Venting my frustration with the management of WEC - Ohio. I signed my horse up to participate this weekend and unfortunately was not able to attend due to Illinois state quarantine mandate. A horse in our barn was recently euthanized and the vet on call took bloodwork. The horse tested positive for EHV-1, so our vet notified the state of Illinois and we have subsequently been put on a 21 day quarantine. I notified WEC immediately once I found out and explained the situation. Not only did it take them days to answer me after repeated attempts to contact them, they refused to not charge me the stall fees for the horse show. The manager, TJ, explained that this situation was no different than a lameness. After going back and forth him a few times, he just stopped talking to me or answering my texts so I am writing you. Since this is an USEF/USHJA sanction horse show I thought you all should know the situation. WEC is essentially encouraging people to lie about outbreaks of EHV-1 in their barn, so that we do not loose the stall fees that we have paid. While I am only one owner/exhibitor doing the right thing, what if I was a professional and had 20 horses I was planning on bringing to the horse show? How do I explain to my clients that I cannot get their stalls refunded because the horse show is not taking the correct responsibility by working with the exhibitors to stay home and take the proper precautions to not spread this tragic and deadly virus? I expect support from the organizers of the competitions especially during this frightening time. What also gets me so upset is that WEC repeatedly gives away stalls to encourage people to come horse show at their venues, but in times like these, when they should take the responsible path and not charge, they donāt. Instead they force people to make difficult decisions that could harm the equestrian community across the country. Honestly, this a very unethical business practice and I am disgusted at their stance.
Have never gotten stall fees refunded, entry fees, yes, stalls no. Thats over a great many years in different states and disciplines for many reasons. Management cant sell that stall to somebody else but the exhibitor who cancelled or their trainer canā¦thatās the line Iāve always been given. Sucks but they have a point.
Not unlike a hotel with a no cancellation policy. Pretty sure that, like the hotel, that policy is written and agreed to when you sign the entry blank.
Really has nothing to do with not caring about EHV, they just donāt refund stall fees.
I could completely understand if this was a lameness situation. However this is far from it. Lameness canāt spread and EHV-1 can. I wonder how WEC treated people who had to cancel due to Covid. To me an organization that willingly gave away stalls to attract exhibitors is being rather hypocritical.
@AddToThePile
I totally see your point and agree. Horse shows should require some sort of a vet certificate for this sort of thing. Even though you are under State quarantine. And they should refund stalls in the case of ehv outbreak or strangles, Etc-when an exhibitor or barn stays home to avoid the risk of spreading disease. The whole book needs to be rewritten on how EHV is handled by exhibitors, show managers, Etc. Hopefully the last few months has been a wake-up call to everyone. Good luck!
I agree. Maybe you can refer him to the thread on EHV-1 in California. I understand policy, but exceptions can be made. Iām very sorry about your horse.
The same thing happened to me last year at a different venue. We didnāt have EHV-1 but we had a severe respiratory illness we picked upādrum roll pleaseāat their show 2 weeks before. Had to have been because we didnāt go anywhere else, no ins or outs.
The kicker was the horses I was taking to the show didnāt show any signs, but because we are decent human beings we cancelled so we didnāt make anyone elseās horses sick.
The worst of all was that I would have gotten a full refund if I claimed a COVID āexposure.ā
Sometimes it is hard being ethical!
Itās disappointing but not uncommon in showgrounds to not refund stall fees. As said before, Iād post it on the plaid horse ammy lounge, local riding pages, etc that you have a stall and see if anyone needs one.
just looking at the WEC Ohio stabling agreement it states
To Reserve Stalls for WEC Ohio Hunter.docx
Stalls must be cancelled 14 days before the show to be
considered an on time cancel. Late cancelled stalls are
billed at $175 each.
I would not expect my stall to be refunded if cancelled after the cut off.
Our barn just backed out of going to WEC because we had concerns of EHV not being taken seriously. Thatās not necessarily WECās problemāthey could certainly help mitigate, but unfortunately there are some choice persons weāve witnessed who do not care, and everyone was in agreement we donāt want to put the horses at risk.
No stalls refunded. Thatās been a WEC policy for a long time, no matter the issue (COVID, lameness, etc).
@AddToThePile can you share where in Illinois your barn is or at least if youāre north, central, south? Thanks and hope all of your horses remain healthy.
Most big shows (and small) do this, eventers pay in full and if the weather blows and it is cancelled- oh well. Maybe they get a schooling day.
I hope your horses are healthy and remain-so, but WEC is hardly the only show that has this standard.
I think her point was that the state issued a quarantine thatās why she couldnāt go. I think everyone missed the point here. It wasnāt her choice, it was a state issued quarantine. Maybe I misread ā¦
KobeTrixie57 - thatās exactly my point. It is a state mandated quarantine and I am following the rules to be respectful of my fellow competitors. I would like that if there is mandate put on you by the state, the horse show would respect those guidelines as well and issue a credit for the stalls. We want people to follow the rules and keep everyone safe, not cheat and lie, just to make sure they donāt loose their money/stall fees.
Instead of solely blaming the show management, maybe try writing a letter to USEF, explaining the predicament, and expressing your opinion that perhaps this is something that could be addressed by USEF legislation. As it stands right now, even though you are under a state mandated quarantine, there is no ruling saying show management has to refund any money. While it wonāt get your money back for this show, perhaps it could help people in the future.
For example, if it were within the USEF rule book saying āexhibitors forced to cancel attendance at a show due to their state veterinarianās mandated quarantine are entitled to a full refund from show management, including but not limited to stalls, entry fees, office fees, etc. Exhibitors must provide a signed statement from their state veterinarian to be eligible for said refund.ā then you would have a leg to stand on here. Because there is no such mandate, and as already posted it is in the rules outlined by WEC that there are no stall refunds, I think in this case you need to just eat the stall fee and move on with your plans. Sure it sucks that youāre out the stall fee, but I donāt think you can say that WEC doesnāt care about EHV-1 orders just because they wonāt refund your money.
Again, itās not going to help you here, but just maybe (especially if enough people write to USEF with the same statement) something could change in the future.
Sarah616 - I actually did reach out to both the USHJA and the USEF to express my concern because I completely agree with you. While it might not change the current situation, maybe by me addressing this with the USHJA and USEF and bringing this to the attention of my fellow exhibitors, there could be new policies and procedures to handle situations like this.
Send them a message saying that since they wonāt refund your money even though thereās a state mandated quarantine, you will be coming with your EHV-1 positive horses to show.
I can bet you they will refund your money real fast after that message gets sent
Issuing threats you have no intention of following through on is futile, and also makes her the ass in this story.
I get that WEC is a Big Fancy Circuit that could probably absorb your stall fees with little harm, but I think a USEF mandate to this affect would deter all kinds of smaller shows from even hosting events. Iām sure this is annoying & frustrating, but Iām not sure itās a get-on-the-internet-and-raise-hell injustice. Especially when a barn mate just lost a horse and any chance to show at all.
I did receive a response from the USEF.
"Thank you for contacting USEF regarding the World Equestrian Center Winter Classic #16 (#337028). I am sorry to hear you were unable to attend this competition due to a positive EHV-1 case in your barn that unfortunately resulted in the euthanasia of a horse. The USEF appreciates the commitment to the safety and welfare of the equine athletes which you demonstrated by not participating in this competition and risking further spread.
*Please understand that USEF permits competition management to create their own refund policies per GR911, āA Licensed Competition may adopt its own policy covering the refunding of fees to an exhibitor who cancels his entries after the official closing date and prior to the competitionās beginning.ā *
*I have attached the World Equestrian Center Winter Classic prize list to this email for your reference. The following statement in the prize list outlines the World Equestrian Centerās guidelines for stabling refunds: āStall counts must be finalized 28 days prior to the show. Tack stalls do not need to be prepaid. After the closing date stalls are not refundableā¦ā this statement can be found on page 4 under the āclosing datesā section. In addition, the prize list also states on page 7, āCanceled stalls will not be refunded for any reason if cancelled inside of 28 days before the show.ā *
While your situation is certainly a highly unfortunate circumstance, competition management reserves the right to enforce their refund policy for cancellations within the 28-day period. USEF appreciates your prioritization of equine safety and welfare, and we wish all the best for you and others in your barn during the quarantine and that all horses remain virus-free."
I have to ask though, shouldnāt horse management and the USEF prioritize equine safety and welfare? I am being punished by doing the responsible thing. I would think that the USEF and WEC would want to encourage people to take the necessary precautions and stay home, quarantine and stop the spread of this deadly virus. Instead a precedence has been set to lie and still continue to horse show. I would never jeopardize my fellow competitors or their equines, but as we have seen in the past, many people do not care and do not care what they need to do win or chase points. Moving forward I will now worry the next horse show I attend might be the one that gets my horse sick, because the people at the top donāt really care about the their welfare.
I donāt think itās futile. Maybe it would make them see how ridiculous their policy is in this circumstance, and how dangerous it is to have a policy such as this in place.
USEF and WEC having this stance on disease comes across as very tone deaf considering COVID. Almost every business was understanding of disease during the pandemic and was ok with offering exchanges or refunds when someone tested positive, because you donāt want to punish people for doing the right thing or end up with asymptomatic but positive people just attending events anyways.
The other thing about this that is so foolish is that if a horse comes to their facility and is positive with EHV1 then the whole place has to be quarantined, which is going to loose them a lot more money than refunding stalls for horses who are coming from high risk areas.
If this was a situation where she decided she didnāt want to show, her horse was lame, etc, then Iād completely understand their refund policy. But this is an infectious disease. Itās very tone deaf. USEF and WEC can do better.
