We’re not likely to ever forget 2001. The terrorist acts of Sept. 11 marked a turning point for the entire world. Events such as this always lead us to think in terms of “before” and “after.” And, they invariably result in change that affects almost everyone’but each of us in different ways.

A tragedy such as the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks has a merciless impact on many directly and many more indirectly. Yet
we can now see some positive change within the whole fabric of our society that’s resulted from our response. It helps to remember that the reaction to an event can have an even more lasting impact than the event itself.

Like it or not, we live in a world of constant change. Stopping time, and the evolution that it brings, is simply not in our power. Usually change creeps up on us and gives us the ability to anticipate or “get used to the idea,” to some greater or lesser degree. Occasionally, however, a single action will precipitate such a complete shake-up that many far-reaching changes come about far, far faster than most of us would have preferred.

In our small sphere of equestrian sports, such a precipitating event occurred in February 2001’with the filing of a formal U.S. Olympic Committee Article VIII challenge by the U.S. Equestrian Team against the American Horse Shows Association. It’s very difficult to consider any of the other milestones reached in the past year outside the context of this event and its ramifications.

When the “family squabble” turned into outright litigation on Feb. 15, the governance of the sport was changed forever. The internal bickering that had gone on for years, along with the often very personalized and over-publicized public debate that was the immediate aftermath of the challenge, have displayed an ugly image of our sport to the world.

Perhaps, though, some of this turmoil was inevitable given the evolution of the whole sport over the past two or three decades. Perhaps we were overdue in redesigning our national governing body, which reflected the sport of 25’or more’years ago. I, as secretary of USA Equestrian, believe we were long overdue in tackling these issues. By creating a newly structured NGB, we can better respond to the needs of our members’today, tomorrow and well into the future.

Explosive Decade

We all seem to keep ourselves increasingly busy with the essentials of day-to-day life while trying to squeeze in enough time for the things we love to do (like enjoying our horses!). Meanwhile, the world in general, and the equestrian world in particular, continue to evolve.

The sport has seen a steady growth throughout its history, but never more than during the past decade. This is obvious just by looking at the number of competitions and competitors in them. Along with the sheer volume, however, another equally important factor has been growing exponentially’the stakes involved.

As the perceived and real values of our competition horses have risen, so has the relative importance of such things as year-end awards or computer list rankings. Some junior riders, and their parents, will go to almost any lengths to qualify for a prestigious event such as a medal final or a Prix des States team.

For a rider or owner with a burning desire to qualify for an important team, the decision to use moderate treatment for an injury instead of one of the more invasive, and potentially damaging, interventions offered by modern veterinary medicine can be excruciatingly hard to make. To a competition organizer with tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars invested in their next event, assuring the anticipated number of entrants is the difference between profit and loss.

It’s hard to say at what point the world of A- and AA-rated hunter/jumper shows turned into such a high-stakes one. The process has been gradual over many years. But in 2001 we reached high-water marks in several different areas. Let’s consider a few that reflect on our current situation.

In the past year, USAEq most certainly received the largest number of formal and informal complaints and inquiries ever registered over rules and their enforcement. The complexity of the compilation of points and standings grows with the number of competitors and importance of the events.

Our federation made competition results available on-line for the first time in 2001. This was the first of many more advancements we’ll see result from the new technology that’s now in place. The availability of information’in an accurate, complete and timely fashion’ might well be one of the most valuable services our organization can provide.

But greater access to information means more reliance on the data and questions of possible discrepancies. As the chairman of a committee that tries to keep our rules up to date with a rapidly evolving discipline (show jumping), I’ve learned that few of us care much about the rules. That is, we don’t care much until we’re personally affected by an interpretation, an application, or some failure or inconsistency in the enforcement of one. At this point, we care very much indeed.

A casual attitude toward the rules that form the structure of our whole sport is no longer an option because so much importance is placed on the outcome of competition these days.

Fortunately, given this growing importance, 2001 also set a new standard for the level of professionalism achieved by the more than 100 individuals who staff the USAEq headquarters in Lexington, Ky. They receive daily reminders from the members of the seriousness of the issues involved, and they take pride in responding to each and every question in a manner that will build the credibility and integrity of the federation and the whole sport.

Another empirical measure of growth that reached a new high last year was the extent of U.S. participation abroad. Despite the fact that the USET only sent one show jumping tour to Europe, a midsummer developing riders tour, the number of jumper entries processed by the USAEq desk in Gladstone, N.J., increased 44 percent over the prior year. The exceptional results posted by riders like Peter Wylde, Leslie Howard, Candice King, Beezie Madden and Norman Dello Joio bode well for our chances in this year’s World Equestrian Games.

Along with the increased participation does come increased complexity. Imagine keeping straight 476 different entries’the number submitted by Cindy Stys and her department on behalf of the nearly 100 different jumper riders who so ably represented the United States in foreign FEI-sanctioned competitions during the year. From all signs, this number is not likely to diminish, nor is the process of obtaining invitations and determining how the invitations will be honored likely to become less complicated in the future.

Not Unto Ourselves

Our country does not, and cannot, exist in a vacuum. In ways
small and large, every competitor in an international discipline like show jumping is affected by changes instigated by our international federation, the Federation Equestre Internationale. Whether it is coping with their changes to a decades-old table of jumping faults or having our flag flying over the stadium at the Nations Cup Final in the wake
of Sept. 11, we are part of a larger community and not a world unto
ourselves.

Perhaps we should take comfort that every nation and discipline in our sport shares our growing pains. While effective communication remains a challenge, at least we are all on the same wavelength.

Another milestone reached in 2001 was the recognition of the U.S. Pony Clubs as an affiliate of USAEq. The USPC became the first to occupy a whole new category of affiliates called associated youth organizations. I’m thrilled to have this far-reaching group formally join with us in an effort to develop all aspects of our sport. The USPC is dedicated to the education of horsemen, in the finest and broadest sense of the word, and offers a beautiful balance. The sometimes “dog-eat-dog” world of horse showing can make it difficult to remember that being a winner and being a horseman are not necessarily one and the same.

Of course the most “visible” happening of 2001 was the change in name for our national federation. Given the decades of growth and resulting changes in the very nature and composition of the organization, it’s likely that we’d outgrown the “old” name of American Horse Shows Association some years ago. But, like that comfortable
but worn-out pair of paddock boots, no one really wanted to trade
in the comfort and familiarity of the old for something new and rather stiff.

After being the subject of much discussion (at least 15 years worth that I know of), a new and far more fitting moniker was finally voted into being in July. Most of us find the new name becoming gradually more comfortable all the time. Although it will be a few years yet before “AHSA” doesn’t just roll off my tongue (maybe because of the years it took me to learn to get that acronym out correctly), the change already is demonstrating its worth as we embark on our first steps toward joining the ranks of important sports in the eyes of the public.

Yes, the USET’s filing of a formal challenge to the AHSA’s historic status as national governing body for equestrian sports was certainly not the only item of import in 2001. But the challenge did provide a real sense of urgency as AHSA/USAEq leaders considered what the future should bring to their membership. With the challenge, even those who had never before given a minute’s thought to the sport’s “governance issues” suddenly woke up in a world where press releases and in-gate gossip were inundating us all with both information and personal opinion.

As we embark on a new competition season, it’s still uncertain just what will be the final outcome of a year that began with a formal challenge. But I’ll predict that almost every member of our equestrian community will have an opinion’on both the look and the substance of the new structure that will be emerging in the months and years to come.

It’s a natural process for some snakes to shed their old and outgrown skin in order to gain a new and properly sized one, an apt metaphor to describe our sport’s upcoming journey. Not knowing exactly what we’ll look like in one year or five isn’t easy. I’m willing to bet that, no matter what, it will be far too “different” to suit most of us, at least in the short term.

“Challenge” can be another word for “opportunity,” however. And I’ve decided that I’m going into the future remembering the words of a late friend, the wise, old-school horsewoman, Barbara Worth Oakford: “In horses and in life, when troubles arise, your best bet is to just kick ’em in the belly and keep going forward!”