The time has long since come for unified, aggressive management of the total sport harnessing all of the financial, operational, marketing, and human resource strengths that implies to generate the public interest and revenue needed to support every participant. Our proposal will include a structure that guarantees focus for athletes and participants at every level from beginner to Olympian and attention across both national and international disciplines and breeds. The pyramid of the sport athletes and other participants that we serve needs to be inclusive, not exclusive. The governance of the sport needs to be democratic, not elitist. If the top of the sport pyramid is cut off to stand by itself, it is still a pyramid, but is a small one among the giants of other sports in the Olympic movement.
Equestrian sport is small enough as it is now in comparison with other sports.
We believe that finger-pointing is not constructive. We will engage our membership through increased communication, as time permits, in a positive and informative way. We hope the principles outlined here can clear the air and allow the focus to be on what is best for the sport. The American Horse Shows Association, as the National Equestrian Federation of the U.S., is the regulatory body for the Olympic and World Championship sports of dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, reining, show jumping, and vaulting, as well as 19 other breeds and disciplines of equestrian competition. As the country s largest multi-breed organization, the AHSA has over 70,000 members and recognizes more than 2,600 competitions nationwide each year.