Honestly, I think Jon Holling has a gambling problem and needs to be cut off. First there was that time in 2012 when he promised to streak the Bromont sign if he won the CCI3*, which he did, with Downtown Harrison.
Then there are all the stupid football bets he’s made with Buck Davidson. Jon is for the Green Bay Packers, Buck is for the Philadelphia Eagles, and when one or the other team loses the losing party’s fan is relegated to wear the other team’s jersey throughout the weekend at an event — including but not limited to cross country. I seem to recall Jon last wearing Eagles gear at Ocala Jockey Club last year, and me being like, “Ya lost, eh? Sorry.”
It cuts both ways, sometimes. Photo courtesy of Jon Holling.
But now Jon, perhaps buoyed by the Packers’ first winning season since 2016 last year, has made his dumbest bet of all: a pledge that if we can get to the next $50,000 benchmark for frangible fence fundraising, “I will get a tattoo, #FrangibleNow, right across my ribs. But we gotta get there before the next horse leaves the startbox.”
“So the next 50 grand, I’ll get the tattoo and I’ll video it so you guys can see me cry. Alright let’s do it.”
No Jon, no. This is not OK. I know it’s a cause you care bone-deeply for but …. this is why you can’t have nice things, especially a long weekend in Vegas. Have we learned nothing from the Eagles? Have you consulted your wife, who has always presented as a very pragmatic human being, about this? What if the next horse doesn’t leave the startbox until 2023? You’ve done enough for this sport without also desecrating your body with a tattooed hashtag.
So here’s the plan, EN: Let’s raise the money, but no TOO much. Just like … an extra $49,999 m’kay? Because Jon Holling is a man of his word, and his heart is in the right place, but also I am genuinely concerned about him.
With the support of the USEA Foundation, a dedicated group of organizers, and a matching grant the fund has already raised over $200,000 of the $500,000 goal.Read up on the latest efforts here. The Frangible Technology Fundraiser was launched on March 2 in order to provide funding directly to organizers to build nearly 500 frangible tables at all USEA recognized events across the country. Can you help (a little, but not TOO much bc nobody wants to see Jon Holling cry).
Go Eventing.
