Bill Moroney’s surprise announcement last month that he would be stepping down at the end of the year from his leadership position at the U.S. Equestrian Federation prompted a lot of questions. But first and foremost, people were wondering, what was the reason he planned to leave after more than a decade on the job? And why at the end of 2026, rather than waiting until after the high point of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics?
The retirement decision offered an opportunity to look at Bill’s tenure from his perspective, while examining his views as perhaps the ultimate insider on the major issues involving USEF and the equestrian industry.
We had a lengthy discussion with Bill, which will be presented on this site in two sections; today and likely Wednesday or Thursday (depending on what happens in the news cycle). In Part Two, we will deal with observations centered on ever-rising costs, the base of the sport and horse and human welfare/safety in the era of social license to operate.
Speculation about the motives behind the CEO’s announcement was rampant on social media, where Bill and USEF are favorite targets of those who take issue with the way they operate. Though Bill doesn’t have his own social media account, he is well aware of what people are saying because it is brought to his attention by staffers. He know it comes with the territory.
“For every business, whether you’re Amazon, equestrian sport or a dental practice, there’s always going to be clients who don’t like or agree with what you do,” he pointed out.
“Social media has provided them with an instant platform,” Bill continued, suggesting it “makes people feel it’s stronger than it is. One of the disappointing sides of social media is that it’s blasted out to the universe, so people have the tendency to assume what they see is automatically the truth and a lot of times, the truth is sitting right there. Yet the people making a post aren’t availing themselves of it. Facts get in the way of grinding the axe.”
He knows there’s little that can be done about what pops up in online postings.
“We have a job to do and part of that job is understanding that you’re going to get personally attacked. Is it disappointing? Yes. Is it taking over my soul? Absolutely not.
“I just think that when you’re in leadership roles at all different levels, there will be happy people, there will be unhappy people and there will be a group that is gigantic between those two expressive ends of the spectrum that just want to enjoy the product or enjoy the service, or in our case, enjoy their horse.”
While doing that, he said, USEF gives them “a place they can go where they know an organization is creating a framework of the sport, trying their best to keep it safe and fair and enjoyable.”
I have known Bill since his days as a trainer, even before he and several other key players stepped up to propose the organization that gave the hunter/jumper industry its voice as the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association. The initiative was crucial for the disciplines’ independence, rather than having the federation’s board continue deciding their issues, as was done in the days of the American Horse Shows Association, a USEF forerunner.
Bill Moroney in the early days of his presidency at USHJA.
Bill became the first president of USHJA, but by the time he was 56 years old, he was thinking about a different, more relaxed lifestyle when he was ready to step down after serving nearly three terms. Waiting for his change of pace was a brand new kayak, still in its original plastic wrap, hanging on the wall of his garage.
But then Bill was asked to be the USEF’s CEO on an interim basis at the beginning of 2016, and the post became permanent months later. A few years ago, he gave away the kayak in its original plastic.
When I asked what will be next for him after leaving USEF, he told me, “I look forward to waking up on January 1 and going, `Wow, I don’t have a schedule today,’ and just taking a little time and seeing where my interests are.”
Being a horse trainer and administrator is so demanding that “it doesn’t always leave exploration time into other pursuits. That’s what I’m really looking forward to, what catches my attention and where do I want to put my remaining years.”
As he mulled leaving USEF, he thought, “I’m 66. If I’m lucky, I’ll have 20 more highly functioning years, so I want them to be my years, to do whatever it is I want to do.”
In terms of USEF’s timeline he said, “I’ve always felt 10 years is just sort of right. This organization has a strategic plan it goes over and redoes every four years. To maintain some level of continuity, the president and CEO, while we have very different jobs on a day-to-day basis, our goals are the same; to successfully implement our strategic plan.”
The term of USEF President Tom O’Mara doesn’t expire until 2028, after the Olympics.
“To have two people walk out at the same time and have a new strategic plan coming in and no continuity of understanding of it for the next group of people isn’t the best game plan for the sport or the federation,” Bill pointed out, saying that means the end of 2026 “is the last moment in reality” when he can leave.
“We have a strong team of people on the sport side, a good strong staff here. Nobody will be here forever. I’m big on succession planning at all levels and cross-training of people and through staff development, elevating people and giving them opportunities to prove themselves. Now is exactly the right time to give the next person time to get up to speed, so when we get to 2028, they’re fully integrated and it’s seamless and we’re not losing any ground.”
Bill with Susie Schoellkopf.
There are a lot of concerns about the base of the sport, its health and whether USEF has devoted sufficient thought and resources to it, in the context of what it does for the upper end.
In addition to responsibility for international discipline associations, USEF also deals with more than a dozen national affiliates, as disparate as the American Morgan Horse Association, the Paso Fino Horse Association and the Western Dressage Association of America.
Addressing the variety that is on the federation’s roster, Bill maintains “USEF has created a lot of opportunities for people at all different levels, especially the base. I think we haven’t always done the greatest job of promoting ourselves with what we do.”
As a result, Natalie Voss was brought on as director of communications to give USEF “more of a voice,” to get more stories out there. One of the hardest things is that we can’t make people read, or even watch something. There’s a balance of doing what we’re supposed to be doing and then the amount of resources we can put toward telling people what we’re doing.”
Not everyone feels they are being heard by the USEF. To those who say that, Bill asks, “Are you getting involved with your affiliate?”
“No, I don’t have any time for that,” is too often the response.
But he recalled, “There are so many of us who have gone through that process. Maybe something irritated us. I remember writing rules and going, as not a committee member, to conventions and standing up in open rules forums and saying why I thought the rule was needed.
“So I decided to get involved in governance. You make that extra time to educate yourself.”
The conversation will continue in Part Two.
