Another British Horse Society c**k-up

joeanne

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Wow..... you accuse the BHS of all sorts, to include bullying and poor treatment of staff and here you are, behaving in EXACTLY the same way....
[Content removed] eh.... nice. Good job you are not involved with the BHS because your head would now be on the block.
It’s not hard to work out who this poor lady is, and your inexcusable attitude will be the exact reason nothing moves forward.
 
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JanetGeorge

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Wow..... you accuse the BHS of all sorts, to include bullying and poor treatment of staff and here you are, behaving in EXACTLY the same way....
[Content removed] eh.... nice. Good job you are not involved with the BHS because your head would now be on the block.
It’s not hard to work out who this poor lady is, and your inexcusable attitude will be the exact reason nothing moves forward.

Gee, sorry joeanne - but if you knew how badly she treated V O L U N T E E R S - who were G I V I N G their time and expertise to the BHS cause, then you'd say [Content removed]d was a bit mild!
 
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PAK

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Wow..... you accuse the BHS of all sorts, to include bullying and poor treatment of staff and here you are, behaving in EXACTLY the same way....
[Content removed] eh.... nice. Good job you are not involved with the BHS because your head would now be on the block.
It’s not hard to work out who this poor lady is, and your inexcusable attitude will be the exact reason nothing moves forward.
Agreed & well said.
 
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PAK

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Gee, sorry joeanne - but if you knew how badly she treated V O L U N T E E R S - who were G I V I N G their time and expertise to the BHS cause, then you'd say [Content removed] was a bit mild!
Your assessment of the person does not justify your rude comments, in my opinion.
 
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honetpot

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So do we as members want to know what the new 'package' is for who ever is employed? Apparently we were not entitled to know before, hence the confusion of what the last CEO was allowed to claim when banned from driving.
 

ViolettaTears

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Great news and about time - too many people have been bullied out of their jobs from staff to directors, the list is endless. Be interesting to see if the new CE is paid a lot less - they should be. Time for the charity to act like a charity and not blunder from one investigation to the next one and change the culture for what is best for the horses and the people. It has been so sad to watch and the similarities to the mess at Amnesty International (where the whole of the management team have offered to resign over a bullying regime and epidemic) means it is time for a new start and a new broom. We have always said that with £60 million pounds of money generated via insurance sales and membership over her tenure it would be hard not to do some good things, but at what cost. The chairman and the trustees need to get a grip... theres no need for her to hang around but pity the other four charities she is a trustee of.
 

honetpot

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Don't get too excited yet, the game of musical chairs of has started and the COO is acting, with the CEO on her shoulder while handing over. There is going to have to be a bigger change needed, and a definitely a change of management style.
They have been in post long enough that there will be people working at BHS HO who will be unhappy with change, I would imagine anyone who did not fit in the present regime left.

If the job description advert is anything like the one for the trustee board, it will be so constrictive as to make it virtually impossible but any one but the usual suspects to apply and that is if they open it up externally?
 

JanetGeorge

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Good old Horse & Hound - another article about the departing CEO (one has to ask just what H&H will do for an accompanying advert, lol.) I hope as muc publicity will be given to the forthcoming EGM - no date yet - but the request has been acknowledged: "The document received was 16 pages in total and holds 44 signatures requesting an Extraordinary General Meeting to discuss and vote on the proposal of “No Confidence in the Chairman, Board of Trustees and Chief Executive of The British Horse Society”.

It will be interesting to see how many nominations there are for potential Board Members - and if any can jump through the hoops.
 

ECB

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Tonight's BHS meeting at Hartpury might be interesting. With an over stuffed agenda designed to reduce the opportunity for dialogue, one wonders if the following questions might be asked- 1) Why does the Board think it is appropriate NOT to publish approved Board minutes to members? 2) What is the Board's rationale for the balance of expenditure shown in 2017 accounts, specifically only 12% of expenditure spent on welfare, safety, access and education 3) Why has BHS expenditure exceeded income for events & exam fees since 2012? 4) What is the explanation for continuing challenge rides while they lose money as reported in the 2017 accounts? 5) What is the explanation for leaving more than £32000 sitting in an account left over from the “Faith, Hope, and Charity” welfare fund raising efforts? 6) With staff growth and turnover, ALL of the 2012 workforce excluding directors, have been replaced TWICE. What is the explanation for this highly unusual level of staff changes? 7) Under the current CEO’s leadership, membership may have increased by 40% but in real terms, but the Society "worth" has declined by £1.6 million comparing like for like net assets. Please explain this strategy of increasing membership apparently regardless of cost. 8) In 2017, the charity’s expenditure was £0.6 million more than its income. Will this pattern be repeated when the 2018 accounts are eventually made public? 9) With rates of £3500 for a full page advert, and high rates for on-line advertising, how much has the BHS paid to H&H in 2018? 10) The CEO's contract requires 6 months notice. How much of this notice will be "worked" and what other payments will be made to the departing CEO?
 

JanetGeorge

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Tonight's BHS meeting at Hartpury might be interesting. With an over stuffed agenda designed to reduce the opportunity for dialogue, one wonders if the following questions might be asked- 1) Why does the Board think it is appropriate NOT to publish approved Board minutes to members? 2) What is the Board's rationale for the balance of expenditure shown in 2017 accounts, specifically only 12% of expenditure spent on welfare, safety, access and education 3) Why has BHS expenditure exceeded income for events & exam fees since 2012? 4) What is the explanation for continuing challenge rides while they lose money as reported in the 2017 accounts? 5) What is the explanation for leaving more than £32000 sitting in an account left over from the “Faith, Hope, and Charity” welfare fund raising efforts? 6) With staff growth and turnover, ALL of the 2012 workforce excluding directors, have been replaced TWICE. What is the explanation for this highly unusual level of staff changes? 7) Under the current CEO’s leadership, membership may have increased by 40% but in real terms, but the Society "worth" has declined by £1.6 million comparing like for like net assets. Please explain this strategy of increasing membership apparently regardless of cost. 8) In 2017, the charity’s expenditure was £0.6 million more than its income. Will this pattern be repeated when the 2018 accounts are eventually made public? 9) With rates of £3500 for a full page advert, and high rates for on-line advertising, how much has the BHS paid to H&H in 2018? 10) The CEO's contract requires 6 months notice. How much of this notice will be "worked" and what other payments will be made to the departing CEO?

And one more question. When will they be holding the EGM to consider the vote of no confidence - they've had it AND acknowledged it!
 

ECB

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According to the BHS Articles of Association, after receiving a petition, the CEO decides if/when to hold an EGM and there is no time requirement specified.
 

JanetGeorge

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According to the BHS Articles of Association, after receiving a petition, the CEO decides if/when to hold an EGM and there is no time requirement specified.

That's certainly true - BUT - if they give a damn about listening to members then they need to provide some agreement and a guess at a date, at least. Unless they just try to sneak it in and out on a Monday morning with bare minimum notice!!
 

sywell

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I thought it highlights the attitude of the CEO including in her achievements the dead slow campaign when she had a 6 month driving ban. Her explanation of why she disbanded the Horse and Pony Breeds Committee a long standing committee on horse Welfare and legislation was weak. It really was that she saw the committee would not bow down to her policies as the feral breeds representatives had strong public support.
 

ECB

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I thought it highlights the attitude of the CEO including in her achievements the dead slow campaign when she had a 6 month driving ban. Her explanation of why she disbanded the Horse and Pony Breeds Committee a long standing committee on horse Welfare and legislation was weak. It really was that she saw the committee would not bow down to her policies as the feral breeds representatives had strong public support.
I assume that you are referring to the driving ban that the CEO did not tell the Board about; the one that was revealed by members of staff who are still too frightened to admit to revealing. The pattern of mismanagement is so clear and prolonged. What will it take for the members to "stand up for what they stand for"? The amount of money that is spent on the insurance policy is "hidden" in the accounts. Members' money is primarily going to overhead; not to the objects of the charity and certainly not to the insurance. The BHS's closet is full of skeletons; and a puppet costing more than £20,000. There will be an EGM in early June called for a vote of no confidence in the Board, Chair and CEO. This, in law, has no power to change the situation unless through massive attendance & proxy votes, members make this count.
 

ECB

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A popular news item at the moment - unconfirmed but plausible. Exiting BHS CEO seeking to be Trustee and CEO of Pony Club. Seems there is a big market in China for Pony Club too.
 
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