Chinch is all about safety these days.
With the onslaught of terrible news we’ve had to deal with in our beloved sport, it’s heartbreaking to see the amount of trash talk and arguing that inevitably happen on the internet. I’m not only referring to the tragic events in the equestrian world — take a look at the comments on any hot button news story, and you’ll immediately shake your head at the hateful words being spewed by people hiding behind their computer monitors.
In any time of trouble, solidarity is something that we absolutely must display. Yes, I agree that we all will have varying opinions on a given subject. That’s the beautiful thing about being in an independently and free thinking world.
But how is calling someone an ignorant idiot going to help any cause? People are quick to point fingers. Blame the course designer, blame the builder, blame the rider, blame the owners. Blame. Someone has to take it, right? Wrong.
It is our responsibility as patrons of our sport to take a good, hard look at the world we live in. The horse community is a tight knit, social community — that’s what I love about eventing in particular. However, with any close community comes plenty of conflict. In this time, conflict does not move us an inch closer to our goal of ultimate safety.
Before you point a finger, I ask you: Have you walked in that specific person’s shoes? Do you know every single piece of information surrounding the incident? I would wager that you haven’t. It is so easy to say what you would do in a situation, or where you think the blame should be placed. Everyone will have formed their own opinion on how to fix a glaring problem, and that’s fine!
What doesn’t solve anything, though, is trodding on your peers’ opinions in the process of expressing your own. While we all recover from the sting of losing yet another horse in a sport that is supposed to bring joy and fulfillment, we need to remember that we’re all after the same end goal.
We all desire a safe sport where we don’t hold our breaths when we send a horse and rider out on a cross country course. We desire a harmonious group of owners, riders, grooms, organizers, judges, and everyone else who has a hand in making eventing what it is. We want to cheer our favorite riders on through the Head of the Lake at Rolex each year without feeling the need to cross our fingers behind our backs that they make it across the finish line.
I don’t have a perfect solution. This post is not to share my personal opinions on the subject, but rather to implore everyone to remember that we all have the same intentions. Whether or not you agree with the person who commented on a post before you did, remember that not everyone is going to agree on the subject.
Sure, there are ignorant people out there who just like to stir the pot. But the majority of us just want to see our horses and riders safe at home at the end of each day. Let’s do our best to keep that in mind as we work towards finding a way to continuously improve our sport.
Keep your helmet on straight. Don’t get sucked into the world of internet drama. It doesn’t benefit anyone, and it does nothing to benefit our sport. My sincere hope is that we can emerge on the other side of these tragedies as one supporting body behind the sport we have placed so much of our lives in.
Go Eventing.
