The high-profile Longines Global Champions Tour is coming to Liberty State Park in Jersey City, bringing top level show jumpers from around the world to a new venue for the series.
They’re calling the Sept. 19-21 competition the Longines Global Champions Tour & GCL (Global Champions League) of New York, naturally — because New Jersey too often gets no respect. But the closest the show jumpers will get to New York is looking at the impressive view, which includes the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan.
The tour’s previous location in the area was Governors Island, which involved a lot of maneuvering. The only access to the venue was by boats and ferries, which was a logistical nightmare.
Ben Maher competing on the Global Champions Tour when it was at Governors Island.
The tour last landed there in 2022, but GCT “always wanted to go back to New York. It’s a key city,” said the tour’s public relations manager, Floss Bish-Jones.
She explained that the tour, which has stops in London, Europe and the Middle East, is designed to offer people in the cities a chance to attend a sport they normally wouldn’t have a chance to see, and features dramatic backdrops for the competition.
The park hosted the Veuve Cliquot Polo Classic and is in horse-friendly surroundings, an important element because of the tour’s concern for horse welfare, said Floss.
Polo at Liberty State Park.
This will be the tour’s only location in the U.S. this year, since its Miami Beach leg had to be cancelled because it clashed with next month’s FEI World Cup Finals in Switzerland.
Tickets will be available in April, and announcements of events around the competition will be forthcoming in the effort to involve people in the region.
An arduous new requirement that managers of all equestrian competitions in the country would have to register with and report to the U.S. Department of Agriculture will not go into effect during 2025 show season.
The requirement was part of a proposed amendment to the act, which originally was designed to stop the practice of soring in Tennessee Walking Horses and breeds that were abused similarly. USDA and its Horse Protection team will continue to work on what’s next,including additional postponement, and will continue to seek stakeholder input.
Click here to read a story that explains the background of the process to amend the act.
In order to ensure that U.S. show jumpers can clear financial barriers that would prevent them from representing their country in international competition, the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation is launching the Performance Pathway Grant Program.
The program is designed to provide critical financial support to jumping athletes who have earned the opportunity to compete as part of U.S. teams or participate in specific high performance programs.
As the USET Foundation announcement pointed out, “From elite international championships to key developmental opportunities, the costs associated with representing the U.S. — including athlete travel, horse transport, coaching, and training — can be significant. This program helps bridge that gap by offsetting the cost of participation, ultimately ensuring that deserving athletes can focus on their performance rather than expenses.”
“The program will have a meaningful impact on the next generation of U.S. jumping athletes,” said USET Foundation Executive Director Bonnie Jenkins.
“The Performance Pathway Grant Program will enable riders to focus on their training and competition without the added burden of financial constraints. We are excited to support many more high-achieving and talented young athletes as they strive to successfully represent the U.S. on the greatest world stages.”
USET Foundation President and CEO Kristi Mitchem explained, “The goal of this new program is to pave the way for up-and-coming, talented athletes to pursue their dreams by minimizing financial barriers that too often stand in the way. It is our hope that this program will assist in fostering excellence and access in high performance jumping, ultimately bolstering the future of U.S. equestrian sport.”
This need-based grant program has been made possible thanks to Jennifer Gates Nassar, Nayel Nassar, and their team at Evergate Stables.
To qualify for the USET Foundation Performance Pathway Grant Program, applicants must be a U.S. citizen and a U.S. Equestrian Federation member in good standing, have been invited to or named to participate in a select USEF High Performance Jumping program or team, demonstrate financial need, and compete in one of the following FEI categories: Children (Ages 12-14), Juniors ( Ages 14-16), Young Riders (Ages 16-21) or Under 25, (Ages 16-25).
The USET Foundation is the fund-raising partner of USEF. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis by the USET Foundation Performance Pathway Grant Committee, consisting of USET Foundation trustees and National Advisory Committee members knowledgeable about high performance sports and the associated costs of competing, individuals well-versed in financial aid and USEF sport leaders serving as advisors. For more information about the USET Foundation Performance Pathway Grant Program or to apply, click this link
Being the first to go in a nine-horse jump-off at a $350,000 grand prix is hardly an ideal starting position, but Christian Kukuk of Germany made it pay off Thursday night at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fla.
“It’s always quite difficult,” he reflected, but in the Lugano-sponsored fixture, he set a catch-me-if-you can pace of 40.61 seconds with Just Be Gentle that couldn’t be improved, even by Ireland’s intrepid Cian O’Connor, a mere 0.2 seconds behind with Iron Man. Swedish world number one Henrik von Eckermann, for his part, did no better than fifth place in 42.22 seconds with the plucky King Edward.
Although Christian, the 2024 Olympic individual gold medalist, wasn’t on his Games mount, Checker, he showed he has an equally talented number two with the sensitive mare, Just Be Gentle.
The course set by Alan Wade – who is also doing the route for Saturday’s featured Longines League of Nations — drew a stellar field of 37 with big names aplenty.
Christian believes there is more to come with his intrepid mount.
“We know each other now for quite a time but she is still only 11,” said Christian of the Dutch-bred beauty by Tyson. He had success with her at Ocala earlier in the season. Yet he found it was a different story when he traveled down to the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington for a 5-star grand prix under the lights.
“I realized okay, we were not that ready, so I had to go a step back,” he recounted about the good horseman’s strategy he employed to get her on track again.
Christian rode her in two other shows in Wellington and knew he was prepared for another big test at night in Ocala, which earned him the victor’s share, $115,000. Of his mare, he stated, “The more you ask of her, the more ability she gets.”
Cian also demonstrated the same sort of horseman’s strategy with Iron Man, who he got at the end of last summer.
“It took a while for the partnership to develop,” he said of the12-year-old Zangersheide grey by Charisma Z.
“He goes differently to some of my other horses,” Cian stated, adding he had to adjust his style to what Iron Man preferred.
“At the start, we were okay in small classes; over the last couple of weeks, he’s really clicked in. I just felt he was coming up nicely. I was so pleased. This is the first time I’ve gone a little bit more against the clock with him.”
Cian put it in perspective by noting, “Christian is obviously who he is, a champion, his horse is fantastic and very quick.”
At the same time, the pillar of the Irish team noted, “I was happy with my round. I looked up at the clock and saw it was point-2 (0.02 seconds behind) but quickly I realized it was still a pretty good result.”
These top riders have to look toward challenges from the 25 and under set. France’s Nina Mallavaey, 25, who rides Nikka vd Bisschop, finished third in a very respectable 41.14 seconds on the 12-year-old mare by top show jumper Emerald. Nikka previously was ridden by Erynn Ballard of Canada in the Olympics.
And the best American was Mimi Gochman, a mere 20 years old, who really went for it on Inclen BH and was rewarded with a fourth-place finish in 41.20 seconds.
Laura Kraut and Hunter Holloway, the only other U.S. riders to make the jump-off, each had a rail down to finish seventh and ninth respectively.
Kent Farrington, the number two ranked rider who has been on a hot streak recently, toppled a pole with Myla in the first round, and McLain Ward, world number seven, tipped two rails with his longtime partner, the 17-year-old Callas.
When McLain Ward was making his entrance into the arena for the second round of the Longines League of Nations Saturday night, the crowd welcomed him with a booming roar of appreciation. But they might as well have been silent; McLain didn’t hear them.
The anchor rider for the U.S. team was tasked with having to produce a clear round on the plucky Ilex, a Dutchbred gelding who likes to buck after the first jump. (Mclain attributes that to a bit of competition nerves.)
Nothing but perfection would do, since the German squad was a mere one penalty behind the Americans at that point. If McLain had a single time fault; there would be a jump-off. Should he topple a rail, Germany would be on the podium. So the noise didn’t register.
“In the moment of competition, you try to block it out and honestly, if I’m focused, I don’t hear much of anything,” he explained about his reaction to the clamor from the stands at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fla.
But after turning in the clean round that brought victory to the U.S., he then welcomed the recognition from fans for what he had done as he raised his right arm in triumph.
“You appreciate the crowds and support and you try your best not to disappoint and give them an inspirational performance. It’s always nice to jump a clear, it went right down to the wire, it was great sport,” he said.
It was a friendly rivalry. McLain and his family vacation with Sophie and her boyfriend, Richie Vogel, who was also on the German team but had 16 faults in the first round and didn’t ride the second round.
Mclain was out for a month this season with a back injury following a fall, and Ilex then had a “hiccup” that kept him out of the ring for a week, so it was nice to see them both back in such good form. Now that he’s back in action, McLain will be debuting his newest ride, Imperial HBF, in national classes to get acquainted before moving him up to international classes. The horse previously was ridden by British team member Tim Gredley.
The League format includes 10 squads of four, but only the top eight countries come back for another go over the same course, in this case, a route designed by Alan Wade and his team. While in the first round each country has a drop score, that’s not the case in the second round, where only three riders are allowed to come back for each nation and every score counts.
“I love the format the League of Nations has, specifically for the excitement,” said U.S. coach Robert Ridland.
“Of course, it’s always nice to be on the right end of the excitement. But how things can so change in that second round! We had a veteran team here, these are horses that have done it before. There was a reason why that we picked the team here, it’s our home Nations’ Cup (actually League of Nations is different from Nations Cup) and we had some incredible competition that we had to beat.”
Team member Aaron Vale, who is from the Ocala area and a WEC regular, said, “it’s really special when you get an opportunity to jump against the world’s best in your backyard.” He had a rail in the first round with Carissimo, which was the U.S. drop score, and he did not ride in the second round.
Laura Kraut was aboard her 2023 Pan American Games team gold medal mount, Dorado 212, an Oldenburg who was out for a year with an injury.
“So I’m extra proud of him for the performance he put in tonight. His first round was impeccable and the second round I was really worried about my time, because I was only 0.25 under (the time allowed),” she said.
“I thought the place to make it up was to the wall and clearly that was a bad idea,” she said with a smile, referring to knocking off a block there for a 4-fault penalty.
She apologized for putting extra pressure on McLain, who was clearly capable of handling it.
There were only four double-clears in the class; McLain and Lillie Keenan with Argan de Beliard for the U.S. along with Sophie and another German, Olympic individual gold medalist Christian Kukuk (the winner of Thursday’s grand prix) on Please Be Gentle.
“Luckily, I did that both rounds today. To be able to ride a horse that is so reliable is such a gift, especially when you have to jump two rounds and there’s obviously immense pressure, which is what he grows from.”
Without a major championship in 2025, the “quiet” year of the Olympic cycle, Robert said the U.S. will have a lot of team events “so that we can bring in some of the younger riders and give opportunity. We’re going to continue to try to get riders riding with the veterans and learning the ropes, so when we get back into the championships swing of things next year, we’ll have more depth.”
With two legs of the four League qualifiers to go, in Rotterdam and St. Tropez, the U.S. stands fourth with 140 points in the race to qualify for the finals in Barcelona this fall, the year’s biggest goal. Germany and Ireland are tied for the lead on 170 points, and France is third with 150.
Becky Hart, who was a great force in international endurance competition, died last month at the age of 71.
After Pony Club and competing in horse shows, Becky graduated from the Potomac, Md., Horse Center’s horsemastership course in 1972. But where she hit her stride was after she became interested in endurance riding during the mid-1970s.
The Californian was the only three-time world champion endurance rider, performing the hat trick of titles in 1988, 1990 and 1992. Understandably, the 1990 American Horse Shows Association Equestrian of the Year is most closely identified with her mount for those victories, R.O. Grand Sultan, better known as Rio. Both Becky and Rio are in the American Endurance Ride Conference Hall of Fame.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation, the AHSA’s successor, annually presents the Becky Grand Hart Trophy to the outstanding competitor in international driving, endurance, reining, vaulting or para-equestrian.
Becky got Rio for free, and he proved to be worth far more than what he (didn’t) cost. Eighty miles from the end of a 100-mile ride, he’d turn on the afterburners. It was amazing.
Rio won his last race at 21 and had 10,305 miles in competition, making him a high-mileage horse. He was an AERC decade horse: competed for at least 10 years, had 10 wins, 10,000 miles and 10 best condition awards.
Becky Hart and Rio. (Bob Langrish photo)
For her part, Becky went on to serve as the U.S. chef d’equipe for her discipline. But the multidimensional horsewoman also was a certified Centered Riding instructor and shared her expertise teaching riding and horsemanship to all levels, from beginners to advanced equestrians.
Helix, who has been Adrienne Lyle’s partner for little more than a year, worked with her in impressive harmony to earn a personal best during Friday night’s 5-star Grand Prix Freestyle to turn in a score of 80.6 percent at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Fla. The 13-year-old KWPN gelding also won the Grand Prix on Thursday.
One of Adrienne’s musical selections was “Freedom–you gotta give for what you take,” and that seemed to fit perfectly as the rider skillfully asked and received in sync with her mount owned by Zen Elite Equestrian. Her test’s degree of difficulty received marks of 9 plus from all five judges.
She closed her performance dramatically on the son of Apache with a piaffe pirouette on centerline, one of the key elements in a test that flowed.
Another double winner was Adrienne’s 2024 Paris Games teammate, Marcus Orlob, victorious in both the 3-star Grand Prix Special Saturday and the Grand Prix for Special Thursday. In the Special itself, Marcus was marked at 72.043 percent on Alice Tarjan’s Jane, as the only rider to break 70 percent in the class. The USA’s Anna Marek and Fire Fly were second with 68.085 percent while Jemma Heran of Australia finished third with 67.957 percent on Total Recall.
As Adrienne reflected on her ride, she said, “It felt easy, which is exactly what I was hoping for.”
She used the class as a prep for next month’s FEI World Cup Final in Switzerland.
“Not only is this a five-star and a fabulous competition, but I wanted one more chance to get in an environment like this before we head to the World Cup,” she explained.
“My main goal was to have a quiet, harmonious ride, and he felt like he did the whole thing effortlessly — didn’t even break a sweat — and walked calmly back to his stall.”
While her mentor, Debbie McDonald, stays home in Idaho, Adrienne works with her remotely but also gets help from several trainers in Florida, including Katie Duerrhammer, Ali Brock, and Christine Traurig, the U.S. chef d’equipe.
William Warren, one of the judges, was impressed by the quiet riding he witnessed.
“Sitting at C for the only 5-star competition in the Western Hemisphere was exciting, but also nerve-wracking,” he said.
“Adrienne achieved harmony and I appreciated that. I don’t like a lot of visible acrobatics, and all the riders did such a fantastic job. The rapport with each of these riders and their horses was outstanding.”
Second place went to Ecuador’s Julio Mendoz Loor on Jewel’s Goldstrike. The Pan American Games gold medalist had a costly mistake in the left canter pirouette that kept him from hitting 80 percent, finishing on 78.520 percent.
“If I have to lose against somebody, I’m happy to lose to Adrienne,” said Julio, who was masterful riding a mount that cost him $20 as a fiery eight-year-old. The key to success with the horse involves letting him enjoy life in a field around the clock
“This was our second show after the Olympics and it was very exciting,” the North Carolina-based rider continued.
“I’m so grateful to be competing in the 5-star with mega riders and horses.”
Anna Marek of the U.S.was right behind in third on 77.135 percent aboard Fayvel. She leads the standings for the new U.S. Open of Dressage, which will have a finals in California this December. Global is hosting seven of the 23 qualifiers. Anna has 88 points, with Germans Evelyn Eger on 76 points and Felicitas Hendricks (64 points) in second and third.
The 5-star offers $150,000 in prize money, more than any other show in America.
In the 3-star, Marcus’ only problem involved a less-than-perfect transition into canter from passage, but the rest of the test fulfilled his ambition of putting relaxation and flow as the focus of his test with the high-strung mare.
“Today she felt a touch more relaxed than in the Grand Prix and I was really happy because she was breathing, so I could soften my hands,” said Marcus.
“This was a good confidence-building round for her. I didn’t put any pressure on her; I just let her do the job and tried to keep the relaxation as the priority,” he said.
Now all he needs is more time for her to settle in and be more comfortable when there is atmosphere in an arena.
Toward that end, he will expose her to different venues in coming weeks, including the hunter/jumper atmosphere at the busy Winter Equestrian Festival’s Wellington International showgrounds down the road from Global. He also plans to ride at the White Fences dressage enclave in nearby Loxahatchee.
A native of Germany, Marcus is a naturalized American citizen who is based both in Florida and New Jersey.
The 2024 eventing Olympian, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a cross-country fall last August, “steadfastly keeps facing forward, even when the going is hard and frustrating,” reported her mother, Debby, who has been by her side during rehab, along with a host of family and friends..
“She is unfailingly kind and gracious to all the staff who interact with her. Everyone knows her and loves her beautiful smile. I am very proud of how Liz is handling an extremely difficult situation. Her progress has been on a steady upward track, and she keeps improving every day,” Debby said in a report of Liz’s progress from the U.S. Eventing Association.
Six months after the rider and the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Shanroe Cooley had their accident at the American Eventing Championships in Lexington, Ky., “She’s back to being Liz,” Chris Desino of Ocala Horse Properties said.
Liz Halliday has always been upbeat, a trait that serves her well in rehab.
He and his brother, Rob Desino, have always been very active and involved owners in Halliday’s program, but their relationship is more than just a professional one. Those strong bonds have been a crucial part of her recovery process. Others supporting Liz incude her boyfriend, Mark William and the Ocala Horse Properties team,
“The support Liz and I have received and continue to receive from Liz’s wonderful group of friends has made a huge difference to both of us,” said Debby. “We will be forever grateful for their kindness and dedication. They have been beside us from the beginning and continue to show up.”
With Liz, 46, focusing on her rehab, her horses are receiving top-notch care at various facilities around the country, including her long-time five-star partner, Deniro Z, the 17-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding who is enjoying his retirement at her winter farm in Ocala, Florida.
“I showed Liz a video where Rob recently decided he was going to start hacking Deniro around the farm, and she got the biggest thrill out of seeing Deniro carting one of us around,” said Chris with a laugh.
“She is very trusting that we are doing the right thing by the horses so that she can be solely focused on her recovery now. The same way that she was so laser-focused on her training, she is just that focused on her therapies.”
Chris noted that even when her room is full of visitors, the minute a therapist steps into the room, Liz is at attention, ready to tackle whatever challenge lies ahead of her next in true form.
“Liz has always been known for her grit, determination, and powerful work ethic,” explained Debby. “Those qualities are being tested as never before. She has shown a stoic tenacity that has served her well in the extraordinary effort required for recovery.
It’s that same energy and dedication that Liz channeled into her 2024 eventing season prior to her accident that helped her earn the title of the 2024 Bates USEA Lady Rider of the Year based on her impressive competition results for the second year in a row.
“She was really blown away with winning both the Lady Rider of the Year and the (USEF)International Equestrian of the Year, which is decided upon by a majority vote,” Chris said. “I told her, ‘You are one special person.’ I can’t wait for her to be able to pick up all of the magazines and articles and the thousands of text messages and emails she has received for herself and just see the amazing support she has gotten from everybody all over the world.
“Liz is the person that just puts her head down and works really hard,” he continued. “She didn’t ever really pay attention to everything that was going on around her. I think when she has a moment to focus on all of that, she is really going to enjoy seeing it.”
Looking back at where the year started, Chris and Debby shared just how impactful the 2024 season was for Liz and all of her owners and supporters.
“The craziest thing about last year was that it was the first time that we as owners and also Liz as a five-star rider had four horses who could be vying for a possible Olympic spot,” Chris shared.
“In years past, it was always just Deniro, and then it was ‘Monster’ [Cooley Quicksilver], so it was a massive change for us to go to these events and watch four of them go, because you had so many highs, and then the lows, but then the next horse would give you another high.”
At the beginning of the year, the whole team behind Liz sat down with her coaches Erik Duvander and Peter Wylde to discuss each horse and their plan for the year.
“We are very involved, but Liz has always controlled the future. She has great mentors around her that will guide her the right way,” Chris said.
Seeing the culmination of Halliday’s hard work over the past several years as she’s ridden and trained the majority of her horses from young ages to where they are now was nothing short of a thrill for everyone involved, especially after seeing it culminate with Halliday getting a spot on the U.S. Eventing Team at the Paris Olympics.
“Of course the highpoint for all of us was her competing at the Olympics in Paris,” said Debby. “It was a fabulous event in an amazing venue. Paris will surely be remembered as a top Olympics experience for all the equestrians who participated. The crowds were huge and enthusiastic and Liz rode beautifully on the wonderful Cooley Nutcracker. I remain so grateful that she got to have her Olympic experience. It was a goal she first stated at age 12, and so painfully missed in Tokyo 2021.”
“We were thrilled that she was on the team,” Chris observed, “and looking back on everything, we are very fortunate that she was able to compete there.”
Progress has been so great that she’s anticipated to graduate from the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago, considered the number one rehab hospital in the U.S. for stroke, spinal cord injury and brain injury, and make a move to her next rehabilitative facility. There she will continue to focus on her ultimate goal: going home and back to her horses.
“She misses the horses dearly,” said Chris, “but I know all of the support she has received helps her realize how much she is loved.”
As this phase of Liz’s recovery concludes and the next step begins, Debby is still eternally grateful for all of the love and support they have received along the way and continue to receive daily.
“The eventing community’s interest and outpouring of thoughtful messages has been quite overwhelming,” she reflected.
“I was very touched by how many people at all levels reached out to give us their support. Most of the top competitors at the AEC came to see her in the hospital, and we still have the winner’s check (from the Advanced Final) with the message to Liz handwritten on the back. Her room is decorated with cards and posters from riders from every level. We read many of the messages to Liz to let her know her community cares.
“I particularly loved the messages which began with. ‘You won’t remember me, but…,’ followed by a story of a lesson or other interaction some aspiring eventer had with Liz that especially helped or inspired them. It warms my heart to know how many people’s lives she has touched in a very positive way.”
The multi-dimensional Brian Flynn, who excelled as a rider, trainer, instructor, judge, television commentator, horse show manager and announcer, died on Saturday. He was 77.
“He did everything. In our world, he touched all the bases and he hit a home run,” said Jimmy Lee, the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame president and Brian’s longtime friend, recounting how much Brian had done for the sport he loved.
As a rider, Brian was aboard national champions in 1981 and 1984. He ran numerous show, including St. Clement’s, the Pennsylvania National and the Arizona circuit.
Brian Flynn was a star competitor on the hunter circuit.
While Brian was known for his sense of humor, he had his serious side too. The native of New England, the son of top rider Alice Stuart Flynn, was active in governance of his sport since the days of the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s forerunner, the American Horse Shows Association. He, served as chairman of the AHSA’s hunter committee.
“A lot of his ideas are part of his sport right now,” said Jimmy.
“We can’t thank him enough for what he did. He was a very, very special guy.”
He judged more than 1,000 shows across the U.S. and Canada, including some of the most prestigious. Along the way, he created many friendships that he held dear. He also designed courses for and managed hundreds of shows. Closest to his heart were the St. Clements Horse Show, the Children Services Horse Show, the Arizona Circuit, and the Pennsylvania National Horse Show.
Brian received recognition from the sport he loved, with an induction into the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame in 2013 and receiving the New England Equitation Championships’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. In 2019, he was honored with the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy; a daughter, Ashley Flynn Coressel (Paige) and a grandson, Graham.
His family will make arrangements to honor his life privately. Should friends desire, memorials may be made to Danny & Ron’s Rescue, Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center or the ASPCA.
In an order clearing an athlete’s criminal record, a judge in Florida accused the U.S. Center for Safe Sport of acting in bad faith, intentionally and with malice in proceedings involving a female high school water polo player, violating “her constitutional right to due process.”
The saga began when the athlete filed a complaint in 2022 with SafeSport about several teammates, saying they bullied her, distracting the teen from focusing on the sport for which she already had been named to a college team.
But SafeSport flipped the narrative, making her into the defendant rather than the plaintiff in two different cases, with the teammates accusing her of sexual assault. As a result, she was humiliated, marched out of school in handcuffs.
When the Florida States Attorney looked into the matter, however, no cause for action was found, and the case was dropped. As a result, the original complainant sought to have her name expunged from court records.
In granting that request, Seminole County Court Judge John Woodard stated in his decision filed Tuesday that SafeSport “provided an incomplete file, withholding exculpatory information and withholding witness statements potentially favorable to the defendant.”
He noted, “the court, the State, and the defendant operated in good faith, but was repeatedly blocked for over two years. SafeSport repeatedly and knowingly interfered with the investigation.”
SafeSport is a non-profit Center authorized by Congress in 2017 with the goal of ending sexual, physical and emotional abuse involving athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic movement. The Center did not reply to a request for comment on the situation.
The organization has been under duress recently. The judge’s decision comes in the wake of a letter to SafeSport from U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) asking the Center to explain how it hired an investigator who faces criminal charges, including rape and theft. That investigator was not involved in the Florida case.
Steve Silvey, an attorney for Athletes for Equity in Sport –- which seeks reform of inequity in SafeSport policy and procedures – said of SafeSport, “They’ve lost their way.”
He added “to our knowledge, what’s reflected in that order (from the Seminole County judge) is the first public outing of standard practice for SafeSport.”
He said it follows “last year’s ruling by an Olympic arbitration panel suggesting that it was not a question of if SafeSport violates due process, but when a court will find the operation defective.”
There are 76 equestrians on SafeSport’s centralized disciplinary database, with most offenses listed including sexual misconduct.
Discussing the way SafeSport operates, Silvey contended, “On a day-to-day basis, they don’t do anything even remotely close to what their core mission is. If their core mission is protecting amateur athletes from sexual abuse in Olympic sports according to some concept of due process, they’re not doing that.”
He maintained “SafeSport is built upon a defective and unconstitutional foundation.They get away with it because no one is holding the organization accountable, and the organization openly says it is immune and persists in that position.”
The attorney said that of the nearly 6,000 files opened by SafeSport last year, “the overwhelming majority had nothing to do with sexual misconduct in Olympic or amateur sports. The overwhelming majority of cases are exactly what (SafeSport CEO Ju’Riese) Colón speaks to in public: `This is a culture change.’
“No, Silvey continued, “that’s not your job. They’re misguided, spending their limited resources trying to get involved in children wrestling in a locker room or coaches yelling at their charges. And that’s where they’re lost. They’re not even close to protecting abuse victims. At this point, they are an abject failure for everyone; victims, the sporting community, the NGBs (National Governing Bodies) and the USOPC (U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.”
He noted the water polo player “was a victim. She was the one who called SafeSport and said, `My teammates are bullying me, distracting me from focusing on my sport’. They flipped the script and Safe Sport participated in flipping that script and turned (the water polo player) into the respondent, rather than the victim.”
