Town Hall me
What is with these USHJA zoomies?
I have completely surprised myself by being strangely entertained by these latest zoom town halls given by the USHJA. I don’t know quite what to make of them, yet, but I do know one thing for certain. I need more. I can’t believe I find myself looking forward to these meetings.
Wait, what?
First of all, I have to say, there is no one else in the country, in my opinion, who can match the patience Mary Knowlton has displayed during these town halls. I, for one, am confident enough to make that declaration, but I am pretty positive others share that opinion with me. I mean, it is unbelievable how many times she has answered the same questions month after month, year after year, in multiple venues across this country, and yet maintains a certain dignity to answer as if she has heard the question for the very first time. Kudos, that would not be me. After I would have to explain the difference between the USHJA and the USEF approximately 10,000 times over a span of a few years, I would need to be hospitalized. One is for education and opportunity, the other is for rules, licensing, and point keeping, dadadeedada.
The USHJA indeed does not make the laws of the land, rather, they provide a sort of scenic road map for horse showing. They ask the question ‘What kind of rider are you? We offer a program/championship/clinic/scholarship or some kind of show experience just for you!’ Some think too many options are out there. Some want more.
The USEF, on the other hand, might hold a few hunter/jumper championship cards in their poker game, but they are managing several equestrian disciplines at once, as well as all the disciplinary actions for equestrian rebels and rule breakers, leading to some electric beads of sweat to cross their brow from time to time, and giving the impression that they get spread too thin or are just not really good at card games.
We need them, but we constantly find ourselves wishing we didn’t need them.
Member attention spans do tend to waver between the two organizations depending on the drama the horse show world provides, and can be frustrating to figure out where to put your energy, if at all. Neither is perfect, but I have to give credit for some recent efforts by Mary K (formerly Babick) to brainstorm with us. You never know where a good idea is going to grow from, right? Certainly people are thirsty for some true representation of the organizations, and this may be the way forward. Maybe in another ten years we will have a solid Association which doesn’t need to be reviewed, remodeled, and refit year after year, and all of the struggles of the past will be worth it.
Aside from a some random pettiness people tend to bring up out of frustration, the discussions in town halls can be thoroughly enjoyable to watch. We can learn what people are thinking, and opportunities for growth can be more or less laid out. It is becoming more apparent we need more people with disposable income to throw it away for us, and smile like it is no big deal.
The cry for regional shows across the country is continually rising even as premiere shows are selling out entirely, leaving an assumption managers are focusing their attentions on the higher tier shows, and at least want to do better than a loss in the budget. I guess we need a few more wealthy entrepreneurs or show managers willing to go out on a limb for us and lose money, so that most of us can enjoy horse showing without also losing money. Doesn’t sound appealing for entrepreneurs and show managers, does it? Anyone? Ferris? Roby? (oh wait, you are taken, nvm.) Guess the current structure only works for the exceedingly wealthy show management systems, because I am not sure what the incentive would be for entering the environment when you knew you would be losing money right from the start. Why not just buy a horse instead?
Who else is out there besides WEC?
This winter, Derek Braun picked up on the incredibly weak Zone 5 and used his Split Rock Tour company to offer a schooling series for competition starved people without any access to shows from October to April. He must have been left with at least 20 marriage proposals for even THINKING about how to organize the endeavor during a pandemic, and causing a flurry of excitement as he scored the Alltech Arena for a couple of weekends of absolute mayhem in the hunter and jumper discipline. Everyone within driving distance packed the parking lots with a variety of creatures of all levels giddy to scope out the digs. Smart man. If nothing else, he created a new following of Split Rock devotees ready to spring into action at the mere hint of another schooling series anywhere in the country he wishes to pop up. Now, with the addition of hunters into some of his other jumping Tours, he can afford to lose money in one area, and make money in another area, which is really just a guess. I don’t have any knowledge of the ins and outs of Derek’s business, but I am wondering if the success of Split Rock in the past has given him an ability to think outside the box for the future. What sets him apart from WEC? It helps to be running shows in 6 states across the country, that’s a plus.
If nothing else, he is offering you a chance to have a stall and entry fees paid by filling out an online application. That’s cool.
Could anyone have walked into the horse park and asked for the Alltech Arena to be used for a schooling show? Not likely, not without a Tour behind them willing to write a big check to turn the lights on. Could he have the same success running a series of Regional shows? Maybe, but it gets a whole lot more complicated when you add in another organization.
It can even get complicated when you add in a Board of Directors.
Devon, what on earth?
I am not, nor ever have been, a devoted fan to the Devon Horse Show. When I was younger, I gave it a go as more of a helper, and was not tuned into the madness. However, I am not stupid enough to believe anyone cares about seeing me show there. What worries me about the surprising impulse for Wayne Grafton to simply cancel the event on his own terms in 2021 is the apparent slap in the face to the horse show community who tirelessly seem to dedicate their loyalty to certain venues and certain people only to be left disappointed time and time again. I get that horse show people should not be vain enough to think the world revolves around them specifically, but canceling that show really does open the door for a future disruption all together. What is left of a once 200 posh acre farm is a mere couple hundred meters of prime real estate in an area full of people with very little thoughts to horses and ponies. This is dangerous. When I read those press releases, my first thoughts were - this is some bull shit. I don’t think it was about the pandemic. I know for sure it wasn’t because of the USEF. And I know it wasn’t about the money.
It would be great if I am just a dingbat with a wild imagination with no evidence or proof to stand on that some conspiracy surrounds the Devon Horse Show and the current BOD. Super, I have been called worse. I hope I am wrong. I really do. I hope the 2022 Devon Horse Show receives the handouts devoted patrons are willing to raise for the community and sends the exhibitors into a dizzy, exhilarating bonanza of hunter and jumper celebrations and we all get to ride on the ferris wheel next summer. But, I am not holding my breath, even for a second. Maybe I am truly insensitive to the realities of the world around me and the act of running horse shows right now is a terrible, terrible idea… as I select my seats for a Justin Bieber concert happening in a couple months. (jk,jk, I hate Justin Bieber)
Sigh, I don’t know. But I DO know there are at least a couple of people out there thinking outside the box.
Neither Devon, nor Split Rock were brought up during the last couple of town halls, but what was discussed got me thinking about the observations we have made this past year.
Two little, too late.
Tom O’Mara from USEF has attempted two live zoom town halls, I believe, since he replaced Murray Kessler as president last year. I hope more pop up from him, as it seems to be an effective tool in the new environment, and encourage a less scripted meeting from the USEF as we all become more accustomed to these face to face chats. In the latest issue of US Equestrian official Magazine, I was amused by the article on governance offered, but at least it is in there. It would have been clever to start hosting town halls right from the beginning of the pandemic, and we all would have been better prepared for the wild controversy surrounding big events this year, but maybe Tom has not curated the tolerance and patience needed for zoom town halls.
Maybe he knew the USEF could never get a handle on WEC leaving the environment all together and everyone just threw their hands up and said, meh, let ‘em go. Doubtful, but who knows. What’s done is done, now it is up to the exhibitors to figure it out with WEC. I haven’t full wrapped my head around the handling of licensed officials, but I am sure it makes sense to someone else.
Regardless, I am on board with the online town halls. You got me, I am hooked, and I want to see more. The USHJA deserves the credit for pushing the envelope here, and I don’t think anyone (even one of their biggest critics) can take that away from them…
…in my opinion.