The higher the incidence rate the likelier it is that you will come into contact with one or more infected people.
Per this order Californians are being asked not to travel more than 120 miles from their residence and anyone from another state or country needs to quarantine.
I would hazard a guess that people who can afford to show there can also afford 2 weeks quarantined in a hotel room etc? Maybe I’m being naive and it’s a don’t ask don’t tell type of thing.
Thank you for this! Ugh. Makes me feel like we are so privileged in our little horse show bubble. I even felt guilty going to ONE local horse show last year. I may not even plan any shows this year now…
I will admit, I am showing for 2 weeks. I don’t consider that my competing will be any riskier than how I live my life currently. The show is 2 hours from my house, I will be staying at my family’s vacation home, which we have been vacationing at throughout COVID, and the only time I will be indoors is likely to use the bathroom.
Frankly, it may be safer than being at home where I work in an office environment. Normally I allow my friends and barn mates to pack into the house to save costs, but not this time.
Fortunately I have not had to make the decision to get on a plane or stay at a hotel to compete, as my choice may have been different.
Call me a capitalist, or whatever you want, but I am firmly in the camp that we need to keep the economy going, and people working while taking appropriate measures to reduce transmission and protect those most at risk. Shutting everything down in Los Angeles has clearly not proved effective, so all the shut down is doing is hurting small businesses and those that can least afford to be out of work. I don’t want to turn this into a political statement as I can’t stand how COVID, among everything else, has become so polarized along party lines. I simply want to state there are two sides to every coin, and canceling the show primarily would hurt the grooms, braiders, ring crew, and restaurants/hotels in the area that need the seasonal business to survive.
While not my choice to show there (or anywhere at the moment—I even turned down the No Show), if someone wants to show, takes appropriate precautions, and follows the state protocols then have at it. Just don’t look at me too strangely when I maintain a very safe distance from you upon your return.
Anyone traveling from more than 120 miles away (or, more generously from out of our designated Southern California area), no. Anyone traveling from out of state, no. Unless these people quarantine on both ends.
The people I feel the worst for are the ones whose livelihoods depend on shows running, such as show employees, braiders, some grooms, etc. I also feel bad for people with jobs in the local community that rely on tourism, but worry about interactions between people from different geographic areas somehow exacerbating the spread of the virus. I suppose you could get around some of that by bringing all of your own food.
There are no great choices here. It’s not black and white, but more a situation of constantly shifting tones of gray.
I think it’s sad that people can be so nonchalant about putting their own lives at risk and risking the lives of others, just for the opportunity to prance around a show ring on a horse and win a ribbon. I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, but we are in the middle of a crisis - a true emergency - and the attitude of “we just have to live our lives and keep businesses going” is why hundreds of thousands of Americans have died.
The virus can’t spread if people don’t spread it. Staying home and only going out when necessary for food, medical appointments etc. or essential work that can’t be done from home is the least everyone can do to save lives.
The current situation in California is dire. It’s absolutely kind-boggling to me that horse shows are going ahead and that people think it’s a fine idea to take part.
I don’t think it’s a matter of well, I’m going to be riding and jumping anyway, so the risk is the same.
I was thinking more of how much more likely it is that some of the people not from the area and engaging in a high-risk pastime will need medical services in an area where all three local hospitals are at 100% capacity with 50% COVID-19 patients, who require more care.
Only know of one BC trainer going down but she’s been down there since Sunshine Coast shows. I know a couple other trainers went down for that.
Most riders can’t afford to do the 2 week quarantine and now negative covid test before they get to border. I would be surprised if any of the riders knew about the 2 week quarantine going into california.
And considering the backlash Canadian politicians have gotten when the public found out they travelled over Christmas
I think Andrew Cuomo tweeted yesterday that if we keep everything closed until a vaccine can be distributed, there won’t be anything to come back to. That’s certainly hard to hear but it does seem to me that a shift is beginning.
There are degrees between “everything” and “nothing.” Nuance seems to be lost on a lot of people.
There’s a difference between a school and a paint your own pottery studio. There’s a difference between indoor dining in a tiny unventilated room and outdoor dining with well spaced tables. There’s a difference between a sporting event attracting people from outside the area (who not only have to travel but also stay in hotels, eat out, etc.) and a sporting event that only admits local people.
It’s not “all or nothing.” You can have segments of the economy open and running with limitations without throwing up your hands and saying “open everything.”
I cannot imagine traveling from outside the area to CA to show right now. But money and intelligence don’t always go hand and hand and plenty of people who can afford to travel there are doing it. Screw the people it might negatively impact-- gotta’ get that piece of satin. Go ahead and pretend you’re doing it to support the “little people” but the reality is that you could just as easily spend that money with them without exposing them to as much risk. Nothing is stopping you from cutting a check to your groom and staying home.
You mean you want employers to pay people to not do work??
Aghast, we don’t encourage such laziness here in the USA.
That’s why our government can’t possibly provide the government income that dozens of other wealthy countries have provided to their citizens for the past year, in order to keep non-essential businesses CLOSED to stop the spread but enable people to still pay their rent/mortgage and buy food.
No no, that wouldn’t do at all.
If grooms want paid, their riders must show!
A friend of mine lives in Melbourne, Australia and they were completely locked down for 112 days. That meant you could not leave your house. One person per day could leave to shop for food or essential, truly essential items. My friend literally did not leave her home for 112 days and her husband did the shopping only as needed.
They decided, that human lives were important. They financially supported people in doing this. They did not go to horse shows, not even in their own area, let alone outside their own area. They respected their healthcare professionals.
If they can do it we can do it. If you plan to attend Thermal for the reason that you are deeply concerned for the braiders and grooms, then I suggest that you take your entry money and donate it to them instead of risking their lives and ours and those of everyone you know to attend a horse show.
If this sounds harsh it’s because this is a life and death situation. Literally.
Hey, I don’t care if the royal You do or don’t pay the little people unless they do their work. But be intellectually honest. Looking out for the little guy is NOT the reason the privileged are engaging in risky behavior during a pandemic. They’re doing it because they’re selfish. At least OWN it. If you want to be selfish, as long as what you’re doing it legal, you can do it. But be honest. It’s selfish. Don’t spin it like you’re doing it to be selfless. That’s some dissonance right there.
<<If they can do it we can do it. If you plan to attend Thermal for the reason that you are deeply concerned for the braiders and grooms, then I suggest that you take your entry money and donate it to them instead of risking their lives and ours and those of everyone you know to attend a horse show.>>
I’ll also note that these same people who claim they’re showing to “help” the grooms and braiders are notably absent when there’s any discussion of those people being paid minimum wage, having some sort of organized rights, and getting health benefits. Newsflash… if your “little people” have to create a GoFundMe because even a minor health issue puts their life into catastrophic failure you are not the GOOD GUY for dragging those people out in a pandemic to risk their health so you can jump colored sticks on your pony while you sport the latest cute D&S gaiter.
There’s no difference in the color of money that comes through the coffer from these “non essential” businesses in order to pay the owners’ bills, and the owner of the land’s bills.
We haven’t or don’t support these people. They’re drowning and may never recover.
I’m understanding of both sides of this. If you’re super high risk, the answer is clear. Otherwise some semblance of life must go on. This can’t continue further. Landlords haven’t been paid in nearly a year now - and they won’t receive back-rent, it’s just literally a wash.
The current status quo is not sustainable. Certainly I’m not wishing for people to die, but do you not have a sliver of empathy for Suzie who went after her dream of opening a pottery studio, being told now “suck it up, you’re non-essential” while she loses everything?
I do have a lot of sympathy for Suzie. I do. She was let down completely by the people she elected to govern for her. Shutting down non essential business was the right thing to do from a public health perspective but it was destined to fail because we didn’t issue sufficient financial support to keep those businesses going while they were shutdown.
But I don’t agree that the answer to that is to throw our hands up and have a superspreader party in her pottery studio. That doesn’t help her either. Suzie likely doesn’t have health insurance (or good health insurance) and when she gets sick-- she will have to close the store anyway, AND be saddled with medical expenses she cannot afford, AND be ill/dead (at best just ill for a short period of time but possibly for a long period of time with long lasting serious health effects). That’s not a solution either.
That’s why I say there’s nuance. If the business cna be open safely, or with an accepably small amount of risk, it should be open. That’s the difference between the studio being open for walk ins who sit packed to the gills and Suzie renting out the studio for pre-booked “your bubble only” events of small numbers of people or delivering paint-you-own-pottery at home kits in her area. That’s the difference between an outdoor local horse show with limited spectators and everyone descending on KY for pony finals. Part of the problem is this zero-sum attitude where it’s all or nothing. The options are not “shut down everything and no one leaves their house” or “open everything, no masks, pandemic be damned.” There is a lot of gray area in the middle. I don’t think people from outside the area going to CA to horse show is close enough to that gray area in the middle to be wise/safe. I know people are going to do it. The “let them eat cake” attitude pre-existed the pandemic and isn’t changing.
But in what world is it wise for people outside the area to be flying in to a part of CA where their hospitals are at capacity, staying in hotels, going out, etc. for the purpose of horse showing? It’s just not. So that’s why we get all these excuses like “I’m doing it for the grooms.” Just call a spade a spade. You’re doing it for YOU. If you didn’t stop by that groom’s house at Christmas with an extra check because you knew this was a hard holiday and times are tough and you don’t care that grooms make less than minimum wage-- then you’re not showing in Cali because you love your groom. If you don’t know if your groom has health insurance and you don’t care-- you’re not showing out of love for your groom.
Business go bust all the time. Often for reasons totally outside the control of the business owner. It sucks. Sometimes it’s unfair. It’s not a fair reason to put someone else’s health and life at risk. If I build my restuarant on a superfund site, I don’t get to stay open and give my patrons cancer because it’s a legitimate small business that I built from the ground up.
What really sucks here is how the government just completely BUNGLED the response. And that’s going to hurt the little guys (it already has). But that’s not why Amy Amateur is packing her bikini and heading down for the circuit. It’s just not. At least if you’re selfish–own it.
