Integrity in horse sport

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icestationzebra

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It has occurred to me over the last few weeks there is a distinct lack of integrity in the horse world....
The whitewash of the Tryon case has sealed it for me. For someone that has brought the sport of eventing into disrepute and been found guilty of horse abuse - everyone seems to be protecting her. The FEI by giving her a token gesture of a fine and a ban, those 'pros' that have defended her, H&H for their 'sit on the fence' 'don't want to get involved in anything contraversial' reporting..... why will noone stand up and be counted? Our sport is going to be ruined by this preferential treatment of the chosen few... Just read about the doping of the German horse too.....another cock up
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What do you think?
 
You are dead right and its not being helped by the lack of integrity amongst the press either. I believe that everyone is so wrried about the effect of litigatiion or teh loss of advertisers /sponsors that no one is prepared to stand up for what is actually right anymore. The web is the only bastion of free speech these days and even sites like this can be edited.
 
I used to competitively race at cycling, and look at the problems in that sport. You think equestrian sports are screwed up, look at the Tour de France...
 
But what i hate the most is the way that the few who do stand up are pilloried for doing the right thing. I should know, i can think of a couple of publications who will have nothing to do with my writing though it is good, for fear of who they might offend.
 
There is no such thing as free speech. Never was and never will be because 1 person's free speech is another's slander.
 
Just a thought - have the people who disagree with the FEI over the Amy Tryon case and with H&H's reporting of it written to H&H? If enough people write in about it they may publish some or at least realise that their readers are not happy about things.
 
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it is not slander to report the facts and even those seem to be open to interpretation these days.

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It might take your house and everything else you own to establish that though. Lawyers are expensive...
 
I know that there are problems in a lot of sports....look at the match fixing allegations in football or the bungs that were investigated with regard to transfers..... Perhaps I was being a bit naive in hoping that our sport was above all that and would always fall back on honesty - however hard that was to swallow - and most importantly respect for the horse.... and it is that, that I feel is being compromised
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I know
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Noone seems to be able to stand up and have a good old 'gloves off' debate anymore and I fear that threatened litigation is at the heart of it.... do you think there is also an element of 'not wanting to upset people'? Or should I say - not wanting to upset influential people?
 
With the arrogance and complacency only too prevalent in its higher levels and administration, eventing has got a major problem that could undermine the future of the sport itself. I take no joy in saying this but the evidence is there to see:

1. The FEI whitewash of the Tryon abuse case.
2. The 'accidents will happen' statements when another rider is killed
3. The Canute-like attitude to the weather that caused the Badminton fiasco.

That H&H should connive in this appalling mindset leaves me no choice other than to cancel my DD. (And no, I didn't get mine yesterday, either.)
 
I've just realised that industrial action is probably the reason for many of us not havig received H & H yesterday. Didn't realise at the time as I did receive some post!
 
I think the problem is that the FEI is a totally spineless organisation. There are a few big national federations that seem to have the clobber to be able to turn the FEI to jelly - USA, Germany, France and UK are some. Look at the Bettina Hoy farce at the Olympics all the above at each others throats and the FEI showed its true colours. If the FEI was not so spineless and used to greater effect far greater punishments then people would think twice before flouting them.
 
I think the fundamental difference between integrity in horse sport and other sports is that ours is the only one where there is a 'participant' that has no choice in the matter in regard to being at the competition and is also a sentient being - i.e. the horse.

Therefore more than any other sport ours ought to be 'clean' in these days of 'animal rights'

I also think that the 'fear of litigation' reporting is getting to be as bad as the 'fear of litigation' teaching of horse riding and the demise of the riding school

You combine the fact that litigation has and is continuing to kill off riding schools and make riding so d**n expensive that only the well off can afford to compete and that automatically will lead to a situation where if the people competing are well or better off and in a clique then it will become even more of a 'scratch my back and I'll scratch yours' situation.

I do think however that the 'editing' bordering on censorship on this forum is very surprising compared with other rural magazine hosted forums that must be as aware of 'possible litigation' as H&H and which I use.

Emotive subjects such as animal welfare are bound to make people upset as I would guess 99.9% of people wouldn't be here unless they loved horses...

tbh I'm very close to abandoning H&H as well - if only there was another weekly mag and not just monthly magazines as an alternative I'd have quit ages ago after many years of subscribing.
 
'Spineless' is a good word, so is 'abject', 'gutless' and 'pusillaminous'. And all of which apply to the FEI.

So if we can't rely on equine sport's governing body to enforce acceptable (welfare) standards, we have only the equine press ...

So where are you H&H?

Or are your journalists too cosy with the adminstrators and top riders to raise contentious issues?
 
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