Our columnist lauds the civil and open debate surrounding a variety of difficult issues in the hunter sport this year.

As the year comes to a close, it’s natural to reflect on the past year to determine whether the results were better than the previous year. The conundrum in equestrian sport is that governance cannot move fast enough for some members and moves too fast for others.

Striking the balance between the two polar opposites can be difficult because it doesn’t give everyone everything they believe they need. However, it does create the optimal result by causing members to discuss the issues and achieve consensus, thus enabling our sport to move forward.

If you attended the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association Annual Meeting this year, I hope you sensed a different dynamic from the previous year. Members realized that the organization doesn’t shy away from discussing the hard issues, and the majority of members came prepared to discuss the issues and be part of the solutions to the problems in our sport.

Our Rules Committee made an increased effort to make certain that the intent and language of rule change proposals were clear and logical. This significantly improved our members’ understanding of the purpose of a proposal. We debuted the presentation of new ideas in concept form, versus in rule change format, which encouraged discussion at the annual meeting as well as throughout the year at Town Hall meetings across the country. This format kept members focused on the topics and actively participating in discussions.

Also, a clearly defined schedule allowed for ample presentation and discussion of rules and programs with the working groups and committees involved in their oversight, giving members the opportunity to immerse themselves in shaping the future of their sport.

While most of the rule change proposal issues were resolved going into the final session of the board of directors meeting, there are some big ticket items that will continue to be discussed and refined in the coming year. Some topics are related to the governance and functionality of the sport, some topics are still in developmental stages, and some topics are related to rule changes. These include the role of competition stewards, pony measurement, the jumper discipline pipeline for human and equine athletes, the development of hunters, and the implementation of the USHJA Strategic Plan.

Defining The Steward’s Role

I was impressed by the level of response to my request for members to jot down on paper what they feel is the purpose and role of a competition steward. The results solidified my belief that what the rules indicate is the purpose and role of a steward differs greatly from the perception of the majority of our members.

Simply stated, the current rules give no authority to a steward to enforce the rules of the governing organizations. Stewards are only mandated to report any violations and resolutions to the problems if they were addressed.

This is very different from the overwhelming member belief that stewards must enforce the rules. In reality, the rules limit the authority of a steward at a competition. How can a steward enforce rules when they are not empowered to do so?

Empowerment is a huge move and requires considerable thought before a decision is reached. If we go down this path, stewards must fully understand what is expected of them and the responsibility entailed in this level of authority.

A steward must provide value to the governing organizations and the members. If there is no value, then why do we require that competitions have stewards? From an organizational perspective, we need objective and complete competition evaluations to make certain that standards are being maintained and rules followed. Based on member feedback, exhibitors want stewards to enforce rule compliance. Organizer feedback shows the desire for stewards to clearly explain rules to competitors and point out potential problems so they can be resolved before becoming an issue.

This exercise is just the beginning of determining the future purpose and role of a competition steward.

Measurement Debate And Solutions

Stewards also play a key role in the measurement of ponies and horses for competition. I served as a member of the pony task force way back when the U.S. Equestrian Federation was called the American Horse Shows Association. Leo Conroy was the chair during a significant AHSA driven measurement verification event at the Washington International Horse Show (D.C.).

Since that time and until this past September, there have been a small number of other, much less public measurement verifications performed by the USEF. The measurement verification performed in September at the Kentucky National Horse Show was a real eye opener for owners, trainers and riders.

The beginning of the process brought the chaos associated with emotional responses. But as the dust settled and people became focused on the issues, solutions began to emerge, and discussions and proposals reached a thoughtful and meaningful level toward the end of our annual meeting.

Since then, the concepts have been organized into a draft plan to produce a better measurement system that is understood by all the stakeholders. This draft plan has been forwarded to USEF President Chrystine Tauber, and we will be reporting back to our membership after discussions with her during the USEF Annual Meeting in January. Just as with the steward issues, the goal is to get it right and move forward in a way that provides value to our members.

Pipeline Planning

As our sport continues to evolve, leadership, staff and coaches of the USEF and the USHJA have been meeting to discuss the jumper discipline pipeline for human and equine athletes. This project will also include the development of a written agreement between the Federation and USHJA that defines and memorializes the responsibilities of each organization for achieving the goals of the plan.

The first step is cataloging everything that currently exists within the jumper discipline under the USEF and USHJA. This will give us an idea of what we have, what is missing, and what is needed to fill in the gaps.

We need to make sure there is value at every step of the ladder for our athletes and their support teams, including the parents of our young riders. There are considerable educational materials to be developed to explain our sport and its processes to our internal audience of participants, parents, trainers, coaches and owners and our external audience of fans, sponsors and benefactors.

Making sense of our sport to participants and fans is critical to its success. As the pieces of this puzzle come together, the information will be disseminated to the applicable committees of both organizations for further development and refinement.

At the same time that the jumper discipline has been working on their developmental pipelines, so has the hunter discipline. The development of hunters has been the subject of multiple meetings over the past year, and a concept for reorganizing and aligning the hunter pipeline was presented at the annual meeting. Members provided excellent feedback to the presenters and members who have been working on this concept.

I am personally glad to see the introduction of young horse sections to encourage and acknowledge the breeding and development of young horses as well as creating a value for young horse trainers. The young horse initiative was developed in the jumper discipline several years ago and has finally found an additional home in the hunter discipline. Without good horses, riders don’t have a partner in the sport.

An equally important next step will be to implement a verifiable identification program for our horses. This is critical to creating a level field of play and to providing breeders with the information they need on lineage to help us produce great horses here in the United States. Over the next few months, this group will continue to refine the concepts and hold discussions with members to determine the next steps.

A Path To The Future    

While all of the sport planning continues, the organization will also embark on the path to implement the USHJA Strategic Plan.

The plan calls for the creation of several ad hoc committees of the board of directors that are tasked to further analyze specific aspects of the organization and prepare a report. If an ad hoc committee recommends any changes, these recommendations must be defined and accompanied by the reasons the changes are necessary, the intended result of the changes, any financial impact to the organization, and a proposed timeline for implementation of the changes.

Along the way, the ad hoc committees will be reviewing member feedback that comes to the unique mailboxes set up for members’ use. In addition, the ad hoc committees are able to solicit member feedback using the USHJA communication channels.

There has been some interesting feedback to our inclusion of some USEF processes under the “threat” category of the Strategic Plan’s SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. Quite often, the largest strength is also the most significant weakness. The BOD listed some Federation processes under the threat category because they could potentially have a negative affect on our organization and the work of our members. These include the rules process and the regulatory and hearing processes. The threat to the USHJA would be if these processes did not provide the USHJA and its members with clarity, fairness and impartiality. Maintaining these values is important to maintaining a strong working relationship with the Federation.

The Strategic Plan is a roadmap to ensuring that we have a successful organization with a strong foundation that can serve our members, fulfill our responsibilities as the USEF-recognized affiliate, and serve our sport. If the USHJA is not sound, just like a horse, it cannot perform.

Looking back on this year, I believe the USHJA is headed in the right direction. Communication to and from members has greatly improved, new member participation in governance has increased, leaders of all levels and committees are listening to the opinions of our members and giving them due consideration in making decisions, the board of directors has approved a roadmap to the future for the organization, and new leaders are emerging and learning the ropes.

I look forward to working with our members and staff to complete the tasks we have before us and to seeing many of you at our Town Hall meetings this year.

Bill Moroney, Keedysville, Md., is the president of the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association, a member of the U.S. Equestrian Federation Board of Directors and a member of various USEF committees, as well as a USEF R-rated judge.