August 2020 Issue

The News East Coast Horse Owners Need To Know OUR TH YEAR 1993 - PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 280 LANC., PA 17604 Vol. 27 No. 7 August 2020 (Continued on page 4) …and much more! Inside... By Amy Worden The nation is grappling with the challenging questions of addressing racial injustice in the United States and the equestrian world is no exception. The conversation is lighting up on social media and websites, dominating message boards and opinion pages. Equestrian sports have long been the bastion of wealth and privilege, largely excluding peo- ple of color. In 2000, 95 percent of the members of the U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF), the national governing body for most eques- trian sports, identified as white. Today, as the demographics of equestrian sports begin to reflect the growing population of people of color, the voices of the Black Lives Matter movement are resounding loudly, touching even the rarefied confines of the equine world. Young riders and veteran horsemen and women, white and Black, are speaking out about racial injustice on the pages of the Chronicle of the Horse. Sophie Gochman, who is white and an accomplished junior rider wrote: “For too long, the horse show world has chosen to ignore the extreme social injustice embedded in American policy and tradition. We are an insular community with a gross amount of wealth and white privilege, and thus we choose the path of ignorance.” In her opinion piece, Tyler St. Bernard, who is biracial and an A show circuit rider raised in Bucks County PA, wrote that “the barn should be a neutral place for politics.” But, she continued, “the right for Black Americans to live safely surpasses politics; it is a human right. It is im- USEF, Other Equestrian Organizations Strive to Reach Riders of Color portant that these discussions happen in white spaces like the barn because it is important to address the biases we have in the sport and the difficulties that our fellow riders face. Instead of hiding behind horses, let’s use them to further our discussion and be seen as a sport whose participants are actively work- ing to make their spaces more accessible and friendly to people of color.” David Loman, who is African American, a long-time trainer, former Maryland show stable op- erator and a USEF licensed judg- ing official, cautioned that mem- bers of the equestrian community should not “isolate themselves from the issues around race.” “If we do, then we are the problem. Most of the people in the horse show world will never be affected by this issue, but racism (direct or indirect) is a communicable disease, and even- tually this sickness will infect us all, so we should all confront it,” he wrote in the magazine. Loman urged the sport to use the power of economic, social and political connections to affect change, to educate its members, diversify images of riders and recruit and train young riders of color. The calls for change are be- ing heard within the equine sports establishment, as more people of color are joining its ranks. A survey by the USEF in 2019 found that its white membership had dropped to 89 percent, with more members identifying themselves as men and women of color. Officials with the USEF said they have been working over the past two years to ensure that their marketing reflects a more diverse sport, recognizing that the sport’s future relies on expanding the ranks of its mem- bership. “If we want the sport to continue, we have to make sure people of all races and all walks of life feel welcome,” said Ashley Swift, USEF Affiliate and Communications Specialist who has been leading specifical- ly on the front of Diversity and Inclusion for a number of years. “It’s a moral and an economic thing.” At the end of June USEF’s Diversity & Inclusion Plan and the organization’s Commitment Statement was approved by the board of directors. Next steps, according to a USEF press re- lease, include required training in diversity and inclusion for staff, committee members and licensed officials, developing a racial justice resource guide, looking for partnerships with organiza- tions that support diversity and inclusion and creating visible change in diversity representation through marketing. Marisol Jimenez on Easy Ed, a polo pony, at a jumper show at Heaven’s Gate Farm. Lezlie Hiner of Work to Ride said she enters her riders only in events judged by the clock or the number of goals, not where ribbons are based on the subjective interpretation of a judge. Photo credit: Lezlie Hiner Zebras? Really? Speranza Animal Rescue saves a pair from a Texas feedlot…pg. 11 Top amateur Saly Glassman’s Kindle Hill Farm is home to new therapeutic program…pg. 9 Get ready for autumn with our Fall Fix Up feature...pgs. 14-18