Eventing
Since becoming president of the USEA I have encouraged free and open discussion and unfettered debate regarding every aspect of our sport's governance and administration. As part of my pledge to make the USEA as open, transparent and inclusive as possible, I have made my email address and phone number available to all members, and have pushed forward a number of measures designed to get Eventers representing all segments of our membership more involved in the governance process.
Some aspects of this effort have been more successful than others, but one thing has become clear to me over the last several hectic months: free speech is alive and well in the United States Eventing Association. Hundreds of USEA members have taken me up on my offer to engage in a direct dialogue with them, and they haven't been bashful about stating their likes, dislikes and opinions in direct and sometimes vivid language. That is as it should be. Every communication with a USEA member has provided valuable insight to me and my colleagues in the Association's leadership, and I am very, very grateful to those who have been kind enough to write or call me, no matter what their views. Please stay engaged and keep the lines of communication open.
Having listened to many others' points of view, I now want to take this opportunity to exercise a little free speech of my own. Today's topic is "my least favorite phrases." Here are two:
1. "The powers that be." I have heard quite a lot about these "powers" and frequently see myself identified as one of them. While it is true that there are concentrations of power within our sport's leadership both in this country and internationally, the indiscriminate use of that phrase strikes me as counterproductive because it implies in the speaker a comfortable distance from the rough and tumble "real world" where decisions get made. It is natural to feel frustrated when problems aren't resolved as quickly as you would like, or when you disagree with the direction taken by the sport's governing bodies, but it is all too easy to sit back and take refuge in the notion that "I'm a powerless peon" while endlessly dissecting the actions of "TPTB" secure in the knowledge that you won't be called on actually to do the work yourself—let alone stand behind it. I think we all need to hold ourselves up to a higher standard, fully realizing that the issues facing the sport of Eventing are complex, consensus as to solutions is not always immediately attainable, and therefore in the real world of the sport's governance the people who make a difference are those who are willing to roll up their sleeves and make a committed effort over the long run to create that consensus. "Power," like "opportunity," is often what you make of it.
2. "Treat me like a customer." Another sticking point for me is the term "customer service," as in "the USEA (or Event X) is in the customer service business." Don't get me wrong: the USEA is deeply committed to member service. You sense that every time you log onto our website (www.useventing.com) or call one of the unfailingly friendly staffers in the USEA office. But when I hear the term "customer service" applied to our context I can't help but feel that the speaker has conflated the USEA, a non-profit association of 14,000 members driven largely by volunteer effort, with a for-profit enterprise like ExxonMobil. We don't have passive, disengaged "customers" (again, a term that implies a you-do-the-work distance), we have members—and if the sport is to survive, they must be active, involved and engaged.
So what, in my opinion, can USEA members do to move the sport forward in a positive way?
Volunteer! No one has the birthright to be an Eventer. Instead, volunteerism and sweat equity are what our sport has always been about. I am reminded of a story told by Major General Jack Burton (in my view one of the great heroes of our sport) at the Portland, Oregon USEA Annual Meeting in 2001. General Burton was asked about the inaugural Middle Tennessee event, which occurred in 1953. With a wry grin, the general said, "I designed the cross-country course, built the course, served as the Technical Delegate, and won the event!"
Obviously, the days described by General Burton are long gone. But even factoring in the skyrocketing prices of horses, diesel fuel, stable and board and the like, I submit that our sport remains highly dependent on grassroots volunteerism. It is not even close to a true "market based" economic model. Next time you are at an Event, look around. If you think the underpaid (or unpaid) landowners, organizers, secretaries and officials, not to mention the armies of scribes, jump judges, cross-country course workers, ring stewards and other volunteers out there, aren't subsidizing your avocation you are kidding yourself. Just pay each of those volunteers the minimum hourly wage, and see what that would do to entry fees.
Sure, there are a small number of professionals who make a business out of Eventing, but they are just as dependent on our "non-market" economic model as everyone else. And yes, corporate sponsorship is growing in our sport. In a relatively small subculture such as ours, however, those sponsors are attracted by the intense passion and involvement of our members. Lose that, and you will quickly lose sponsors' interest. First and foremost this sport has always been—and in my judgment will always be—a labor of love. At the Caber Farm Horse Trials in Washington state this August I was startled to see Joanna Herrigstad, whom many of you know as a highly respected "R"-rated dressage judge and technical delegate, sitting not in a judge's stand but rather on a folding chair in the "back forty" of the cross-country course jump-judging the beginner novice division. When I blurted out my surprise at seeing her there, Joanna cheerfully allowed that volunteering as a jump judge was a valuable experience that gave her a different perspective on the Event. I shouldn't really have been surprised. Joanna is someone who has always understood the vital role that volunteer effort plays in our sport.
Let me tell you just a few things that committed volunteers have accomplished in 2008. Two of our most energetic members, Malcolm Hook and Gina Miles, have been at the forefront of the key safety-related rule changes that have been pushed through the rule-making process since last December. In March of this year, Gina took on the monumental task of leading the (all volunteer) USEA Eventing Standards Task Force despite the fact that she was in the midst of her final preparation for the Olympic Games. Malcolm also served on that Task Force, a significant burden when added to the countless volunteer hours he committed to his chairmanship of the (all volunteer) USEF Eventing Technical Committee. The rule changes resulting from that effort that have either gone into effect or will soon go into effect involve, among other things:
· much stricter move-up qualifications;
· the implementation of the "one-fall" rule;
· the development of a set of "reverse qualifications" providing that a horse/rider combination move down a level when they have consistently have problems at the higher level;
· the implementation of a set of rules providing officials with broader tools for dealing with dangerous riding;
· the mandatory and expanded use of frangible technology on cross-country jumps (including open oxers); and
· the establishment of a "watch list" to identify and deal with problems before they become accidents.
Other changes, including a comprehensive set of return-to-play rules, are in the final stages of adoption, and still others are being actively discussed and debated. I am sure that discussion will continue at our annual meeting in New Orleans this December.
The Association's push for research and data-gathering on safety-related topics has likewise been fueled largely by volunteer effort. Recently I was on a conference call with USEA members Reed Ayers and John Staples regarding budgeting/funding for their landmark GPS "speed study." This is an excellent example of volunteer initiative for the good of the sport. At my request, the USEA Board of Governors recently approved $10,000 in funding for the speed study in the fiscal 2009 budget. This year I also appointed a blue-ribbon (and all volunteer) veterinary committee including Dr. Catherine Kohn, Dr. Kent Allen, and Dr. Mark Revenaugh (and also including human cardiology experts Dr. Lynn Cronin and Dr. Mark Hart as consultants) to draw up a protocol for a research study intended to gather data on the effects of modern cross-country courses on the cardiovascular systems of event horses. The (all-volunteer) Board of Governors allocated $30,000 for that study in fiscal 2009 (which starts on October 1).
And while I'm on the topic of the volunteerism that defines our sport, let's talk about our CEO, Jo Whitehouse. Jo is of course a paid staffer, but I can personally attest that she works so many hours seven days a week that she can fairly be termed a volunteer as well. The same is true of our other staff members. On many weekends this year I have met with, or have had lengthy conference calls with, Jo and various staffers on a variety of topics. No 9-to-5 mentality there!
Contribute! Every single one of those volunteer members of the Board of Governors (as well as many of our staffers and hundreds of other USEA members) have contributed money this year to help fund our various safety initiatives. I hope that you have given generously to the USEA, and that you encourage your friends and fellow USEA members to give as well.
Divided we fall. Do those of us who volunteer our time so freely, and who give money to the cause as well, do so because we somehow believe we are in a "business" serving nameless "customers"? Hardly. We make this commitment because of our passion for the sport, because of our high regard for the wonderful people and horses who participate in it, and because of our unshakeable belief that we are all in this together. It is for that last reason that I sometimes get impatient with those who can't get past the divisions within the sport. I don't doubt for a minute that such divisions exist—and believe me, I am the first to roll my eyes when someone at the upper reaches of the sport makes one of those condescending pronouncements that seem calculated to do little other than infuriate ninety-five percent of his or her fellow Eventers. But anyone who thinks that the lower levels don't need the upper levels (or vice versa) is, in my humble opinion, living in a fantasy world. I sometimes hear from grassroots members that they are looking for a leader to spearhead a lower-level breakaway from the "high performance" elite. If that's what you want, all I can tell you is you've got the wrong president. In my view, we are all part of the same small subculture, one that must deal with serious sport-related issues in the face of periodic and often hostile scrutiny by the mainstream world. If the difficult events of this year have taught us anything, it is that we cannot survive by balkanizing our sport—we need to stick together and find common ground.
How do we do so? I think we should get away from cop-out concepts like "the powers that be" and "customer service" and instead ask ourselves: are we all doing what we can to "give back" to the sport we love? Let's find ways to get a much broader cross-section of our membership involved in the hard work of moving this sport forward. This won't happen overnight, and there will be many bumps in the road, but it is worth doing.
Get involved! Many members have asked me how they can personally become involved in a meaningful way, given the obvious fact that not all fourteen thousand of us can be on the Board of Governors or on a national committee. The solution, I think, is threefold: first, get involved in your Area. Call your Area Chair (you can click on the U.S. map on the Association's website to get his or her contact information) and ask how you can volunteer. Do the same with the Young Rider and Adult Rider Coordinators as well as organizers of events in your Area—they can nearly always use a helping hand. And then stick with it. Nearly all of the people now involved in the national governance of the sport—myself included—started at the Area level.
Second, come to the Annual Meeting in New Orleans this December. The details are on the USEA website. At a time like this, it is vitally important that we have broad member participation in the ongoing discussion regarding the direction of the sport. That discussion will be front and center in New Orleans. If you care about our sport, you should be there.
Third, and at the risk of repeating myself, please give. Join your fellow members in givingto the USEA to help support the programs that are making a difference.
I challenge all USEA members to live up to the fact that our Association is not us and them—it is you and I. If your goal is the slow demise of this sport, then by all means stand on the sidelines and loudly bemoan the self-fulfilling prophecy that you aren't one of the "powers that be." If, on the other hand, you want to be part of the solution, this is your invitation to step up to the plate and get to work.
I've said it before and I'll keep saying it until I'm blue in the face: Get involved!
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