You could see it coming.
A virtual Town Hall yesterday with U.S Hunter Jumper Association President Mary Babick highlighted the problems involved with the Covid-related cancellation of major competitions, such as the USEF Pony Finals, which were scheduled to start today.
So it was no surprise this morning to learn that the Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships and the Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship, scheduled for August 11-15 at the Kentucky Horse Park, had been cancelled. At the same time, USHJA also called off its AON/USHJA National Championships, slated for Nov. 16-20 in Las Vegas.
People had complained about the short notice of cancellation given to Pony Finals competitors, some of whom had already come quite a distance to arrive at the Kentucky Horse Park before the show. When seven people at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show held last week were found to be Covid-positive, the last day of that show (including the USHJA Pony Derby Championship-East) was cancelled and the USEF Pony Finals also became a victim of the situation.
Medical advice called for a two-week gap between the time Covid-positive people were found on the grounds Aug. 1 and the start of the championships, but there were just 10 days between the dates of those shows. That was “the straw the broke the camel’s back,” said USHJA President Mary Babick, noting she has been told by medical professionals that a Covid “outbreak” consists of two people.
USHJA President Mary Babick.
During a USHJA board meeting last night, cancellation seemed to be the only alternative.
The board was following national health recommendations and the recommendation to cancel the championships presented by the USHJA International Hunter Derby and Green Hunter Incentive Taskforce.
“We feel strongly that we must take the necessary steps to help minimize risk and exposure of the COVID-19 virus to ensure our sport can continue in the future. Canceling was a difficult decision, but the Board believes that it was the correct, safe and socially responsible choice,” according to the USHJA.
“The health and safety of our members, staff, volunteers and their families is our priority,” Mary commented in a statement.
In an interview, Mary said she told the board, “Whatever we do, we need to do it all the way now. So if we’re cancelling, we have to let people know now, and if we’re going, we have to stick with our decision.”
Cancelling the Las Vegas show stemmed from the board’s feeling that people should not be encouraged to travel across the country, amid hopes riders will “stay more regional, and cancellation of all of our national championships was in our best interest at this moment.”
About 10 hours after the Green Incentive and International Derby championships were scuttled, the announcement came that the USEF’s East Coast junior hunter championships were also cancelled.
“This is a decision not taken lightly and we are mindful of the negative effect this will have on exhibitors’ plans and schedules, but feel this is the only way to ensure a safe outcome for all,” said a statement from USEF.
“No fees of any kind have been charged to anyone who has entered the shows. Exhibitors do not need to take any action with regard to the show office and all entries will be canceled. We hope that moving forward our exhibitors and members will place their safety and the safety of others above all else during these trying circumstances.”
Mary, who has been nominated for another four-year term at the USHJA’s helm, looks ahead to 2021 saying,”I don’t know what’s happening with Covid,so I think we’ve got to create a regional finals structure, to encourage people to stay more local If we can.
For next year, “I think we have to acknowledge that Covid might still be around. It’s best that we plan for regionals, Then, If we can do national (championships), great.”
At the same time, she added, “We can’t presume we’re going to be able to go forward with business as normal. I don’t think this disease understands the calendar year.”
Meanwhile, the board is working on is discussion of the always-controversial mileage rule.
“That will eat up a lot of our bandwidth,” she commented.
Ralph Caristo had two horses eligible for the International Derby, but wasn’t counting on having them be part of it.
“We were on the fence about going,” he explained. If his Quickborn 7 and Sedona competed in Kentucky with his daughter, Heather Caristo-Williams, aboard, she would have had to quarantine for two weeks upon returning to her home in New York, due to state regulations that affect people coming from Kentucky and 34 other states and territories.
Heather Caristo-Williams and Ralph Caristo
That might have meant she risked not being able to compete at HITS just down the road from her home in Saugerties, N.Y., during the big Labor Day weekend show that includes the Platinum Performance $100,000 Hunter Prix Final and the Diamond Mills $250,000 Hunter Prix Final.
But even if the championship in Kentucky hadn’t been cancelled, “It’s very likely we would have stayed home,” Ralph mused, saying he thought calling off the fixtures was the right thing to do.
“There’s a lot of disappointment in life,” he observed, “but there are a lot of things in life that are a hell of a lot worse than us missing a horse show.”
“I think it has opened a lot of eyes about what our business is vulnerable to and what our lives are vulnerable to. Hopefully, we won’t see this again in our lifetimes, but who knows?”
Top hunter competitor Amanda Steege, based for the summer at Pinnacle Farm in Califon, called the International Derby “usually one of the highlights on my schedule, something I plan my whole year around.”
Her team, however, made the decision in June to do shows “on a more local, regional level” rather than traveling to a venue like Kentucky, which is 13 hours away, as opposed to two hours for shows in Saugerties and Princeton.
With the five-year-old horses in her barn, she was able to take advantage of a USHJA provision for 2020 that will enable them to start their green careers again next year.
“This year, you make potential plans, but you cancel or adapt at any moment,” she observed.
When Kentucky became one of New York’s “quarantine states,” it got more difficult for people to travel, she noted.
Amanda Steege and Lafitte de Muze.
Discussing how she is handling 2020, Amanda said, “It feels like a year of practice, a year to catch up and see where you’re at.
“I enjoy going to a few more local events,” she added, noting that Lafitte de Muze, who would have been a threat in the International Derby Chapionships, won a $25,000 derby at Saugerties.
“I felt very comfortable there, they were enforcing (wearing) the masks,” she said, adding that the Princeton show was also well-run.
