Less than a month after the last U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Town Hall about social license to operate, the organization held another Zoom session dominated by that subject and horse abuse on Monday night.
It gained an even greater sense of urgency following the provisional suspension in early February of dressage trainer Cesar Parra, who was seen in videos whipping horses and using training practices that drew an outcry across social media. Addressing such issues is a priority for USHJA, whose president, Mary Knowlton, had appointed a blue ribbon commission to look into equine welfare and social license. But the independent panel requested a change of name.
She explained, “In our world, `blue ribbon’ is sort of seen as part of the reason that we’re in the problem we’re in right now, with how we treat our horses and ourselves.”
Now called the Hunter/Jumper Commission on Equine Welfare, it meets every other week in search of solutions. DiAnn Langer is the chairman, and members include “independent thinkers:” trainers, horse show officials and a veterinarian. Anyone who wants to call something to the attention of the panel can do it via an email to USHJA Executive Director Kevin Price at kprice@ushja.org.
At the same time, a stewards’ group also is meeting, and the USHJA’s Horse and Rider Advocates committee is busy with horse welfare.
It’s a multi-pronged approach because the gravity of the situation requires an all-hands-on deck attack. As Mary noted, “This is a pretty big problem, and one that we are going to have to work on together.”
A big concern is that as animal rights groups get more involved, horse sports could face real threats, something with which racing already is contending. As one attendee stated, “If PETA had its way, we wouldn’t even put our leg over a horse.”
Mary explained the U.S. Equestrian Federation has a rule proposal that would enable it to intervene in horse abuse cases at locations beyond showgrounds. It would take effect Dec. 1 if passed at the USEF’s mid-year meeting.
The list of abuse violations is wide-ranging, from jabbing a horse in the mouth to showing or training an exhausted horse and excessive longeing. It calls for any person witnessing abuse to report it to a licensed official if it occurs at a USEF-licensed show, or to the USEF directly if it is happening elsewhere than the showgrounds.
But it’s up to a person who witnesses abuse to report it, and not leave that to someone else.
“We have to be brave enough to say something when we see it. It’s hard to think you might be mocked by your peers,” said Mary, but she added it’s important to remember, “You are the horse’s voice.”
“There’s a pretty serious culture of fear, especially for students who are hoping to move up or become professionals themselves,” an anonymous attendee wrote. But Mary pointed out that “if we start to try to do this, the bigger group becomes the voices who do report.”
There’s no question that action is needed, and needed as soon as possible. It’s not simple to implement, however.
“These are unprecedented times,” said Barbara Filipelli, an “R” judge and stable operator from New York state..
“We’re all going to have to stick together and do what’s best for the horse. There’s not a lot of easy answers. This is uncharted territory.”
Issues include finding a definition of what amounts to abuse in cases where it may not be obvious, facing repercussions for reporting abuse and a shortage of stewards to whom such circumstances can be reported.
“It’s not only about having more stewards,” commented veteran California steward Penny Carpenter.
“It’s about experience and common sense, as well as knowledge of the rules.”
Florida steward Nannet Read recalled that last summer at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, a horse was locked in a trailer with all windows and doors shut. She said she spent two weeks working on the case and sending information to USEF about the horse, who was sweaty and bloody during the incident.
The person who locked the horse in the trailer got a $2,000 fine and was set down for a month. That was the extent of the punishment.
“And this was after them (USEF) telling me it was one of the worst horse abuse cases they had seen,” Nannet said.
“If this is what they are going to do, we as licensed officials don’t want to spend our time. To have this happen was heartbreaking.”
She felt the matter should have gone to a hearing committee, instead of being handled by staff.
Comments during the Town Hall indicated that some horse show officials feel they are not sufficiently protected by the federation.
While the rules enable stewards to ban a horse from showing if it has bloody spur marks, for instance, they need the support of show management and USEF in order to do so, and it may not be forthcoming.
When an abuse issue needs to be sorted out on showgrounds during a competition, “Stewards are, in effect, going to be acting as police officer, judge and jury,” believes equine welfare commission member Susan Goolsbee, adding “that’s a big ask.”
One anonymous attendee said, “I have zero desire to ever become a steward because of the risk.”
Faith McKay-Alicea of Maryland said, “As a steward, I have an attorney on retainer all the time because of the amount of times people say, `My client has a lot of money and they will fight this and you won’t have a job’.”
Audrey Petschek, a realtor and horse show judge, suggested adding a line to entry forms, so competitors sign away the right to sue officials and USEF in connection with animal abuse and rule violations.
California trainer Kristin Hardin thinks that if officials thought they were protected by USEF “and didn’t feel like they could be personally litigated against, maybe they’d be more willing to stand up and want the job.”
There was a suggestion that having USHJA require that all trainers be licensed to insure they are properly educated could go a long way to solving the abuse problem.
Mary said there are legal reasons why USHJA can’t do that, however.
She hopes that USEF will eventually make a coaching program that she took mandatory.
“Educating people is huge,” said Mary, “but that means in the case of the riders, the parents have to bring them in and stick around and pay attention.” And it was pointed out that many trainers don’t even know the rules.
Other thoughts that surfaced at the town hall included the need for a night watch steward at multi-day shows, starting the night before the show begins. The person making the comment said “the majority of horse abuse occurs after dark and before sunrise and no one is there to police the overnight lodging.”
In cases of serious abuse, if immediate attention is needed, one attendee suggested calling the sheriff’s department.
Mary pointed out that if any horse is going to be taken away from an abusive situation, it’s not going to be done by the USEF; it would be handled by law enforcement.
The Town Halls offer an opportunity to air things that need to be discussed—and eventually acted on. But only 105 of USHJA’s 44,000 members showed up for this one. The discussions will continue into the fall, with the next one March 25 at 7 p.m.. Perhaps more concerned people will tune in.