But the AHSA, after several name changes, is US Equestrian. That sounds like a wannabe-inclusive name to me. And they just formed a “Grassroots Advisory Committee.” (On a that topic, not this one, I can’t figure out why Jennifer Baas is not a named member.) Over the course of the last 30 years or so, I think the Governing Body has, in fact, committed itself to serving horse show managers. That’s because the Mileage Rule effectively (albeit slowly) made horse show management into real estate investment and now that some folks have a great deal of money sunk into these large, dedicated facilities. So do folks who bought farms in places like Wellington’s Grand Prix village. And whether or not US Equestrian also wishes to support the interests of the BNTs who can afford to structure their careers around traveling from one 12-week camp to another, it de facto has done that, too. Or it would be more accurate to say that the AHSA/USEF/USE structured horse shows as they did and the rest of the industry sorted itself into those who could afford to do that and those who could not. So I am not sure whether the look toward the “grassroots” by US Equestrian is lip-service or an effort to rake back in the memberships of the vast swath of riders who have been left out of their focus on the economic elite or what.
And not for nuthin’ but the Governing Body just handed the AQHA a marketing strategy that matches your “Here is what we offer. Here are the rules. Join or not, as you wish.” Folks accepted that rather rude “invitation” and took their money, their feet and their wallets to Western World. With its “America’s Horse” tagline, all the AQHA had to do was sound Populist within a rhetorical environment of elitism created by the AHSA/USEF and perhaps, still, USE. Oh, and the AHA (Arabian Horse Association) has been making some noise (among its membership) about leaving USE as far as regulating their own shows. I don’t know how large the AQHA’s membership is, but there is profit in collecting lots of money from little people as opposed to collecting more money from a few rich people. And I think USE knows it has a problem. It can no longer afford that imperious elitism you recommend.
I don’t mean that last comment as a dig at the USE. Rather, I mean that as a description of the rhetorical position they (or you for them) have adopted, and I mean to say that they know it’s not working the way they’d like anymore. But, as must be clear, there is a big snowball of money and power rolling along in the elite direction it is, and those people are not going to lay down and allow USE to change direction.
And, to return to the initial point is that the stuff that makes USE go in one direction or another, or serve folks in one tax bracket or many-- isn’t really about only running horse shows.
