26/07/2024
Time for BD and the FEI to step up and act now!
I know what Charlotte has done is wrong and I think she has paid her penance and will continue to do so.
That aside, we all know this goes on, at the top. We all know professionals are under pressure to produce better, quicker, more movement and it all comes down to money because the quicker the training the more money you get. This is not an excuse. This incident needs to bring about change and although, devastating as it is, what Charlotte has done needs to bring some good by spurring (excuse the pun) a big shift.
British Dressage and the FEI need to step up now and make BIG changes.
- Scrap young horse classes, OR judge them as YOUNG HORSES, reward the ones that are unbalanced, wobbly and weak and behaving as 4 year olds should.
- spot checks on clinics and training sessions and professional yards
- judges need to stop marking highly for the extravagance tense hollow horses and start rewarding the harmony higher. (This was a hot topic at Christmas at London International, how has nothing changed yet)
- if judges stop rewarding that way of riding, riders will stop riding like that and the training will be better.
- organisers of shows need to have the power to eliminate competitors if there horse is stressed, or ridden harshly in the warm up or test and this practice NEEDS to be used. A precedence needs to be set. Excessive grinding of teeth, excessive sweating these are all (for the most part) big signs of tension an unhappy horse and the rider shouldn’t be happy to compete their horse if this is how they are presenting in the warm up. Go home and step down a level, train a bit more, give the horse a holiday, get the physio… withdraw or face elimination, if the horse is being ridden harsh in the warm up of a competition venue then how is it ridden behind closed doors.
- the question “would you mind if I video you and put it on social media” should be on everyone’s minds and if the answer is remotely towards ‘errr maybe not’ then you are ridding / training wrong and incorrectly and should be eliminated or withdraw.
- a harsh stance needs to be taken across the board, not just at high profile, premier leagues, regionals or nationals. Everyone should have the power to say ‘that’s not rite’ then hopfully if people start using this power everyone will start training their horses in a kinder better PROPER way as there will be no where to hide.
Come on BD! Where are you on this. We need to save our sport and have ITV breakfast talking about what big changes have come about following this incident. We need action now while it’s in the general publics eye and we need the general public to see what we are doing to bring about change and show that we do love our horses and train them through kind rewarding methods.
