The TB racing industry has sent the administration a letter explaining the negative effects on the workers at the track and in the backstretch if the current
Immigration roundups continue.
Without workers, many of whom are foreign born, the industry will suffer long term problems.
Plant nurseries and vegetable farmers in Florida are reporting that many foreign born employees have already left the area as the State of Florida and ICE are very aggressively out searching for violators.
Iām wondering at what point the ICE people are going to start really cracking down on horse farms and horse shows. Especially if they realize how many people they could grab when they are trying to meet their quotas.
And itās going to get worse, as summer approaches and many seasonal tourist destinations see a lack of visitors from Canada and abroad. A number of Canadian airlines are cancelling flights into US cities and diverting capacity to Europe: https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/canada-freezes-us-travel-as-air-canada-westjet-porter-and-flair-slash-routes-to-major-cities-including-san-francisco-miami-new-york-and-washington-to-tap-growing-demand-in-europe/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark
Iāve also heard of European scientists cancelling speaking engagements at US conferences. Who would want to risk being picked up and detained or shipped off to El Salvador with no recourse?
I work for a global company. I have already heard several instances of conversations being had about our global counterparts willingness to travel to the US right now.
I have zero doubt that anyone in the international horse world may be rethinking their plans too.
I am just eaten up with curiosity about the entries for Thunderbird and Calgary. Which are two of my happy places and I hope they do not take a hit. The Southerns, being oil-adjacent, might have some pull at the US border ( my Boy Scout dad fell over laughing when he saw the Beaver Drilling cooler), but I canāt believe they wonāt lose entries from the USA and Mexico with this whole kidnapping to El Salvador thing. Unless they start a Canadian rent-a-groom service. It would be very hard to go without, especially considering the mandatory prize-giving ceremonies.
Depending on how long this goes on, there are normally a lot of Canadians at Thermal, many of whom stay the duration from November to March.
That is usually the case in Wellington as well. And probably Ocala these days.
In CA we normally get substantial entries from Canada for CDIās. I cannot see that continuing.
Iām in Calgary and so far zero dip in entries! Plus I have seen posts from people looking for grooms during the horse show! But also not unusual as many (including the international riders) often advertise this ā¦ā¦ many will bring their main grooms and then hire local riders to come and help groom! Donāt forget at spruce riders from Mexico and around the world get their grooms to come in on the flights with their horses that donāt even touch the USA! Theyāll have zero issues ā¦. Now USA riders might decide to change ā¦. Those I have no idea about! (For spruce)
I also announce at one of our other big venues in Calgary and we already have the barn from Wisconsin entered and theyāve definitely advertised for grooms!
Yes and Iāve heard people already saying theyāre probably going to forgo going to Florida and California next year . Iām in Alberta and weāve had quite a few that had started to trek to Florida in winter as well as a huge number that go to California!
From direct conversations I had this winter, the amateurs and juniors arenāt coming next year, quite a few left early this year. The pros are still saying they will but with far fewer horses. Iām also seeing rental farms advertised as still available for Tryon which is unusual in May. Flights are crazy cheap right now so the domestic travel market may perk up a bit this summer but in the longer run there will be an absolute bloodbath in the tourism market if this keeps up.
In non-horse related news. I was on the selection committee for an international conference that we had 50% of our US and 80% of our confirmed foreign presenters bow out in the last few weeks. You canāt get a block of rooms at a hotel now unless you guarantee a certain payment no matter what- never in 20 years have I had that happen.
A good friend of mine works at Dartmouth, and had this happen recently for a US based conference with international presenters. A number of the presenters withdrew or tried to fandangle something remote.
Sorry to all our Canadian (and other) friends!!
Thunderbird updateā¦the waitlist has been opened. I heard for the first time ever. Not sure if thatās an exaggeration, butā¦
And for the last two years I havenāt been able to get an RV spot and got one for Mayā¦
Not that entries will be dismal by any means, but this is definetly a bit shocking.
I know folks who are going to Tbird, but they do their own grooming mostly. As far as tariffs, if you are showing at Tbird or Spruce, probably it wonāt be a deal breaker.
Curious if anyone that owns and self hauls has had any issue using the e29b versus purchasing a carnet. We bought our own trailer and Iād prefer to save the $ but feel a bit overwhelmed. Do I just fill out the multiple e29b copies and bring a checkbook for the deposit? Also our purchase agreement showing her value, vet paperwork, Airbnb receipt etc?
Iām sorry I canāt help you with your question but, the value has me wondering how that works. If you have a sales receipt, how long is that valid for value? Depending on training and showing a horses value could jump considerably or plummet.
āGenocide is defined as acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. This includes actions such as killing members of the group, causing serious harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions that lead to the groupās physical destruction.ā
No country has issued a travel warning about genocide.
I said that several countries have issued travel warnings for the US AND that the US is on a red alert for genocide. Two separate things. I did not specify that the Red Alert I was referring to was the Lemkin Institute, but to further clarify:
āThe Lemkin Institute issues Red Flag Alerts when developments occur in countries and regions that exhibit several red flags for genocide. We understand red flags as immediate developments that have the potential to radicalize and/or bring together destructive historical trajectories and move a society further towards a mass atrocity event aimed at destroying one or more collective identities.ā
The link leads to a list, including more than just the US, and specifics on WHY each incident is considered a red flag by the institute.
ETA: in summary, it is risky to travel to the US right now. What that risk looks like will vary greatly per individual, but there is essentially no guarantee of due process at this moment - you(g) may not get the chance to prove youāre following all the rules and are legally traveling. And that is a big reason to think very carefully about traveling to the US - it may not be worth the risk for a lot of people, not right now.
My husband is an Irish citizen and has been a permanent resident in the US for 20 years. We have a family vacation planned overseas this summer and we decided to get him global entry (I have had global entry for about 15 years because of my job ) just to remove any doubt or stress about coming back into the country. It was kind of a pain in the ass to drive 2 hrs up to LAX for about a five minute interview but he got approved immediately. Bonus, took my teenage kids and they got it too and they were free because they were under 18 
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