So according to Safe Sport training, trainers and minors should not be traveling or at shows together without a parent, correct?
The rules have layers. More than one adult or other minors present in transport etc. Public/ interruptible training, background on non-parental chaperones. There are also differences between local and overnight travel. If you truly have questions suggest visiting the SS site and see the different aspects of the rules . Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy is a document that lays out the info to start with. If you have concerns you can contact safe sport. Parents can sign wavers on some of these rules
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Too complicated. Trainers and parents will ignore. Parents just want their kids to win, as do trainers, parents can’t/won’t make the effort to be ever-present.
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How is that complicated? Don’t travel alone with a minor. Don’t be behind closed doors, alone with a minor. Simple. Easy. Doable.
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Coaches and kids do this all the time in other sports. The horse world has let stuff slide that has not been acceptable in other sports for years.
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Disagree that this is too complicated. Most trainers I have interacted with genuinely care about the health and safety of their students; most of these professionals are parents themselves. They are happy for their students’ milestones in life, be it on horseback or outside of a barn setting. Wise trainers see that having required safeguards in place is beneficial for the children, and also helps foster an environment of trust in the working relationship. It is rarely a substantial hinderance for most trainers to set up a group text that includes parents and students, or to require students travel with a parent/guardian.
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Am I misremembering that SS suggests if a trainer must drive a student alone, they should ask the parent for a note of permission?
I’m a parent and I don’t want my child just to win…in fact I like it when she faces some adversity. Also no way is she travelling with any adult just her alone with them.
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My concern is for kids that go to rated shows which requires travel, and parents, moms and dads, who work, and send the kid with trainer for schooling days before show, etc.
Classis have you taken Safe Sport training. have you reviewed the rules that are in place?
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God, if Safe Sport was around when I was a kid… I would have never gone to shows! We always went in truck with trainer. No brainer. My parents were not getting up at 4am to have me there… and sticking around show til 630pm at night and then back to barn. Nope. Would have never happened.
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May be true.
The sexual abuse of many many kids would also not have happened.
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I got news for you… pedophiles will find a way regardless of SS.
I would worry less about the transporting between shows and more about what happens at the barn itself… in tack rooms, in stalls, in areas with no cameras.
If you think that preventing 6 kids piled into a dually with a trainer is the solution, then I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I can sell you.
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Paedophiles may indeed find a way, but can we please make it harder for them to find that way through equestrian sports?
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actually by Safe Sport Rules, this is perfectly fine. It is the one one one, isolated contact which is not.
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I friggen hate this dumb @$$ argument people use for everything.
“People are going to kill someone whether they have a gun or not.”
“People are going to buy guns no matter what.”
“Pedophiles are going to find a way no matter what.”
Like no freaking duh. Criminals that are determined to be criminals will always find a way to be criminals. That in no way means we should just throw our hands up and nix all preventative measures and consequences.
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Go ahead and hate it. But also recognize that we’re protecting some of the top offenders in this sport and grabbing the low hanging fruit. Yes, rules and a foundation are helpful, but maybe also recognize that business relationships have prevented many of the ones that everyone knows from being called out or scrutinized. All in all… it’s a hypocritical world.
I think that we are moving toward a “rule of three” so that two adults would always need to be present when minors are involved.
I chaperoned several events for my kids’ rowing competitions. Not every parent had to be present at every event, but it definitely helped. Did it keep all abuse from happening? Probably not, but it’s a start.
When my daughter was getting private coaching I was required to stay in the next room since they would have been the only two in the building.
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I don’t think it matters whether to the would-be-victim whether their perp was some “low hanging fruit” or a known and protected serial pedophile. Or would you sacrifice that kid’s right to safety because we can’t catch the worse perps?
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I think what I hope we have learned is that parents should be with their kids. Parents still car pool and drop off the kids at the barn for HOURS. A pedophile gets very familiar with family habits. I also think it’s the kids that travel with the trainer, sometimes the parent is there, sometimes not, that sets up the dangerous environment.
