Kathy Knill Meyer, the U.S. Equestrian Federation\’s treasurer, had some good and some bad news at the organization\’s mid-year Board of Directors meeting in downtown Lexington, Ky., on Tuesday, July 12.

The good news was the federation\’s first audit confirmed that they had achieved a surplus of $1.6 million in 2004. The bad news was that the international high-performance department is already operating more than $1 million over budget for 2005, with the year only half over.

“There are some hard calls this federation is going to have to make to stay healthy,” President David O\’Connor told the directors as the meeting got underway, shortly after 10 a.m.

Several factors have contributed to the deficit, explained Armand Leone Jr., the USEF vice president for high performance and the chairman of the USET Foundation, whose mission is to fund the USEF\’s high-performance programs. First, as many feared when the U.S. Equestrian Team became part of the USEF 18 months ago, some of the USET\’s biggest contributors have reduced or curtailed their commitments. Second, the USET\’s leaders incurred a multimillion-dollar debt funding their seven teams for the 2002 World Equestrian Games, a debt they\’re still paying off. Third, when the USEF was founded, its leaders adopted a bylaw requiring all groups and committees to have cash or cash guarantees on hand to pay current expenses and for expenses expected in the next 90 days.

The bylaw requirement has caused the immediate problem because it represents a big change from how the USET used to work. Its leaders would incur the expenses, then wait to year\’s end, when a handful of major donors would write big checks to balance the books. The USEF directors only briefly—and without enthusiasm—considered changing the bylaw to allow deficit spending.

“The problem is that we\’re trying to raise money to pay yesterday\’s bills instead of for tomorrow. How to get out of that quandary is the question,” said Leone.

The shortfall hasn\’t taken the USEF\’s leaders completely by surprise. Back in January, they projected that funding the IHP would be their biggest challenge in this post-Olympic year, so the directors agreed to appropriate $500,000 of the federation\’s surplus to IHP. But the USET Foundation\’s contribution has fallen far short. Right now, it\’s about $500,000 off target ($250,000 vs. $750,000), and Leone couldn\’t promise they\’d meet their budgeted contribution of $1.9 million. Right now the IHP group is operating at a deficit of $1.1 million.

So O\’Connor pressed his fellow directors to consider solutions, for this year and for the future, “so that we don\’t keep having this conversation year after year.” But there is no single, simple solution, and none of them will be popular with everyone.

Leone agreed that the IHP leaders need to work more closely with John Long, the USEF”s chief executive officer, and Maria Partlow, the marketing director, to develop increased corporate sponsorship. But that\’s a long-term solution that won\’t solve the current shortfall.

They could raise the fees international riders in all disciplines pay, but some think those fees are already high enough. They could raise the $2 fee all USEF members pay every time they compete to fund IHP, but Bill Moroney, president and the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association, and others warned about the dangers of requiring all members to underwrite programs only a select few use. And they can cut IHP programs, but that could endanger U.S. teams\’ performances, and those performances directly affect media attention and, thus, corporate support.

After 90-plus minutes of discussion, the board took no action, other than to direct Leone and the rest of the IHP group to figure out a short-term strategy to get back into compliance with the bylaw. They\’re to present their initial plan at next week\’s Executive Committee meeting and a more detailed plan at the August meeting.

The most controversial subject the board discussed was the rule they passed in January requiring all hunter/jumper riders to wear ASTM/SEI-approved helmets as of Dec. 1. Zone 3 Chairman Gary Baker had sent a letter of every board member, insisting that the helmets\’ retention harnesses could cause neck injuries and that adults couldn\’t find helmets that fit. Thus, we wanted the board to at least postpone the deadline, if they wouldn\’t rescind the rule completely.

Susie Schoellkopf spoke for Baker, saying that he and others “feel like they\’re being pressured into wearing something that doesn\’t fit correctly.” But O\’Connor—and others—stood firm. O\’Connor said Baker had requested to address the board, but that he\’d denied the request. “We passed this rule in January after quite a long discussion, and I believe that if people want to change the rule, they should go through the same rule-change process. I\’m trying to protect his right as a member to change rules, but I don\’t think he agrees with me,” said O\’Connor.

The board members agreed that because the helmet rule wasn\’t an extraordinary rule change, they couldn\’t act. And they urged Moroney and Schoellkopf to instruct their hunter/jumper constituents that they\’d have to use the established rule-change procedure to alter the rule.

The board did, however, pass a rule that had been postponed from the January board meeting, requiring all occupants in driving vehicles to wear ASTM/SEI-approved helmets during the marathon. They\’d passed an extraordinary rule change requiring the drivers to wear helmets in March.

Vice President Jury Werner reported on the efforts of the Hearing Committee Task Force that O\’Connor appointed in January. She said they\’ll make several rule-change proposals for consideration in January, but the board acted on a recommendation that doesn\’t require a rule. The task force recommended that the USEF hire an ombudsman to work in the Lexington office, someone who will assist members in navigating through the hearing process.

Werner explained that the vast majority of members who come before the Hearing Committee don\’t hire an attorney to represent them. “These people are often scared to death, and we [the USEF] become big brother, and these people need someone to talk to, to guide them,” she said.

The ombudsman would not give members legal advice and would not represent them before the committee. But that person could discuss members\’ cases with them [USEF staff members cannot do that now], explain the procedure, and explain their options and rights.

The USEF annual meeting will be in New Orleans on Jan. 11-15.