Not all of them, k?
I am wondering where they hauled to, as Balmoral was a huge flop, largely due to its horrible location. No BNTs have barns in that area. It’s 2hours from any BNTs in our area. I’m from the Chicagoland area.
That was one of the many reasons we never went back
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They don’t need to tune up at a BNT barn. Any barn with jumps and decent footing will do. Just a little bit south of the show grounds, maybe a 10 minute drive.
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Which BNTs? What year? For which classes?
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I am not totally tack sharp on the details, honestly. It was awhile ago.
It would have been several years ago, because my late mare was still alive. 2017? 2018? It was for some big money grand prix. I don’t remember the exact amount, but it was in the 6 figures if I recall correctly.
I’m not real savvy in the jumper world, but I recognized the names. Both BNTs and non BNTs would show up pretty regularly to partake.
I don’t know what to tell you, or why it’s so unbelievable that they would haul offsite to do the stuff they do at home.
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What is annoying is the implication that BNT=bad. H/J=bad. Big A shows= bad. They don’t. There are terrible people showing horses in every discipline at every level.
There are very good people showing at a very high level, and throughout all the disciplines
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I never said that. There’s good and bad people at the top and the bottoms of all disciplines.
I’m annoyed that the flip side of that, BNT = good, is somehow something we should all embrace without question. It’s pervasive in all areas of the sport, unfortunately.
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You said
There are many many good BNTs that don’t do illegal, shady stuff. There are some that do. They draw the most attention.
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There’s lots of small time folks who aren’t out there giving half a cc too.
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That is also true
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Also not new and not limited to big money classes or BNTs. I saw plenty of “farm fresh” horses jumping small regional GPs many years ago. Certain programs were somewhat notorious. In some countries, a certain amount of poling is totally legal. Not that I think it’s ok, but unless you have FEI stabling rules, some people will continue to do that just like any other shady behavior that’s out there.
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It wasnt that long ago you could jump the bamboo offset in the schooling area. It really wasnt all that horrible.
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My old horse was polled by a top Irish rider and completely ruined a lovely animal. Do you think he stopped after that horse? Nope. Sadly, the closer you get to the top, the dirtier it gets. Many horses have to get “spa treatments” before FEI jogs.
No, not all. But a lot of big names we all look up to do some horrible things.
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The more money and prestige associated with a certain level, the more people are willing to play dirty. Unfortunately the horses pay the price in these pursuits, unlike most other sports.
At the same time, the more money and prestige associated with a sport, the more time and funding directed toward better understanding of the animals and better care. Double edged sword.
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Maybe this is the problem. If we quit looking up to people and placing them on a pedestal, they might not think of themselves as untouchable. I don’t view trainers, at any level, as celebrities.
Take the good from those you can, learn and avoid the bad. But don’t ever think of anyone in this industry as being an almighty of sorts.
Just my 2 cents.
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I’d love to add rules on bits and tack here. The shit jumpers put on their poor horses and in their mouths is disgusting. So may horses have pain expressions and/or the dead/shut down look in their eyes. As a jumper that prefers hot hot hot horses and has shown to 1.45 M, I will not use anything stronger than a pelham. There are still plenty of H/J riders/owners/trainers that truly do love their horses and do well by them, but there’s just as many that don’t care for the horses as beings.
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I just bought a war bridle for my HOT mare. I’m excited to try to jump in it. So far she’s doing extension/collection on the flat really well with it.
The horse I referred to upthread was shown in a leather Mullen mouth in the FEI classes.
Unfortunately, when USEF puts people like this https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/young-jumper-winner-asked-leave-hampton-classic/ on our U.S. team, competing internationally, they/we have no credibility as far as caring about horse welfare is concerned.
The stewards and other officials at the Hampton Classic did the right thing by kicking him off the show grounds, but not many years after, USEF put Ryan on the U.S. team and continues to do so to this day.
Obviously, many USEF officials care about horse welfare, but the follow through by our team selectors leaves much to be desired. I felt that in this case, selecting him to represent the U.S.was a slap in the face to U.S. horse people and to those officials who did the right (and difficult) thing at the Hampton that year.
Don’t speak to me of “second chances”. People who abuse horses in the manner that Devin Ryan did are not people who care about the horses they ride. The selfish nature of a person who abuses horses in that way doesn’t magically change because they’ve been caught.
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Just wanted to pop in here and say I do this as well! I compete at AA and A rated USEF shows in the Hunters and do well. I have been competing at 3’ but I am moving up to the 3’6" Junior Hunters in November. I finished 10th out of 47 in my second ever USHJA National Derby at Pin Oak 2023. I keep my horse at my house, the closest show barn to me is 2 hours away. Someone who won the model at Pony Finals this past year kept her pony at home as well. It sounds like you currently don’t compete in the Hunters or are in the industry anymore either. I have ridden with 4 different A-show barns and not a single one of them illegally drugged their horses. I’m not saying nobody does it, just that it is NOT very common anymore.
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Again, this is true
NotOK: “All of those things sound good. Honestly, they are well thought out. However, I beg to differ with you on the lameness specialists. These people do not need a vet degree. They are not doing any diagnostics. They are just determining on the date of competition whether or not a horse has a gait abnormality that is apparent, and even without any diagnosis, it would be prudent not to compete the horse on this day.”
Stating a horse is lame is, in fact, making a medical diagnosis. And without appropriate professional credentials these “lameness spotters” have no credibility and shouldn’t be giving their opinion.
An opinion.
That’s all it would be.
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