Christine Traurig, the U.S. dressage chef d’equipe who also is the national young horse and developing horse coach, made a statement of her values in the context of the scandal involving trainer Cesar Parra and allegations of horse abuse.
She says she stands “unwaveringly behind the classical values and principals of training and competing in our sport with the welfare of our horses at the top of our priorities unconditionally.
“Over the past decades, our country has earned the reputation of world class fine riding and horsemanship. We, our federation and its members, all of us, have to do everything in our power to uphold that standard which made us one of the leading nations in the sport of dressage. We must continue leading by example.”
Citing the “wave of emotions” triggered by the abuse allegations, she said that “set into motion actions taken by our federation and the FEI to immediately temporarily suspend the trainer from competition and allow an investigation to take place, but just as importantly pushed forward the need to change and amend rules…to protect our equine partners from abuse in the home environment and outside of competition arenas and venues. I am hopeful that this is a step forward to having SafeSport for horses.”
She added, “Abuse of horses in pursuit of results in competition arenas and for marketing purposes cannot be tolerated. Those who engage in abusive training methods do not deserve to be a member of our community and our sport, period.”
She also cited her “commitment to take part in preserving the beauty dressage stands for in the harmony and partnership between a horse and a rider.”