Mike Winter and El Mundo represent Team Canada in Pratoni. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

As we creep towards the end of the season, all eyes are on the Pan American Games, which will take place at the tail end of October in Santiago, Chile — and will, most crucially, provide the final two qualification routes for next year’s Paris Olympics.

Team Canada’s certainly got their end goal in site: one of those tickets to France, and a return to Olympic contention as a team. With that in mind, they’re coming in hot with fundraising for the Canadian High Performance Programme’s trip to Chile and all the requisite training, with a seriously cool auction, full of some brilliant lots that we’d quite like to get our grubby little mitts on.

Lots are currently being added, and the auction will begin on Friday, September 29 (that’s tomorrow!) and will close next Friday, October 6. Check them out as they come in here, get registered to bid, and if you want to donate directly to Canada’s eventing team, contact Emily Gilbert.

Lucy Katan and BGA ambassador and pro groom Jackie Potts.

We’re huge fans of the British Grooms Association, which fights for representation and workers’ rights for grooms, but also provides educational opportunities to help both aspiring and career grooms gain new knowledge and sharpen their skills.

Now, with that goal in mind, they’re introducing the Pro Groom School, an exciting one-day seminar featuring some of the best in the biz and, undoubtedly, no shortage of seriously useful tips, tricks, and life advice along the way. It’s set to take place on October 23 at Stallion AI Services in Whitchurch, with programmes running from 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m., inclusive of lunch and refreshments.

So what can you expect from your day with the BGA? First of all, access to some of the world’s best grooms. You’ll be learning from Alan Davies, best known for his partnership with dressage superstars Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin; FEI award winner Jackie Potts, who’s been the lynchpin of William Fox-Pitt’s career, as well as grooming for Japan’s Kazuma Tomoto; and Jenny Ellis, who’s worked for a number of top showjumpers and dressage riders in her tenure as a British team stalwart.

They’ll be leading a number of talks and Q&A sessions covering a huge swathe of topics, from what to expect from life on the road as a competition groom, how to stay abreast of FEI rules, tips for top turnout, how to manage travelling horses, anti-doping best practice, and much, much more, with break-out sessions allowing you to focus on your areas of particular interest. These include, but aren’t limited to, equine massage, spotting health issues early, and more. Expect plenty of useful knowledge, but also some hilarious insights into some of the (truly mad) experiences these three powerhouses have had in their storied careers.

Here’s the timeline for the day:

9.30 Welcome to Pro Groom School
10.00 Practical demos with Alan, Jackie and Jenny
12.00 Anti-doping with FEI Vet Paul Thomason
12.30 Lunch Break
13.15 Travelling Horses Internationally
13.45 More practical demos with Alan, Jackie and Jenny
15.15 A focus on you — life as a top groom
15.45 The real truth with Jackie, Alan and Jenny

Tickets are available — though a limited number remain, so move fast! — for £70 and can be purchased here. You don’t have to be a BGA member to take part, though we do absolutely recommend joining if you’re working as a groom, and particularly as a freelancer. Their tailored insurance policies will protect you from loss of income if you’re rendered unable to work, and will provide you with coverage in case of injury. Speaking as a former freelancer myself, my BGA policy made me feel much more secure in my work — particularly with badly-behaved dressage stallions. Knowing I was protected in case one of them decided to use me as a human punching bag was a huge relief. You can find out more about the different membership options the BGA offers here — they begin at just £5 per month, so it’s a no-brainer, really.

Want to extend your Pro Grooms School experience? The BGA team is taking up residence at the Premier Inn, Shrewsbury North (Harmer Hill) Hotel on October 22, and is extending an invitation for any attendee of the PGS to join them for dinner at the hotel. It’s a great chance to pick their brains and network with fellow grooms in a friendly, low-key environment — and we reckon it’ll be a great laugh, too.

Horse Sport Ireland’s high performance director of eventing and chef d’equipe of the Irish eventing squad Sally Corscadden has been under investigation after allegations of misconduct, prompted by the release of videos taken in training sessions. The videos, which were filmed on a mobile phone by an unnamed third party, appear to show the use of metal bars or aluminum strips atop jumps.

Now, we have the results of the inquiry, which Chief Justice Frank Clarke presided over, and which concluded in July. The results, which were released by HSI on September 20, state that the findings were “not truly to the effect that the metal bar training technique did not amount to rapping but rather that it was insufficiently clear that it did amount to rapping to justify a finding of a breach by Ms. Corscadden of her contractual obligations to HSI” — that is, that it was inconclusive whether the use of the training bar counted as rapping or not.

The substantive report goes on to state that “the definition of rapping is, for understandable reasons, expressed in general terms but with some specific non exhaustive examples given. The conclusion reached was that the metal bar training technique was not even closely connected with the specific examples given in the rules. Nor was the metal bar training method found to represent a reasonably clear variation on the specific methods identified so as to justify concluding that the general words were intended to cover a training method such as it. Having regard to the finding that a breach of the rules could only be held to exist where there was not significant doubt as to whether the rule applied to the activity concerned, it followed that it could not be said that Ms. Corscadden sanctioned a breach of the rapping rule in the course of training taking place under her control.” It continues on by saying “it is important to emphasise that the Substantive Report concluded that the evidence that the practice would cause unnecessary pain or discomfort to a horse was inconclusive.”

The main issue reported in the findings is stated as a breach of confidence between Corscadden and HSI — that is, that HSI should have been alerted by Corscadden to the continued use of the metal bar in training, especially as, during its use, another investigation into training methods was ongoing.

This is a second rapping investigation for Corscadden, who was cleared in an investigation last summer that was helmed by sports barrister Susan Ahern. That case began after an anonymous tip was sent to Sport Ireland, alerting them to the alleged use of these metal strips and bars, though Corscadden was ultimately cleared. It was following this decision that the newly released videos were sent, prompting this second inquiry.

Corscadden was again represented by Martin Hayden SC, who represented her during the initial inquiry, in which it was argued that the metal strips, though used in training, were angled away from the horses so as to create a noise, rather than any pain, when hit, encouraging a cleaner jump on the next attempt.

The substantive report says, “Ms. Corscadden was in breach of her contract of employment by not drawing the attention of HSI to the fact that the metal bar training practice was also in use, when an investigation into not entirely dissimilar training methods was in train.” This is considered by Mr. Justice Clarke “to have been a breach of her obligation of trust and confidence.” He continued that “the breach concerned was not at the most serious end of the type of breaches which might come within the scope of a failure to respect trust and confidence.”

HSI reached out to Clarke to preside over the case because, as the Irish Independent reports, “The former top judge is said to be ‘scrupulously fair’ and impossible to second guess.” The article continues: “The board was told if Clarke cleared Corscadden of rapping then the HSI can rely on his verdict and continue to employ her in the face of any third-party criticism. Equally, if he finds the allegation proven then there would be little risk of this being overturned.”

Clarke’s role was to decide whether this use of aluminum strips falls under the FEI’s rapping rules, found in article 243.1 of the Jumping rulebook, which read:

Coach Andrew McLean, who holds a PhD in equine cognition and learning, was consulted in the case, providing input that in his opinion, the use of bars is likely to cause excessive pain and is an inhumane way to encourage a better jump from a horse and does, by his reckoning, constitute rapping.

Yogi Breisner has also been consulted, though he deemed the method “fair and understandable,” and continued, “absolutely nothing in the video evidence [would] suggest the use of a clearly visible aluminium/metal strip, not fixed in position but clearly loosely placed on top of the show jumping pole, falls any where within the definition of rapping”.

Corscadden’s case, which she submitted to HSI, explains that the organisation had hired a trainer whose longstanding, broadly used methods included a light metal rail on the top fencepost to generate a sound effect and focus the horse’s attention, and this, she says, was discussed with riders.

One of HSI’s former directors told the Independent, “I think she’s going to win. This was a light rail. It’s not barbed wire, thorny briars or iron bars filled with concrete — all of which we’ve heard about before. There was no sensation of pain here or any cruelty involved. This is going to cost €200,000 but there were many of us who believed we should’ve just called her in for a slap on the wrists. This is like doing 35kmh in a 30kmh zone.”

HSI itself told the paper that it “expressed grave concerns about alleged violations of FEI general regulations and FEI discipline rules in the context of high-performance training. HSI is committed to ensuring the welfare of horses is never subordinated to competitive or commercial interests. The welfare of horses is paramount, and HSI is committed to ensuring that all training methods comply with regulations and promote the well-being of all equines.”

Justice Clarke stated that he had “not been persuaded as to the merits of that case, [though] it does seem to me that it was an allegation which required to be investigated and for which there was a credible basis. HSI would have been open, potentially, to legitimate criticism if it simply ignored the matter.” His recommendation for sanction is a final written warning.

“All breaches of the duty of trust and confidence are necessarily serious matters and are particularly serious in the case of a senior and trusted employee, holding a most responsible role, such as Ms. Corscadden,” states the report. “There can be no doubt that trust and confidence in this case has been impaired but in my view not necessarily beyond repair. However, any further action on the part of Ms. Corscadden which might legitimately (and the test in this regard would again obviously be objective) lead to a further impairment of trust and confidence would make it almost certain that trust and confidence could not then be restored. In the circumstances it would be my recommendation that the appropriate sanction to be imposed would be a written final warning to the effect that any further material breach of the duty of trust and confidence could well result in dismissal.”

Corscadden has been temporarily suspended from her role while investigations are ongoing, with Dag Albert standing in in the interim. HSI has not yet revealed whether she will return to her former position.

The leaked videos, which were published by the Independent, can be viewed here.