Classic Eventing Nation

Michael Jung Sweeps Devoucoux Indoor Derby at Bordeaux

By on Feb 3, 2018 11:00 am -

Photo courtesy of the event at Bordeaux.

In traditional fashion, Michael Jung has pulled out yet another impressive victory in our sport, this time in the Devoucoux Indoor Derby in Bordeaux.

He and Maria Stein’s 8-year-old Hanoverian Corazon just edged out frenchman Maxime Livio, their win secured by only 39 hundredths of a second.

The course was well designed and a pleasure to ride. There were many options to do short-cuts, it was very interesting,” Michael said. “The crowd here is amazing. They are cheerful and fair play as they encourage even the foreign riders.”

“It is a very nice class,” he continued. “I appreciated the fact that the horses had the opportunity to explore the course beforehand as we had the chance to ride it in the morning. That way, when they entered the arena in the evening, the fences were already a little familiar. It is an impressive show for them.”

He took a few moments Friday night to celebrate his win, but then it’s back to business for Ze Terminator as he must, “concentrate on the coloured fences again,” with fisherChelsea entered in tonight’s CSI5*. Also in tow this weekend is fisherSolution, who finished 25th in last night’s 1.50m class.

Michael is keeping his show jumping sharp this weekend as he prepares for his show jumping team debut for Germany next month in the Abu Dhabi Nations Cup CSIO5* in the United Arab Emirates.

Maxime finished just shy of the win aboard Boleybawn Prince, a 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse owned by a Mr. Prasert, Mrs. Kanchanaporn and Ms. Arinadtha Chavatanont. Maxime got the ride on this promising gelding by Colin Diamond last year, finishing 14th in the CCI2* at Le Pouget. Watch their trip around the indoor derby here:

 

For complete results for the indoor derby, click here.
Tonight all eyes will be on the Longines FEI World Cup™, where top riders will be looking to qualify for the final in Paris, April 10-15, 2018. You can watch live on FEI TV beginning at 2:30 EST. The FEI World Cup™ Driving Final will follow at 5:20 EST.
 International Jumping de Bordeaux: Website, Startlist & Results, FEI TV

Walking On Sunshine: Stable View Winter HT Recap + Photo Gallery

By on Feb 3, 2018 9:00 am -

Photo by Christine Rhodes.

Stable View hosted their second recognized event of the year earlier this week, January 30th-31st, offering Preliminary through Beginner Novice divisions. With 132 riders and the beautiful South Carolina weather, this event was a massive weekday success!

Competition was fierce with prize money awarded in all divisions. The show began with all levels completing the dressage and stadium phases on Tuesday, and all levels finishing with cross-country on Wednesday.

The dressage took place in the beautiful grass arenas at Stable View and ran smoothly thanks to the help of loyal volunteers. With three rings running concurrently, and stadium beginning in the Outdoor Arena, it proved to be a busy day with many professional riders showing multiple horses.

Chris Barnard’s stadium course presented an appropriate challenge for riders. From the show jumping, riders could also catch a glimpse at the progress taking place on Stable View’s newest asset, the Pavilion, positioned at the end of the Outdoor Arena. Tuesday evening ended with a competitors’ party hosted on-site for riders to socialize with one another.

The following day, all riders tackled the Cross Country course designed by Captain Mark Phillips (GBR) and Mogie Bearden-Muller (assistant). The track wove decorative fences through tree-lined galloping lanes connecting series of tough questions and iconic features like the water complexes. The winter rye provided excellent footing throughout the day, with abundant sunshine and a pleasant breeze to complete the setting.

Congratulations to the winners of each division, with riders placing 1st – 4th receiving checks!

Junior/Young Rider Open Preliminary: Katie Lichten & Sapphire Blue B (23.00)
Open Preliminary A: Waylon Roberts & Born Ready (24.10)
Open Preliminary B: Lindsay Beer & El Paso (27.00)
Preliminary Rider: Skylar Rowan & Urlanmore Beauty (42.40)
Open Training: Werner Geven & Eor The Terrific (29.60)
Junior/Young Rider Training: Alexandra Baugh & Mr. Candyman (30.90)
Training Rider: Natalie Hargis & Ocho Caballero (32.30)
Junior/Young Rider Novice: Malik Hogan & Downtown Abbey (51.30)
Novice Rider: Sally Rosen & Mayson (29.50)
Open Novice: Kate Chadderton & FF Valour (25.20)
Junior/Young Rider Beginner Novice: Jenna Hill & In Front I Am (41.30)
Beginner Novice Rider: Nancy Jenkins & Brody (40.80)
Open Beginner Novice: Arianna Almeida & Rhein Aflame (27.80)

Click here for full results.

1st-4th place finishers at all levels took home a check! Photo by Christine Rhodes.

As always, thank you to the generous sponsors and volunteers who make events such as this possible!

Here is what some of the competitors had to say about the event:

“Thank you Stable View for the truly galloping cross-country course, perfect footing, and the prize money in each division!” – Claire Robinson

“Great day and awesome hospitality!” – Stephanie Collore-Coates

Stable View will be hosting its Inaugural Eventing Academy on February 24th and 25th, with a schooling day on Saturday and a full schooling horse trials on Sunday! Enter the horse trials now online at www.evententries.com and enter on-site for the schooling day. These events are the perfect place to school for young horses and young riders alike. Sprouts (<18”) – Training (3’3”) levels are available, as well as the option to school one phase or all three.

For more information about any upcoming events at Stable View, visit www.stableviewfarm.com.

 

Saturday Links from Tipperary

By on Feb 3, 2018 12:01 am -

Photo via EquiRatings.

I know it’s not Friday anymore, but I still can’t help sharing the above infographic that EquiRatings posted yesterday. Stop and think about that for a second — 1 in 107.5 trillion. That’s pretty nuts. For reference, your odds of winning the Powerball are only 1 in 175 million. Everyone’s calling Tom Brady the GOAT, but I think that title actually belongs to MJ. I’m allowed to say that, because I’m from New England.

National Holiday: National Carrot Cake Day (Favorite holiday of horses everywhere, possibly.)

U.S. Weekend Action:

Three Lakes H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Results]

Sporting Days H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Live Results]

Galway Downs Winter H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Results]

Saturday Links:

Outcry over rider’s dressage test: US Equestrian responds

Bonnie Kibbie: USEA’s Volunteer of the Month Presented by Athletux

Behind The Photo: Who Needs Wings When You’ve Got Springs For Feet?

British eventer pays tribute to homebred ‘horse of a lifetime’

Behavior Problems in Mares: Ovaries Aren’t Always to Blame

FEI president looks likely to be re-elected, even without a huge Twitter following

Best of Blogs: Laminitis research: Feeding a high starch diet can influence PPID (Equine Cushings Disease) test results

Saturday Video: 

https://www.facebook.com/horsepeoplesMind/videos/1545666435469437/?hc_ref=ARTszCxRz7O-ficY8UzsHLpLDzXERXcvyiKVMlQeb4ifIX2MvH1enNkTGceqTZiPHRw

#FlashbackFriday Video from World Equestrian Brands: The Birth of Eventing

By on Feb 2, 2018 5:00 pm -

The 1912 US eventing team in all its synchronised (and grainy) glory.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that I am really rather partial to a throwback video. Is it grainy, jumpy, overlaid with ludicrously posh narration and does its footage flagrantly disregard any commitment to health and safety regulations? I’m sold. One day, the epitaph on my headstone will read, ‘Here lies Tilly Berendt; she loved a cheeky dig through the archives, may she rest in peace’ and there will be no further context, but perhaps a picture of Murphy Himself lovingly sellotaped underneath. One can but dream.

In my latest trip down the rabbit hole that is the eventing corner of YouTube, I stumbled across a lovingly restored short documentary film about the training programme of the cavalry. Of course, every eventing nerd knows that the sport developed from these training programmes, but what makes this piece really interesting (other than the fact that they refer to the riders as ‘modern centaurs’, which I am totally stealing) is the time period in which it sits. The date of the film itself is circa 1920, which leads us to believe that much of the footage may have been gathered over the previous couple of years. This puts us firmly into World War One, in which the notion of an operable British cavalry was suddenly revived, with widespread, grievous consequences for both man and horse.

From “Riding Forward: Modern Horsemanship for Beginners” written in 1934 by Vladimir Littauer, Captain, 1st Hussars, Russian Imperial Cavalry. Photo from imh.org.

The earliest iteration of eventing as an Olympic sport had taken place just a few years earlier, at the 1912 Games. Count Clarence von Rosen, who managed the stables of the King of Sweden, established the sport’s initial format. For a brief period, eventing – then simply called ‘Military’, if you’ve ever wondered why Military Boekelo is thus named – as a recreational activity and its ancestral heritage existed in tandem. Somehow, somewhere, someone must have been practicing cross country for competition as another horse and rider used that same skill set to try to survive the countless horrors of the battlefield.

In either situation, partnership with the horse is paramount. So enjoy this visit to the granddaddy of our brilliant sport (and marvel, if you will, at the fact that the horses were apparently stabled up a fairly sizeable flight of stairs. Someone sack the architect).

Go eventing.

 

Best of HN: Editorial – On the Court of Public Opinion

By on Feb 2, 2018 1:00 pm -

Flickr/Andrew Cavell//CC

Full disclosure, I have no idea who Vorst’s owner is, nor do I know who she trains with. Until the recent videos and blog posts surfaced lambasting her rides at the Adequan West Coast Dressage Festival in Del Mar, I was blissfully unaware of this woman, much like I assume most of you were. (If you have not seen the video yet and absolutely need to, it’s not hard to find.)

At least, until now: now the collective interwebz mafia has set upon her in rabid fashion. True, her rides were utterly abysmal. I also can’t say that I saw much in the way of tact or empathy towards her saint of a horse, Vorst D. And truly for me, that’s the worst part. But as much as I agree that those rides were regrettable at best, I can’t quite stomach some of the over-the-top vitriol aimed at a women that I am sure the majority of you don’t know a thing about.

We have no context. Does she have a physical issue? Terminal illness? What are the circumstances of those rides? While she may indeed just be an extremely wealthy Dressage Queen who can afford a top horse to get her to the Grand Prix, most of you don’t know. And that’s where my problem lies — we are so quick to jump in and flame someone even when we have no details and without taking the time to use any sort of critical thinking or problem solving skills.

I have seen people post some truly awful things about this adult amateur (AA) rider. — things I likely wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy (and frankly I can be a major a-hole so that says a lot). And I think that’s pretty shady when you have no real context. It’s also not productive.

To throw about the word abuse feels a bit heavy-handed too. The term itself has some pretty grey aspects. Consider what some radical animal rights activists would say about even riding a horse (hint: it’s all abuse unless you just feed them and let them be “free” as nature intended). Is the child bouncing around on her pony bonking him in the mouth while learning to post abuse? What about the older AA trying to learn to sit the trot with stiff hips? Should this AA rider just not ride because she isn’t supple? Or the AA in the hunter ring hanging on for dear life and bonking her horse after every fence? She may not ride that well but Dobbin has the best of care and love otherwise. Is she an abuser? While I don’t think any type of lackluster riding is good, I do recognize it is often part of the learning spectrum.

And the latter is largely why I am taking the risk writing this. Let me be clear: if she were my client I never would have allowed her in that ring and I likely would NOT have condoned the purchase of that horse for her. But while I do think Browning’s riding was subpar and tactless at best (and yes, abusive at its worst) because I do not know her or the situation, I have no way of knowing if she’s actually trying to learn the sport or is just a self-entitled jerk awkwardly wailing on her horse. And I bet most of you don’t either. Which means perhaps we should turn our focus and irritation on the factors that allowed her to get there rather than someone we don’t actually know.

How can we fix this? If the case is that she is actually trying to learn, if she’s just not been taught, then we should be looking to educate and figure out how she was allowed to get that far with so little knowledge (and if she is just a jerk, then we should still be looking for ways to prevent that sort of behavior in the ring going forward). Given that such unskilled riding was allowed to get to that level, there’s clearly a rather glaring hole in our sport that needs to be addressed.

On some level we, as professionals, need to be accountable. I know that’s not always easy – I have had my fair share of clients who have had unrealistic goals, timelines, and just enough capital to get themselves into trouble, but that doesn’t negate my responsibility to inform them and ultimately walk away if the situation warrants.

As dressage riders and USDF and USEF members, we also have a responsibility of speaking up and helping shape these organizations (in an organized fashion, not via incoherent rantings on Facebook). My understanding is that every time the notion of requiring qualifying scores before moving up is brought to the table, the majority has shouted it down. Why? Is there a way we could make this work? I know some fear that those with more average-moving horses would have trouble qualifying, but I would have to say I don’t see that as the case. If the questionably-bred little APHA horse I have can get up to a 63% in I-1, I think we could reasonably ask most horses to hit the 60% mark, and if not that, then what? Maybe it should be different for AA riders. Perhaps we could even come up with a rider competency test that does not take the horse’s gaits into consideration that could be taken before moving up. There are solutions if we look for them.

Ultimately, what this entire frenzy shows is that we need a productive discussion on how to make blatantly unskilled riding a nonissue. I can promise you that torching some AA rider from behind your computer screen will not. Or torching the judges for that matter (judging is a whole other issue we need to tackle…). I’m fairly certain judges cannot, at present, eliminate for poor riding. And if they eliminate for abuse, they darn well better be able to prove it, which can be tricky. So perhaps we need a rule that allows them to ring out based on subpar riding? Again, let’s discuss.

Unfortunately, this rider is not the only rider out there in way over her head (I bet all of you can think of people you know or show with); she is just the most recent to be caught on film and blasted across the internet. Even if she’s made to feel awful enough that she leaves the sport (and is that what we really want if she is just uneducated but receptive to learning?), that doesn’t fix the others who are doing the same thing.

A constructive dialogue is needed. I’d like to see more brainstorming on how to fix this issue and less useless internet hatred. It isn’t helping anyone, least of all the horses.

Morgane Schmidt Gabriel is a 34-year-old teacher/artist/dressage trainer/show announcer/ who still hasn’t quite decided what she wants to be when she grows up. A native Floridian, she now lives in Reno, NV, where she’s been able to confirm her suspicion that snow is utterly worthless. Though she has run the gamut of equestrian disciplines, her favorite is dressage. She was recently able to complete her USDF bronze and silver medals and is currently working on her gold. Generally speaking her life is largely ruled by Woody, a 14.2 hand beastly quarter horse, Willie, a now beastly 7-year-old Dutch gelding, and Stormy, her friend’s nearly all white paint gelding with a penchant for finding every mud hole and pee spot in existence. Visit her website at www.theideaoforder.com.

Photo (c) Michele Ting

Carolina Horse Park Rolling Out Major Footing Upgrades

By on Feb 2, 2018 11:00 am -

Emily Beshear and Shame on the Moon at Carolina International 2016. Photo by Jenni Autry.

The Carolina Horse Park is rolling out major improvements to footing at the Raeford, North Carolina venue, both in the main competition arena and on the cross country course. Best of all, the footing upgrades will be complete in time for the Cloud 11~Gavilan North LLC Carolina International CIC and Horse Trials on March 21-25, one of the most anticipated events on the East Coast spring calendar.

Jane Murray, co-chair of the Carolina International Executive Committee, said the event has diligently collected feedback from competitors, who made it clear they wanted to see improvements to the footing. CIC3* and CIC2* dressage will now take place on new arena footing from Attwood Equestrian Surfaces, as well as show jumping for the National divisions.

“The Carolina Horse Park and the Carolina International have worked hard to solicit and listen to competitor feedback, and we deeply understand the importance of taking action and moving ahead to improve our events year over year,” Jane said. “We have heard the need to improve our footing in the main competition arena and on the cross country course, and we have devoted significant resources and investment in both of these areas.”

A large portion of the warm-up arena will also receive new footing, which will allow horses and riders to have consistent footing when going from warm-up into the main competition arena.

Matt Brown and Super Socks BCF at Carolina International 2017. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

In investing in the infrastructure at the Carolina Horse Park, Nick Attwood, founder and CEO of Attwood Equestrian Surfaces, hopes to do his part in establishing Carolina International as the premier spring event on the road to the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event.

“My first time at the Carolina Horse Park was when Will Faudree asked us to be a part of the inaugural Carolina International. That was five years ago. We felt an instant connection to the team that puts this show on, the competitors and the facility. It was just brilliant from day one,” Nick said.

“As our commitment to the park grew, we knew the one thing we really wanted to do is upgrade the arenas to provide first-class footing for all those world-class competitors, but we couldn’t do it alone. With the help and support of Gavilan Farm and Setters Run Farm, we were able to put this project together so there would be the very best footing for the 2018 event.”

Installation of the new arena footing is set to begin next week, with the project expected to take about three weeks. The footing will then have three weeks to settle before horses move in for the competition. Attwood Equestrian Surfaces will also be the sponsor of the CIC2* as part of the collaboration on the footing project.

Jane said the new footing would not have been possible without Nick’s generosity. “With Attwood Equestrian Surfaces establishing the footing in our competition arena and corresponding warm-up area, as well as all of the improvements we have made to the cross country footing, we are most excited about 2018 and the significant enhancements our competitors will experience.”

Colleen Rutledge and Covert Rights at Carolina 2016. Photo by Jenni Autry.

A mammoth amount of work has also gone into the footing on the cross country course over the last nine months. The Carolina Horse Park has consulted with turf experts in the steeplechase industry, using penetrometer and soil moisture meter tools to measure the compaction rate and moisture levels of the footing.

Vehicle access has been prohibited on the galloping lanes and areas around the jump complexes, and the Carolina Horse Park grounds team continues to monitor the the most problematic areas daily to ensure optimal footing for Carolina International in March.

Cross country course designer Ian Stark visited the venue last week alongside course builders Tyson Rementer and Levi Ryckewaert and said he is thrilled to see the significant improvements to the footing.

“This year the CIC3* course will be run in the opposite direction than it has the last few years,” Ian said. “We believe the change of direction will allow for the use of the best terrain and footing the Carolina Horse Park has to offer, therefore providing a great fitness test as horses are prepared for their spring CCIs.”

Doug Payne and Vandiver at Carolina 2016. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Entries open Feb. 6 for Carolina International, with National divisions offered at Training through Advanced levels, along with the CIC3*, CIC2* and CIC1*. EQSportsNet will once again live stream all three phases of the CIC3*, as well as show jumping and cross country for the CIC2*.

This event offers renowned hospitality and this year is launching the Carolina Club, with premium viewing locations for dressage, show jumping and cross country. Patrons and sponsors will enjoy televised broadcasting, breakfast and lunch, a formal Friday luncheon, open bars and access to the Saturday night party.

Click here for more information on tickets and attending Carolina International. Admission is free for spectators. We hope to see you there in March! Go Eventing.

 Carolina International Links: Website, Schedule, Omnibus

Eventers Inducted into US Pony Club Academy of Achievement

By on Feb 2, 2018 8:00 am -

Reasons USEA CEO Rob Burk is the actual best: 1) his dedication to the sport 2) his volunteerism 3) his sense of humor. Photo by Leslie Mintz.

Pony Club is where many eventers get their start so we’re thrilled to learn that four eventers and Pony Club alumni were inducted into the U.S. Pony Club Academy of Achievement last week during the USPC Convention and Equine Symposium.

USEA CEO Rob Burk and Olympian Dorothy Crowell along with Kat Drake, PhD, and Tim Leithead, whose family is a well-known and long been active in Pony Club, were honored “for being outstanding in their chosen fields of expertise. Individuals are nominated by members, leaders, and other alumni.”

As new members of the USPC Academy of Achievement, the four inductees also participated in the National Youth Congress during the Convention.

On behalf of the Eventing Nation, thank you Rob, Dorothy, Kat and Tim for using your Pony Club education to give back to the community and make our special corner of the world a better place.

Click here to learn more about these four amazing individuals. Go Eventing.

[Eventers Honored with Inductions into Pony Club Academy of Achievement]

[USPC, Academy of Achievement]

Friday News & Notes from SmartPak

By on Feb 2, 2018 12:03 am -

Just a lil Friday motivation to get you to the end of your week! Photo courtesy of Taylor Harris Insurance Services FB.

Weekend! Weekend! Weekend! Ok, so for horse people, a weekend isn’t really a weekend, but sometimes it still feels special. If you’re competing it’s special! If you’re here in Virginia in the cold and expecting snow…..well…not as much. I mean, unless you think it’s fun to anticipate how to thaw and chip away at ice in your buckets.

National Holiday: National Groundhog Day

U.S. Weekend Preview:

Three Lakes H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Results]

Sporting Days H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Live Results]

Galway Downs Winter H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Results]

News From Around the Globe:

Hey, you wanna win $1500 worth of SmartPak goodies? All you have to do is literally fill out the teeniest tiniest form on the site, and you’ll be entered to win an amazing gift card to your favorite store. DO IT! [SmartPak’s Ultimate Horse Health Challenge]

Canadians will be rolling up to the 2018 WEG in style with Noel Asmar Equestrian as the official apparel of the Canadian Equestrian Team. They first partnered together for the 2016 Olympics, with great success and flair, for both the equestrian athletes and the supporting team staff. With riders from eight different equestrian disciplines to outfit, they’ve got their work cut out for them! [Noel Asmar Partners with Canada for WEG]

At the USEF Annual Meeting this month, SafeSport COO Malia Arrington presented on the SafeSport initiative, and resources have been made available to members via a Safety & SafeSport Policy page on the US Equestrian website. Included are sections on how to recognize, respond to, and report misconduct and abuse. Under the Safe Sport Policy, all USEF Designees are now also required to successfully complete awareness training every two years. It’s up to all of us — riders, parents, coaches, administrators, ALL participants in equestrian sport — to utilize this critical resource to help protect our young athletes. [Times Up: SafeSport Polices Sexual Abuse in Equestrian Sports]

Mighty Nice Will Be Sidelined for 2018 World Equestrian Games

By on Feb 1, 2018 3:00 pm -

Phillip Dutton and Mighty Nice at Kentucky 2016. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Phillip Dutton announced today that his Rio Olympic bronze medal partner Mighty Nice has sustained a soft tissue injury in training, which will sideline him for the spring season and ultimately the 2018 World Equestrian Games at Tryon.

“With the final U.S. selection trial for the World Equestrian Games being held in June, Happy will not be able to qualify before the cut off date,” Phillip said. “His welfare is always our top priority. We will give Happy all the time he needs to return to form and plan to have him back out competing in the fall.”

Mighty Nice, a 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse owned by the HND Group and affectionately known as “Happy” in the barn, last competed at Plantation Field International Horse Trials in September, where he finished ninth in the CIC3*.

Happy was meant to qualify for the World Equestrian Games at the Fair Hill International CCI3* last fall, where he finished as USEF CCI3* Reserve National Champion in 2015. However, Phillip’s fall in a cross country school several weeks prior, in which he broke his collarbone and sustained a collapsed lung and fractured ribs, prevented him from competing in a fall CCI.

“While we are all sad to have Happy on the sidelines during a major championships, this is also an exciting opportunity for my younger horses to step up,” Phillip said. “I am extremely fortunate to have a strong string of horses competing at the highest level of the sport in 2018.”

Phillip plans to have at least two entries at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event in I’m Sew Ready, owned by John and Kristine Norton, and Z, owned by Tom Tierney, Simon Roosevelt, Suzanne Lacy, Annie Jones and Caroline Moran.

Phillip also hopes to aim the Revelation Group’s Fernhill Revelation for a spring CCI4*, following his top-1o finish at the Tattersalls International CCI3* in Ireland last year.

Fernhill Cubalawn, owned by Tom Tierney, Simon Roosevelt and Caroline Moran, last competed internationally at the Great Meadow CICO3* in 2016 and is set to return to competing this season. He is entered in the Open Intermediate at Pine Top Advanced Horse Trials later this month.

Time Is Up: SafeSport Polices Sexual Abuse in Olympic Sports

By on Feb 1, 2018 12:10 pm -

Embed from Getty Images

Last month we published an anonymous letter from an eventer detailing molestation at the hands of her trainer as a minor. It offered a harrowing story of how sexual misconduct can creep into the relationship between a young athlete and a mentor/trainer figure, of the mind-warping manipulation involved, of the helplessness and despair victims endure, and of the complicated reasons why they are likely to remain silent or even defend their abusers.

Our readers responded en masse via social media and email, with their words of support and sympathizing #metoo accounts. The validation of a truth nobody wants to talk about emerged: The letter-writer is not alone.

Abuse is real and more common than we’d like to think. Many of us have been following the trial of Larry Nassar, the disgraced former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State doctor. After an emotional court hearing during which more than 150 women and girls testified that he sexually abused them over the past two decades, Nassar is now sentenced to life in prison.

But culpability doesn’t end with the abuser. Now the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Gymnastics and Michigan State are under fire for their roles in enabling Nassar’s continued abuse, as it has become clear that allegations against Nassar fell on deaf ears or were suppressed. Because of this, the future of USA Gymnastics is in question. Its board of directors was ordered to resign, and Michigan State’s Athletic Director also resigned. Hopefully that is just the beginning of a systemic purge of all individuals who are culpable, either through blatant cover-up or sit-still-and-hope-it-goes-away silence.

Fortunately, the days that allowed a national governing body to sweep abuse under the rug are over. The U.S. Center for SafeSport was created by the USOC in March 2017 as a wholly independent body to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct in Olympic National Governing Bodies. Any Olympic sport, including equestrian, falls under the SafeSport umbrella.

In addition to providing training and education, any participant in equestrian sport can report sexual misconduct to SafeSport, and it will be investigated. SafeSport maintains exclusive jurisdiction over sexual misconduct allegations — which means no longer can a national governing body sweep away sexual abuse cases.

At the USEF Annual Meeting this month, SafeSport COO Malia Arrington presented on the SafeSport initiative, and resources have been made available to members via a Safety & SafeSport Policy page on the US Equestrian website. Included are sections on how to recognize, respond to, and report misconduct and abuse. Under the Safe Sport Policy, all USEF Designees are now also required to successfully complete awareness training every two years.

It’s up to all of us — riders, parents, coaches, administrators, ALL participants in equestrian sport — to utilize this critical resource to help protect our young athletes.

From the new SafeSport page on the USEF website: “The USEF depends on the eyes and ears of its athletes, coaches, and USEF Designees to support its Safe Sport Policy. It is requested that all who participate in equestrian sport become familiar with the content of the Policy and be mindful of its guidelines during training sessions and competitions.”

We as a sport need to talk, we need to spread the word about SafeSport, and most importantly we need to police ourselves and take action when necessary. Turning a blind eye to abuse in any form never has been and never will be an acceptable response. We all share a collective responsibility to be the voice for victims of abuse.

What does this mean for equestrian athletes facing abuse? It means you have resources that you didn’t have before. There is a burgeoning expectation of justice for abuse survivors and a public ready to believe and support you.

What does this mean for any potential enablers within our sport? It hopefully means no stone will go unturned from now on. Were you helping to shed light on abuse or were you comfortable in the shadows? If anyone in a leadership role is unsure of their responsibilities and the repercussions if they turn a blind eye, read more about what faces administrators at USA Gymnastics, Michigan State and the USOC.

What does this mean for abusers? To quote Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman’s powerful testimony against Nassar: “The tables have turned … We are here, we have our voices, and we are not going anywhere.”

For more information, visit the Safety & SafeSport Policy page on the US Equestrian website.