USHJA Town Halls offer a chance to be heard on key issues

by Nancy Jaffer | Mar 26, 2024

The loss of boutique shows, the “crazy expensive” cost of showing, reporting horse abuse, and of course, social license to operate were among the topics at the most recent Town Hall in a series offered by the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association. The Zoom format enables members to air their concerns—and in some cases, suggest possible solutions.

Held monthly, the Town Halls don’t necessarily generate answers, but they can be a first step toward getting them.

Audrey Petschek, a realtor who lives in New England, stated during the Monday forum that the big box shows have bought out many dates. The one- and two-week shows that remain in her area “are really suffering,” she contended.

“People set up shop at HITS (Saugerties, N.Y.), for example, and just stay.”

HITS in Saugerties, N.Y., has undergone massive renovations that make it even more of a destination for competitors. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)

On the other hand, moving from show to show is expensive, she pointed out, noting “even setting up a tack room display takes time and money. It all adds up fast and trainers are looking for the easiest way and the most cost-efficient way to show and do business.”

Creative thinking can help devise solutions to issues like these and other perennial problems.

In an interview on Tuesday about the Town Halls and their mission, USHJA President Mary Knowlton noted, “From USHJA’s perspective, we are always trying to foster interest in and breathe some life into some of these smaller shows.”

An example she gave involved the North Carolina Hunter Jumper Association, which runs one show a year and found itself facing two U.S. Equestrian Federation mileage exemptions that enabled shows to run against NCHJA in 2023.

“They were terrified because this is their one show. They use it to fund their scholarship program for their riders and their big banquet. Some of the bigger shows sort of horned in.”

Mary got a panic call from NCHJA, asking “What do we do?”

She replied, “You get really busy talking to your people who have shown with you for years and make it really clear to them that supporting you is necessary if they want to see you continue.”

It worked.

“They did that and actually had a good, strong year,” she reported.

The rise of the fancier shows tends to leave people with high – if unrealistic—expectations for their own competition experiences.

As Mary noted, “People have to be willing to have a more generous standard toward these one-time shows.”

The World Equestrian Center in Ocala, which hosted the FEI Longines League of Champions last weekend, brought in riders from Europe and South America for a stellar competition with a 5-star hotel as a backdrop. The venue has set a remarkable standard, and the question is, how do other shows keep up with something on the order of a WEC?

“The answer is, they can’t, really,” said Mary.

The atmosphere of the World Equestrian Center Ocala isn’t replicated elsewhere. (Photo © 2024 by Nancy Jaffer)

(Riders at the elite Winter Equestrian Festival have even complained about conditions at Wellington International three hours south of Ocala, as they compared the facility where they are riding with WEC.)

Mary acknowledged that while rising costs are an industry-wide concern, questions about such matters are the province of management rather than USHJA itself. But she advised that Glenn Petty, who heads USHJA’s Competition Management Committee, could handle queries about management practices. He can be reached at glenn@trianglefarms.com.

The Town Hall format allows people to get their voices and issues heard.

“Most people feel unheard,” said Mary. She permits participants to write in questions during the Town Hall as “anonymous attendee,” which enables “real feedback” from those who are hesitant to put themselves out there by name.

“We get a chance to hear a lot of ideas and then test those ideas a little bit and then come back and refine them through that lens, which is super helpful.”

At the same time, she mentioned, “It’s a way for us to disseminate information. One of the comments that comes back is, `I feel better-educated after being on the Town Hall.’ That’s huge.”

She added, “I very much appreciate hearing people’s point of view.”

USHJA President Mary Knowlton

This month’s Town Hall had 124 participants at one point.

“So many people’s opinions are pouring into this hopper. People like DiAnn Langer, who heads the Commission on Equine Welfare, are listening.  (The commission will make a report to the USHJA board in May.)

“They’re getting to understand how people think, and how could we mold a solution?”

On the subject of horse abuse, amateur rider Tamara Doloff of Maryland, who has experience as a horse show mother, expressed concern about a proposed U.S. Equestrian Federation horse welfare rule, “brought on by the social license to operate issue.”

The rule would enable the organization to discipline those involved in horse abuse incidents, even if they happened elsewhere than at a sanctioned show. The USEF board will vote on the rule in June.

“I’m concerned about USEF’s ability to take action against someone outside their purview,” she said. Issues Tamara mentioned are how to define abuse, if parents or trainers could be held liable for actions of their children and whether an animal rights organization could overwhelm USEF with complaints.

She also asked, “If someone is caught on camera in the presence of another person abusing a horse and they don’t report it, is the observer now subject to sanctioning?”

Steward Cricket Stone noted there are many things going on at shows that are “not doing the sport any good.” They include the presence of boxes for sharps that are overflowing with needles by the end of the week, longeing done so improperly that horses are injured and cantering horses in the warm-up rings until they are huffing and puffing.

Debbie Bass, a member of the USEF hearing committee, said she thinks expanding the jurisdiction of USEF involving horse abuse is “the most empowering rule change” for owners and riders, enabling them “to have a further say about what they see in the care of their horses.”

She added, “It not only empowers, but also obligates them to speak up if they see horse abuse.”

Being obliged to report takes the onus off an owner who sees something that’s unusual or abusive and maybe historically they would not have responded because “it’s just too hard’ and “it’s my trainer.

“But if you’re in fact obligated to report…it puts it in a whole other power dynamic. It gives cover to the witness of `an injustice to the horse,’ ” Debbie mentioned.

“It gives them more eyes on the problem, it gives them more advocates. It does include things like over-showing a horse, which we’ve all witnessed. With this rule change. I would be empowered to say something because, oh my gosh, I have to say something. It is cover to come out from behind the curtain and adjust the power struggle in favor of the horse.”

She noted that USEF does due diligence and “the hearing committee doesn’t see anything unless it’s been pre-vetted.”

As well as dealing with big-picture items, people have a chance to bring localized concerns to the Town Hall. That’s what Betsy Checchia from Zone 8 did, with an issue about the contiguous zone rule enabling riders to show outside their home zone to accumulate points for a zone award. She noted that in her zone of Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona, the first two states no longer have rated shows, and attendance at shows elsewhere in the zone is dwindling, as people show in the contiguous zone states of California and Texas. She mentioned as a possible solution the idea of only counting points earned at shows in a zone, as opposed to those awarded in contiguous states.

What side of the issue people are on, however, depends on where in the country they’re located. For instance, Allison Fisher of Maryland in Zone 3 likes showing in Pennsylvania, which is Zone 2, because it is closer to her home than some other locations in her zone.

Zone 6 also has a wrinkle because Wisconsin does not have rated shows, so people go to Illinois in Zone 5 to compete.

In 2025, USHJA will be responsible for handling zone points, and one suggestion was to award double points for ribbons earned in a rider’s home zone to encourage showing there, rather than in a contiguous state. Zones can come up with their own criteria for how points will work.