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Re: A reply to FEI's Michael Stone




>It will certainly do so. But as Michael said, the money is already there.
As is prestigious international competition. So, what has to be applied to
the existing situation is logic, not emotion. You have to set up very strict
rules, with very strict enforcement. You have to provide the education
necessary so that would-be competitors know how to prepare their athletes.
You have to design courses that are a true test of endurance. You have to
strictly pre-qualify the competitors, not politically, but physiologically.
>

Absolutely.  My only worry, and it stems largely from emotion, I will admit,
is that the other disciplines do have strict rules, but it is the
enforcement which is lacking.  I'm not sure what the situation is like in
the States, but out here we have a very small pond, with some large sharks
circling in it, and these same sharks are put in charge of enforcing the
rules which govern their own conduct.  I watched a showjumper exit an arena
at an A Grade show recently and refuse to remove his horse's tendon boots so
that the ring steward could inspect the horses legs (applying turpentine /
bleach to the shin bones is now the 'in thing' before jumping).  He said
"no, I have to jump off" and just rode off.  There were a number of people
standing around and nothing was done or said.  When I questioned somebody
about this, he shrugged and said "One day, they may want to sell him a
horse, or buy one from him, or ride one of his horses, etc, etc".


On the surface, this may have nothing to do with money, but it is an
extension of the very cut-throat, businesslike attitude which is prevailing
in modern equestrianism : you don't "burn your bridges" with your
colleagues, even if you know that a horse is suffering for it.


My concern for endurance is that people may, for similar reasons, start
turning a blind eye to things they really should be noting, and eliminating,
competitors for.  I watched a vet testify at a disciplinary hearing against
a jumper who had abused his horse - five years later that same jumper is
riding one of the vet's horses because "he gets a good tune out of the
horse".  I may be a cynic, but I work on the premise that everyone can be
bought, if the price is right.


Having said that, I agree that the tide has turned, and that there is little
or nothing that can be done about it.  These sorts of incidents will start
cropping up in endurance, just as they do in every other discipline
(remember when people said dressage would be immune, as an "abused horse
won't perform"?  You don't want to know what some people do to improve their
piaffe!).  That is why it is important for people like you, and others on
this list who have the experience and knowledge to make their words carry
weight, to continue to demand that rules be forumlated, applied and
enforced.  That is why it is also important for people to exert as much
pressure as they can on keeping the sport "clean".  It is only those inside
the sport who have the power to do so.  I wish you the best of luck!


>At some level, riders and horses should be registered. So should the
veterinarians and other officials. There are dozens of considerations I've
left out here--but the object is to eliminate the looseness of organizaton
that allows a lot of abuse, not only of the horses, but of the humans, the
rules, the press, the money, the politics, etc.>


I also think that, if the rewards are becoming hugely financial, so should
the punishment.  Suspension of a rider is a joke, when that rider is making
money through sponsorship, training, having other jockeys ride for him, etc.
Hit any transgressor - be it owner, trainer, jockey, vet or official - in
his / her pocket.


>I think things are moving in that direction. They will do so properly as
long as emotings or baseless opinions are not given the weight of facts. And
one of the things to keep in mind as the sport develops is that, just
because someone in authority expresses an opinion, that doesn't mean that
the person is expressing the truth. >

Ah, the old "opinion dressed up as God's word" approach.  I've come across
it often, unfortunately.  You're never going to remove this, but by
educating those who might otherwise listen, the damage can be contained.
What I find even more dangerous is when someone who has an element of
authority will espouse facts he / she knows to be wrong, because they serve
his / her purpose to do so.  Not sure what to do about that one.


Tracey



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