We have to find a way to assure people that is unlikely to happen. I don’t know if that’s making an example of times where the investigations demonstrated the accusations were unfounded or what, but something so people in this industry can feel safe that if they keep their hands to themselves and behave morally, that they will be fine.

[Midge]

@Horsegirl's Mom

Wow, that is a very different set of facts than what has been presented previously. Are you a Safesport insider? It seems like you are privy to different facts than many people have heard.

I have been assuming she is connected to victims.

[Denali6298]

@RugBug

Because Horsegirl’s Mom could have never been to facebook and still posted exactly what she did.

Reading this thread, you get the idea that oneequestrienne has more information than most on the RG situation. New details were just added to this thread, including confirmation that one of the accusers was very young. That adds to the facts known (previously it was stated by oneequestrienne, but from no official source).

Your implication is that she’s not savvy enough (too stupid is another way to say that) to understand that what she reads on FB isn’t necessarily true. But she wouldn’t have even needed to be on FB at all. (BTW - COTH doesn’t have a corner on truth…just less trolls so it’s easier to discern the situation)

If that’s how you read it fine. I’m not going to argue.

[AllOverFarm]

Someone up thread said the victims came forward yesterday at the oaks show after the grand Prix. Unbelievable bravery to the victims.
Did anyone notice the memes that lawyer BN posted on fb yesterday? I hope they weren’t ment for the victims. That would be very sad.
We all need to stand behind victims and their bravery to helping clean up this sport.

[Jealoushe]

@AllOverFarm

Someone up thread said the victims came forward yesterday at the oaks show after the grand Prix. Unbelievable bravery to the victims.
Did anyone notice the memes that lawyer BN posted on fb yesterday? I hope they weren’t ment for the victims. That would be very sad.
We all need to stand behind victims and their bravery to helping clean up this sport.

What were they? Sounds like more scare tactics. I’m so glad those women came forward.

[Denali6298]

@Midge

I have been assuming she is connected to victims.

She is.

[Denali6298]

@Jealoushe

What were they? Sounds like more scare tactics. I’m so glad those women came forward.

Religious and being taken out of context

[AllOverFarm]

One said-“ I love listening to lies when I know the truth”
another was-“ No need to explain yourself, God knows what happened and that’s all that important. No matter what everyone else says.”
Another-“ Before you tell something make sure you’re telling the whole truth not your version of the truth. Others may not know, but God does.”

i just found it strange these sayings or memes were posted yesterday. Same day as the victims coming forward.

I really hope it has nothing to do with the victims. They are hero’s in my eyes.

[McGurk]

I think it is incredibly, incredibly brave for anyone to come forward and identify themselves as an accuser and victim, considering all that’s been said.

I am simply in awe of that courage.

[poltroon]

@Horsegirl's Mom

Wow, that is a very different set of facts than what has been presented previously. Are you a Safesport insider? It seems like you are privy to different facts than many people have heard.

It’s not different than the facts reported by SafeSport or the other impartial media.

I think in some cases people made some poor assumptions. Like maybe they knew, or knew of, a relationship that Rob had with someone they remembered as a 17 year old and assumed that this what what it was about, that this was all of what it was about. The error is in assuming that is one of the SafeSport victims, as well as that she is the only victim. It’s possible, for example, that they would have interviewed her and decided that her case wasn’t a problem, or even that they didn’t interview her.

Even if that person was interviewed, that doesn’t mean you know everyone who was interviewed. Witnesses are rarely privy to the totality of the evidence during an investigation.

[Midge]

@AllOverFarm

Someone up thread said the victims came forward yesterday at the oaks show after the grand Prix. Unbelievable bravery to the victims.
Did anyone notice the memes that lawyer BN posted on fb yesterday? I hope they weren’t ment for the victims. That would be very sad.
We all need to stand behind victims and their bravery to helping clean up this sport.

Well,they weren’t meant for the victims, they were meant for all the people who have been, Oh Bonnie thank you for all this truthiness! You are so wonderful! Thank you, oh great one! She’s not going to back down.

[RugBug]

@AllOverFarm

One said-“ I love listening to lies when I know the truth”
another was-“ No need to explain yourself, God knows what happened and that’s all that important. No matter what everyone else says.”
Another-“ Before you tell something make sure you’re telling the whole truth not your version of the truth. Others may not know, but God does.”

i just found it strange these sayings or memes were posted yesterday. Same day as the victims coming forward.

I really hope it has nothing to do with the victims. They are hero’s in my eyes.

Wow…speaking of tone deaf (and that’s the nicest way to consider what BN posted).

[Keep_it_Simple]

@Midge

Well,they weren’t meant for the victims, they were meant for all the people who have been, Oh Bonnie thank you for all this truthiness! You are so wonderful! Thank you, oh great one! She’s not going to back down.

Was your comment facetious?

[OwnTooMany]

@oneequestrienne

I should have corrected that statement. Multiple victims not multiple 13 year olds was what I said.
Hillary Ridland stated that she was 13 at the time. Another of the women who came forward was 14 at the time.

So what was said, by whom, and how has this been documented? Since this was apparently public, it is not in any way protected. Were you there?

Obviously, many people want to know the facts. In fact, they NEED to know the facts in order to interpret what has happened. They also NEED to know the facts to assess the credibility of the Safe Sport process in general and also the actions of Safe Sport in this particular case. This is why Safe Sport’s secrecy about the facts and opaqueness of the process is a serious problem.

[Midge]

@Keep it Simple

Was your comment facetious?

Nope. That’s what people have been saying and that’s why I think she made those posts.

[roseymare]

“Role models” do not post passive aggressive memes.

[McGurk]

Does anyone have a report about what was said at Hillary Ridland’s meeting at The Oaks show?

[NoSuchPerson]

@OwnTooMany

This is why Safe Sport’s secrecy about the facts and opaqueness of the process is a serious problem.

I’ve asked this question before and I’ll ask it again: Exactly what is it you think you need to know that is being inappropriately kept secret?

The identities and complete history of the victims? The dates and times of any alleged illegal/inappropriate actions? All the salacious details of exactly what happened? Because that’s just crazy talk. You don’t get to know these things.

SafeSport is not an exception in this. Its policies are entirely consistent with similar entities and with most law enforcement.

[ladyj79]

@OwnTooMany

So what was said, by whom, and how has this been documented? Since this was apparently public, it is not in any way protected. Were you there?

Obviously, many people want to know the facts. In fact, they NEED to know the facts in order to interpret what has happened. They also NEED to know the facts to assess the credibility of the Safe Sport process in general and also the actions of Safe Sport in this particular case. This is why Safe Sport’s secrecy about the facts and opaqueness of the process is a serious problem.

Definitely not a brand new alter…

[Denali6298]

@ladyj79

Definitely not a brand new alter…

:lol::lol::lol: