British Dressage Imploding

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Velcrobum

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What on earth is going on at BD HQ Karen Ryder who ran the BYRDS scheme has been got rid of, Jo Graham judges Director and Karen Wilson Finance Director have both resigned. Karen Wilson had only been in post 6 weeks. Added to those there has been very high turnover of staff at HQ with the loss of many knowledgeable people.

The change to the forum which happened with about 48 hrs notice if that, caused a huge furore with 3 judges publicly resigning on said forum as a result of the change. This change also stopped associate members from posting on the forum.

Something is very wrong............:(
 
god only knows... *burys head in sand*

it seems like a disaster area at the moment. There won't be anyone left by next week :(
 
Can’t say I’m surprised - their service and organisation is appalling, they must be in total meltdown internally to have such a bad ‘public image’
 
Did you see what Karen posted on the 'other' forum as to her reasons for resigning? It says a lot about the current culture in BDHQ at the moment. I had some personal dealings (over the AF rule changes) with the CEO earlier in the year and I must admit I was suitably unimpressed by his patronising tone.
 
nikicb said:
Did you see what Karen posted on the 'other' forum as to her reasons for resigning? It says a lot about the current culture in BDHQ at the moment. I had some personal dealings (over the AF rule changes) with the CEO earlier in the year and I must admit I was suitably unimpressed by his patronising tone.
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In contrast have had a lot of interaction with various BD staff members over the years, I have always found them both very helpful and very friendly over the years, including direct emails from CEO. Many of the BD staff really go the extra mile to help BD members!
 
wingedhorse said:
In contrast have had a lot of interaction with various BD staff members over the years, I have always found them both very helpful and very friendly over the years, including direct emails from CEO. Many of the BD staff really go the extra mile to help BD members!
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The staff themselves have been lovely, and are always helpful even when under pressure. I have no issue with them.
 
The forum change is just so backward thinking - I will no longer post, it is difficult to have an open discussion on a forum where it can impact on other peoples reputation.
The implosion has been coming for a long time from my perspective - poor skills in key roles, poor prioritization, poor workplace well-being.
 
Well I have not had an email so as I am only an occasional poster there I had no idea what was happening. The BD forum is not the most user friendly in that you cannot/could not go to the first ubread post so with some threads it meant scrolling through pages to find where you last read. Saying that, while I can see the point of of restricting posting to people with paid memberships, it is going to put off a lot of new people who like me are ex members who like to keep up with whats going on even though we do not ride any more, who are thinking of joining or who have queries. It just gives even more of a closed shop appearance. When I first posted there most people knew who other people were, but I think that while forcing people to post under their own name may well make a few think about what they post, it will put off a lot of people and I can see the official forum being dead fairly soon which is a backwards step.
I never had anything but politeness and helpfullness when I needed to contact the office, so it sad to hear about some staff leaving and internal problems. I just hope that those in charge open their eyes, look in the mirror and sort out the issues so that they can go forwards and members can have a BD that works properly
 
Batgirl said:
You are only allowed to post under your own name.
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:o :o Is it seriously being suggested that this is contentious? If you don't have the courage of your convictions, you surely should not be posting? Yes I had a HHO user name that was my own name (Carey Russell) but I got banned :p
 
Lévrier;13672557 said:
:o :o Is it seriously being suggested that this is contentious? If you don't have the courage of your convictions, you surely should not be posting? Yes I had a HHO user name that was my own name (Carey Russell) but I got banned :p
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It's not necessarily about having the courage of your convictions. Some people have asked for advice on delicate or personal issues and want to remain anonymous.
Would you ask for suggestions for a new livery yard or trainer if you knew you could be identified and your current YO / trainer find out?
People were upset about the lack of consultation and short notice.
Also given BDs poor track record with IT some were concerned the security might not be up to scratch.
 
Lévrier;13672557 said:
:o :o Is it seriously being suggested that this is contentious? If you don't have the courage of your convictions, you surely should not be posting? Yes I had a HHO user name that was my own name (Carey Russell) but I got banned :p
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If you haven't been banned from at least one web forum, you aren't trying hard enough! I lost my original HHO login so had to create a new one.
 
Lévrier;13672556 said:
Touche :D :D Love it :)
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Mixture of both. Vanessa Rimmer. I can’t say I have ever been banned from a forum so don’t really need an alias.
 
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So people with a common name say Carol Smith have their own name. How do you tell them apart? Even giving them a number Carol Smith 1, 2, 3 ect is going to cause even more confusion as to which is which.
 
rabatsa said:
So people with a common name say Carol Smith have their own name. How do you tell them apart? Even giving them a number Carol Smith 1, 2, 3 ect is going to cause even more confusion as to which is which.
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That was exactly the suggestion. I've felt the atmosphere of the forum change since they did it and have not responded to threads that I would have done previously...
Though I agree with another poster, this Is just one small element of a much bigger problem, BD are losing key members of staff at an alarming rate :(
 
I think you are focussing too much on the forum Issue.
The membership has been unhappy about multiple things for some time now. The forum change is just the straw that broke the camels back.
 
little_critter said:
I think you are focussing too much on the forum Issue.
The membership has been unhappy about multiple things for some time now. The forum change is just the straw that broke the camels back.
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Indeed - when you have stalwarts like Pammy Hutton calling publicly for the top people to stand down, the future of BD really is of concern. The members' meeting at the convention is going to be an interesting one. It's usually full to capacity as it is, I wonder whether they will have to use the actual arena area instead this year.
 
ester said:
What happened to the forum?
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Associate members were excluded from posting unless they effectively paid. They can still view. I understood the associate membership was created along with team quest and quest to attract people to BD and that they would progress to become full members. There are far more associate members than full members.
 
little_critter said:
I think you are focussing too much on the forum Issue.
The membership has been unhappy about multiple things for some time now. The forum change is just the straw that broke the camels back.
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Indeed!!

This has been posted in Members BD forum:

BRITISH DRESSAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS please be advised I have submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for which you are obliged to respond within 20 working days. I understand similar questions will be raised at the members meeting at the forthcoming National Convention. Thank you.
Staff turnover for the past 3 years (retention)
Salaries for all staff for the past 3 years
Results from staff surveys over the past 3 years
Full disclosure on website write off in excess of £100k
Expenses paid to all staff to include the board of directors to be broken down to individuals for the past 3 years
Growth in membership and income over the past 3 years
CEO annual objectives and results thereon for the past 3 years
Interview and termination notes for all Team GB selectors for the past 3 years
Compensation payments made to any rider (regional, national and international) appealing final selection decision for the past 10 years
Compensation payments made to any volunteer or team trainer for the past 3 years
Profits on outsourced regional training for the past 3 years
Payments made to Penny Pollard and her associates at Core Context to include the BD staff performance reviews for the past 5 years
Payments made to UKCC assessors for the past 3 years to be broken down to individual assessors
How much has been claimed on gift aid since BD attaining charitable status
Expenses paid to Penny Pollard and Jason Brautigam for attending Rio 2016 Olympics
Background to non attendance by Jason Brautigam and/or Penny Pollard at Rio Paralympics given we are the leading nation in the World with funding being the most significant element of our sport via UK Sport. This is the only Olympic discipline in which we are World leaders.
Background to the two recent BD director resignations – Jo Graham and Karen Wilson

It was promptly removed by BD but had appeared in other threads and had been quoted so remains for all to see. The removal prompted Pammy Hutton to demand why?
 
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