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I was recently told that I needed to be careful what I post since I am a public figure. I would like you to know that this post may make you angry and we may disagree on this topic. I am 100% okay with that. For those of you who disagree, either ignore me or help me understand why I am wrong. For those of you who agree with me, please help our sport by sharing this post. We can use the Fabergé Organics model: I’ll tell two friends and you tell two friends and so on and so on. This morning I got up early to leave Lexington, where I have been attending the USEF Annual Meeting. As I sat in the airport, I was joined by two fellow USEF directors. The talk turned quickly to the shocking statistic which was presented in Murray Kessler’s Strategic Plan. That statistic? That almost 60% of all doping violations are in the hunter sport. The two directors (an active athlete from dressage and another from Morgan) expressed horror at our transgressions. The dressage athlete told the two of us that people in dressage are embarrassed to be part of a doping violation. She asked why we were not. Her question rang true with me. Why aren’t we embarrassed? Have we lost our love for horses? Do we love money more than our honor? I don’t know the answer but I do know that this lack of integrity is both a sickness of people’s souls and our sport. And unfortunately, those of us who DO have integrity are being tarred with the same brush. Dressage has certainly had its scandals. At her prompting, we discussed rollkur, the blood rule and overly tight nosebands and she spoke about the change in the attitude towards these areas of her sport. When asked how her sport changed their dynamic she said that a few things happened: • Public awareness grew • Judges stopped rewarding horses using the techniques • Stewards got tough in the schooling areas Can we perform a similar sport surgery on our side? Well, for me, the answer is an unequivocal YES. But let’s talk about some of the problems that we face: 1. The trainer/student relationship. There are trainers who look me in the eye and say, “What we expect from these horses in not natural. Horses need help to stay quiet enough to perform their job and sometimes its kinder to them to give them some help with that”. I say that this is an unmitigated load of horse manure. I make my living in the horse world training juniors and amateurs. It is my responsibility to teach my students how to ride. To do this, I must: a. Be straightforward and honest about their strengths and weaknesses b. Help them to develop a goal and a plan to reach that goal c. Be willing to say no even if it means losing the customer d. Choose appropriate horses e. Create a realistic competition plan My students must be willing to understand that a horse is a living, breathing creature – not a piece of sports equipment. Clients must understand that success in our sport takes time, dedication and grit. I have helped people with horses that came from barns where the horse was chemically “helped” both for lessons and competitions. I have found that the horses have to go through a detox period and the riders have to actually learn to ride. It is not a pleasant process. The owner/rider needs to accept either their culpability or their gullibility. Again, not a fun moment for any concerned. 1. I must commit to educating myself to the highest level, being honest about my strengths and weaknesses and be willing to stretch and grow on a professional level. As a professional, I should understand when to pass a student either down or up to a different professional who can help that person. Doing that can be hard. We are all struggling to make ends meet and turning a client away can be so difficult. 2. As a judge, I must be willing to accept a certain amount of expression from a horse. Many, many people blame judges for the problems of the hunter sport. I am 50/50 on this topic. There is a huge difference between these two situations: The horse who jumps a beautiful jump, lands and shows expression on the other side. For me, expression could be between a head shake and a mini dolphin moment. The horse is exhibiting joy in the sheer physicality of what he has done. The horse whose rider misses the distance causing the horse to jump from an awkward distance. This horse lands, scoots, bucks or wrings its tail in displeasure from the awkwardness of its physical effort. For me, the first situation should not be penalized and the second should. Of course, there are other factors at work – the type of class, the weather and so on. I believe that many licensed officials absolutely do the right thing in these situations. Judges are at the mercy of the trainers and exhibitors. There are some trainers that ask for a judge not to be re-hired. I can think of an instance where I was not re-hired because of trainer pressure. Perhaps I am not a good judge. If so, I would appreciate the chance to work on professional development. On the other hand, if I was not re-hired due to political pressure, that sits squarely on the shoulders of my fellow trainers. As a sport, we may have taken out our gun and blown off some of our toes. 3. Stewards as a whole are a good group of people who are often placed in an awkward position. They are supposed to be there for the welfare of the horse and to be the go between for exhibitors and management. They count on competition management to hire them. If they anger either trainers or management they may not be re-hired. There are moments that we, as trainers or managers put them in an untenable position. And there are times that they are afraid to speak their mind because they are frightened that their sport federation will not back them up. And then what do we hear? The sounds of silence. Their silence is not fair to our horses. Murray has promised all of us a transparent and equitable USEF. But neither Murray nor USEF can do this on their own – we have to do our part. This is OUR sport and it is up to all of us to make good choices, to remember why we started to ride and to be honest with ourselves and our customers. Can we do this? I believe the answer is yes and the time is now. Next year when I sit in the Lexington airport, I want to be able to hold my head high and feel proud of my sport. Will you join with me? Please send your thoughts to the Sport Integrity mailbox: www.sportintegrity@ushja.org or you may contact me directly at mbabick13@gmail.com. I look forward to being part of a change for the positive. 
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December 21, 2020
Robert Ridlands's December Update Dear Friends,
What a year this has been. Just when we got a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel regarding COVID, another major bombshell hits the equestrian world. The announcement that the Del Mar Horsepark will be shutting down all horse-related activities in March was certainly unwelcome news that took most of us by surprise. However, it wasn't totally unpredictable, and could be a harbinger of things to come...unless we take some substantial action as a horse community. If this isn't a red flag as to where we're possibly headed, I don't know what is! Let's look at the facts. Unlike many sports where the equipment is minimal and competition venues are plentiful, the equestrian sport is expensive both for the participant and the organizer. Most riders, trainers and owners are acutely aware of the costs of participation, but very few have any idea of the investment required to put on the events that keep the industry alive. Having an inside perspective to the finances of a show management company, I can personally attest to the immense costs of producing the competitions that we all rely on. Unfortunately, those numbers pale in comparison to the red ink that is typically associated with many of the actual facilities that host the events. Just for starters, a lot of acreage is required for a major horse show facility...That's land needed for competition arenas, warm-up rings, stalls, storage areas, offices, vendor areas and parking (both for cars and horse trailers). Then of course, the weather has to be suitable for the horses (and people), which means that the seasonal nature of the revenue stream lends itself to a challenging business plan at best! Not to mention that if horse shows are to continue being held where people are, as opposed to where they aren't, a location of that size was probably pretty valuable when it was purchased in the first place. Finally, there is our collective responsibility for enhanced environmental compliance, which gets back to what was mentioned at the outset...that what happened last week was, in many ways, predictable. As everybody knows, Blenheim EquiSports held hundreds of events at the Del Mar Horsepark over the past couple decades, and the loss of that facility to our sport is gut wrenching for us all. What many people are probably unaware of however, is that horse show facilities now fall under the CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) governmental regulations that mandate an extensive infrastructure investment. It was in fact, a consequence of the impending CAFO restrictions that forced Blenheim to relocate several of our shows from Del Mar to San Juan Capistrano this summer. This brings me to my last point...The loss of Del Mar Horsepark unfortunately may only be the beginning. As many of you are aware, we have been involved in the design process for CAFO-compliant infrastructure improvements to the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park for some time now. The architectural renderings which many of you have already seen (particularly if you've walked by Hillary's tack room at the shows) reflect what our "dream" facility could look like if we all pitch in and help out. The point is that while we need to do all we can to save Del Mar Horsepark, that is only one piece of the puzzle if we are serious about preserving our sport on the West Coast. At the same time while we navigate these uncharted waters, we can demonstrate our sport's commitment to leaving a positive environmental imprint on the land we are so fortunate to use. On the "good news" front, our Spring Prize List is now available online, detailing all that we have in store at Blenheim for the upcoming year, including the new Interactive Mortgage "Ticket to Ride" Adult Jumper program, as well as the 1.50m grand prix series that was announced in my last newsletter. More importantly though, as we approach the holiday season, stay safe and... Happy Holidays to all! --Robert Robert Ridland President, Blenheim EquiSports Robert Ridland's December Update & 2021 Blenheim Spring Prize List |
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