Stating that “the integrity of our sport is in danger,” U.S. Hunter Jumper Association President Britt McCormick warned during his organization’s online Town Hall Monday that there must be “zero tolerance for people that use illegal medication on horses.”
Britt, who had spoken on the topic during both the USHJA and U.S. Equestrian Federation annual meetings, was responding to a comment during the Town Hall made by Lynn Walsh, former president of the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show in Texas. Her concerns involved the overuse of medications.
The USEF in January passed an addition to the prohibited substances rule that banned from all showgrounds a list of certain injectable substances and those that are potentially deadly. The rule, which went into effect April 1, included formaldehyde and liquid nitrogen, as well as injectable pentobarbital, unless a veterinarian needs it to euthanize a horse. Rectal administration of any substance also is prohibited on the grounds of a licensed show.
Speaking about the medication issue, Britt said, “Those of us as horsemen, we have to stop this. It’s disgusting, there’s no other word for it. I think this is one of those ‘See something, say something’ -type situations. We have to be willing to stand up to our fellow competitors and say ‘Enough is enough.’
“It doesn’t matter who you are. It can be at the lowest level, it can be at the highest level. The integrity of our sport is in danger. The ability of us to compete these animals is in danger,” he pointed out.
With Social License to Operate focusing on the horse industry, the sport is under ever-increasing public scrutiny, elevated by the pervasive presence of social media.
“If we allow even one bad actor out there to use prohibited substances, we could all be in danger of losing our livelihood, losing our industry, losing our sport,” Britt emphasized.
“It’s more than just the USEF coming down on somebody and imposing a lifetime sentence. It’s more than a multiple of thousands of dollars in fines. It starts with us.”
He maintained, “Peer pressure is going to work,” suggesting that those who see something wrong should call out the perpetrator.
“The rest of us are going to back you up,” emphasized Britt, a Texas-based trainer who is also a judge.
“I for one am not going to tolerate it. As the head of this organization, I’m going to be the first one to stand up and say, `If you get caught using some of these substances, you should be banned from our sport forever, we don’t want you in it.”
He added, “until all of us are serious about it, it’s never going to get better, and it’s never going to stop. We can have all the discussion about judging and everything else. Until we take care of this root evil that’s invading our sport, the rest of this doesn’t matter.
“I think we as horse people, horse lovers, enthusiasts, sports people…we all want fairness, we all want a level playing field. We have to have zero tolerance when it comes to these medications. Going forward, again; ‘see somethings say something’ is the only way. That goes for the vets, it goes for the pharmacists, it goes for everybody.
“A trainer has to get a medication from a vet, who has to make the prescription and a pharmacy has to fill it. There’s a lot of hands touching this stuff. Until we get serious about it. It’s never going to end.”