Photo courtesy of ERA International.
The eventing community has been engaging in a tremendous amount of discourse on the topic of eventing safety of late, and that’s fantastic. We should be talking and listening to one another. But talk, of course, isn’t enough — we must back up our words with action.
And we are. To the credit of national and international governing bodies of our sport as well as dedicated individuals, a massive effort is already in place to improve eventing safety. In this Facebook post shared by Doug Payne, Denis Glaccum outlines some of the studies, programs and procedures that have been implemented both here in the U.S. and beyond.
“During the last five years there has been and continuous to be steps forward in all of these area of concern,” Denis writes.
“I think there is a considerable number of people who might be unaware of the scope and effort put forth by countless people allowing this sport to continue to develop and improve,” Doug writes. “Eventing is the safest it’s been, but continually striving to become safer still.”
Everyone agrees that safety is paramount, and that we must continue that forward momentum because where we’re at right now is not good enough. But are we willing to put our money where our mouth is? Denis considers the collective difference the eventing community “could make by writing out a $10 donation to the USEA earmarked to the various human, equine and course studies all of which are underfunded.”
“Remember,” he says, “you are either part of the problem or part of the solution.”
Can you help? Doug set up a Facebook fundraiser and in less than 24 hours has already raised nearly $1,000 for the USEA. Donate here.
You can also make donations designated for safety projects directly through the USEA here.
Go Eventing.
