Good for UHS for setting an excellent exampleāputting equine and human athletes first and generally being responsible. My husband had a running race postponed this evening as well.
It was a good choice. They may be able to start again on Saturday. Our air quality is supposed to improve Friday evening.
Looking at the picture in the COTH article, I canāt believe they waited that long to shut things down. Our local track shut things down on Wednesday morning. The track vet didnāt want any horses working, hand walking only, not that our horses even left the barn. Air quality was actually rated good this morning, so everyone got a light jog to get them out. All racing tonight in southern Ontario was cancelled this morning already.
ya it seems like things will be able to clear up by the weekend 
This is the right call. I wish there was a little more clarity on what will happen when they pick back up, but I also understand that that will be a ācloser to gametimeā decision. Itās just that (selfishly) I am coming from non-locally and would like to know what the travel plans are. But I get it.
Looks like they completely adjusted schedule and it is updated on HSOL.
Iām about 30 miles east of Upperville, and the haze has cleared significantly today as the day has progressed. Itās a wonder how much better it is outside than it was 8-10 hours ago!
Thank you
The air quality index rose above 151 which is where the USEF recommended shows stop and the Upperville management was quick to stop competition at that point. They worked very hard to find solutions to the classes that were cancelled today and have reworked the schedule for Friday and Saturday. Nothing but praise for the management that made a tough call.
Amazingly, people were still out riding their horses after the competition was suspendedā¦ including schooling over fences.
I am stunned by the owners/riders selfish disregard for their horses. How horrible.
I think many people do not understand the impact these conditions have on their health and their horses health. I am pretty certain few people actually understand this, even those who should know better. Many schools in DC have prom this week and there are many photos on social media taken today at the Capitol and the monuments in these conditions. So a lot of this is more properly ignorance rather than disregard. I even saw an older, well-known political figure out exercising this morning with his security detail, no mask on any of them!
Since the classes at Upperville were postponed due to the bad air quality, how could anyone there be āignorantā about the affect of the smoke on their horses health?
I think itās a stretch to assume that the exhibitors were not told the reason for the postponement of the show.
Princeton show jumping has been running all week. AQI hit over 300 there on Wednesday night. Shame on them for continuing the show and shame on all of those who didnāt scratch!
I think people assume itās like being near a campfire. āYeah it smells bad and maybe if you have asthma donāt go outsideā. But they donāt realize itās the fine particles that are the real issue.
Iām feeling real FOMO right now not riding as the temperature has been BEAUTIFUL here, but Iād hate to have one of my horses develop a respiratory issue because I wanted to ride this week.
I canāt imagine that anyone riding or owning a horse showing at Upperville, is that ignorant. There are no excuses as far as I am concerned. It is not giving a damn, period.
There is a difference between being told the reason and understanding what it means and itās consequences. The gravity of the situation. Itās no excuse of course.
No excuse is correct. Anyone showing at Upperville whether owner or rider , has access to the internet. If they cared, they could look up the affects of extremely poor air quality on people and horses.
I was talking to someone today whose mom is a doctor and when he talked about going for a run, I mentioned the poor air quality and he said āoh yeah, I keep forgetting about that.ā And then he went on a run anyways. 
The mountains are back this morning and the AQI is at low moderate so the show is starting soon. I donāt think people truly understood the risk yesterday but whatever. The ones riding with a mask on but no protection for the horse left me scratching my head.
