Eventing Changes....and Darren Chiacchia injury

Here is a letter I received today as a member of the USEA.  Some necessary changes are being put into motion, finally...

 Let me start by saying, I have a strong interest in seeing these changes, I lost a very dear friend to the cross country course at the Florida Horse Park just over a year ago...

I have included some of the points of the letter written by the president of the USEA.  If you wish to read it in its entirety, you can go to http://www.useventing.com/

Also, keep Darren Chiacchia in your prayers as he sustained a bad head injury.  For more information, go to his website, www.independencefarm.com as his family is putting up frequent updates on his improving condition.

USEA - Important Notice
[March 24, 2008]

USEA President Kevin Baumgardner's Report on the Strategic Planning Meeting March 21-22 in Leesburg, Virginia.

I told you that I would report back to the membership after our Strategic Planning meeting in Leesburg, which took place this past Friday and Saturday.  Before I do so, please allow me to describe the avalanche of responses I have received from concerned members since I posted my message on the USEA website early last week soliciting your input.  So far, approximately 500 members have emailed or called me.  Dozens more have contacted the various Area Chairs or the USEA staff.  Those who have contacted us have included a broad cross-section of our membership-grass-roots Eventers as well as some of the biggest names in the sport.  I have heard from adult amateur riders at every level, trainers and coaches at every level, young riders at every level, Olympic gold medalists, riders who are just taking up the sport and hoping to compete at beginning novice, members who have been involved in the sport for forty-plus years, Badminton champions, riders whose lifelong goal is to move up to preliminary, veterinarians, officials, organizers, course designers and builders, owners of four-star (and in some cases Olympic medalist) horses, spouses and parents of elite-level riders, and many, many concerned parents of aspiring young riders.  I have also received a number of emails from Eventers in Canada, New Zealand and England.  I have heard from many people who are considering leaving the sport, are currently on the sidelines considering whether they are comfortable re-entering the sport,  or who are wrestling with whether to allow their children to take up (or continue in) the sport.

What message did you give us?  Well over 90 percent of those who responded said some variation of the following:

We must reverse the prevailing trends in cross-country course design at all levels-that is, let's tone down the emphasis on technical difficulty, on packing courses with tight turns and complexes taken at show-jumping speed, and on sorting out the field.  Instead, let's swing the pendulum back towards courses that emphasize the rhythm of the gallop and that are focused on being horse and rider-friendly .

Another message that came through loud and clear:

We must slow down optimal speeds where appropriate given the nature of the course, constraints imposed by the size of the venue, terrain, footing, etc.

Then there was this:

The direction of our sport should not be dictated in a top-down fashion by a few entrenched individuals; instead, we need accountability at all levels and need new voices to be heard in the governance of Eventing in this country.

And finally this:

Let's make Eventing fun again.

Those were by far the four most prevalent messages.  Your emails also contained dozens of other creative ideas on topics including safety, how to open up governance of the sport, etc.   I did my best to synthesize and communicate your input to the participants in the Strategic Planning session (who included, among others, a majority of the USEA board of governors).

... So we unanimously voted to take immediate action to reverse the trends in course design and to slow down speeds where appropriate.  We also unanimously voted on a set of six guiding principles that address our overall philosophy in responding to the four main areas of member concerns communicated to us...

The USEA Board of Governors, on March 22, 2008. hereby unanimously resolves to:

1. Adopt the six Guiding Principles as a policy statement of USEA:

   USEA Guiding Principles

   1.	We will not wait for the FEI or the rest of the world; we will lead.
   2.	The sport shall emphasize the success of horse and rider, not a philosophy of elimination.
   3.	Identifying and implementing appropriate standards of course design and speed at each level.
   4.	Addressing and respecting our members' concerns at competitions and in the governance of the sport.
   5.	Encouraging and developing opportunities for members to participate in all facets of leadership at all levels.
   6.	In all of our endeavors and pursuits, we affirm our commitment to the welfare of the horse.

   
   
2. Direct and authorize the Eventing Standards Task Force to take immediate action to reverse the trends in course design and slow down speeds where appropriate, consistent with Item 3 in the Guiding Principles.
   
   
3. Direct and authorize the Eventing Standards Task Force to present rule change proposals in accordance with Item 2 above, to be acted on by the USEF Eventing Technical Committee in its April 23, 2008 meeting.
   
   
4. Provide the Eventing Standards Task Force with communications received from USEA members to guide them in making these rule change proposals.

So here's the plan:  The Eventing Standards Tasks Force is scheduled to meet (via telephone) this coming Thursday, March 27, to start the process of hammering out proposed rule changes.  As noted in paragraph 4 of the motion passed by the Board, we will provide the task force with the emails and other communications I and my colleagues have received from you (with the exception of those messages that you have asked me to hold confidential) to help guide them in this process.  Again, we hope and expect to have rule change proposals regarding cross country design and speed standards drafted, approved by the task force and submitted to the USEF Eventing Technical Committee (chaired by USEA Governor and Strategic Planning participant Malcolm Hook, who is also a member of the Eventing Standards Task Force) in advance of  the Rolex meeting in late April.  I am a member of the Eventing Technical Committee, as are several other USEA Governors. 

I am very pleased to report that USEF Safety Committee chair Andrew Ellis has contacted the USEA and informed us that he endorses this effort.