wpsellwood
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Ed asked me to start this topic for him, I believe he is currently trying to become a member of Lil Beginnings and will be able to respond to any posts shortly. If not I will be relaying
Let me introduce myself, I am Ed Sisk, owner operator and trainer of Blue Ribbon Training Center in Washington Tx. Many of you I know, but there are many I do not. I have been a professional trainer in the AMHA for 24 years. I show in AMHA shows primarily and also AMHR shows periodicly over the years. I have been a member of the AMHA show rules committee at different times over the past 24 years and I am on the committee now.
The following statement is my opinion and my opinion only.
I have been reading all the threads on The forum and applaud all of the intensity that this measuring topic has created. The funny thing is that you are all correct in your thoughts. But until you unite to make a difference, it will be the same old thing, just a bunch of tounge wagging that keeps people talking and not doing.
The answer to this huge problem is so simple. We all want to blame somebody, well, put the blame where it belongs.I honestly do not think that the board of directors are totally to blame, just partially. The blame should fall on the person or person's that are hiring and instructing the official measurers on the criteria that will be used. It has been said that in the years past, that the measurers were instructed not to measure out any horses due to the fact that AMHA needed the money and also to be able to compare numbers with AMHR. If you witnessed any of the measuring in the past few years, It would be hard to beleive that this statement wasnt true. I have been fighting to correct the measuring for the past 4 or 5 years. I have witnessed all of the atrocities that most of you have heard about. Its like anything else, they wear you down, and the next thing you know, you are doing the same thing just to be able to compete. For the past 3 or 4 years, the exhibitor didnt have to cheat, the measurer did it for you. We measure every horse before we go to a show, some of these horses were measuring 1'' to 1 1/2'' smaller than they were. I was the person that protested the first 2 horses at last years world show. One horse is permanently registered at 33'' and the other was a horse that showed in the 32- 34 class the year before. Both horses were entered in the 32 and under class. When the protest measurement was finished, the first horse measured 33 1/2 and the other was 33 3/4. The lady that did the 1st official measurement made the statement," Well this makes me look bad" NO KIDDING, DO YA THINK. On one hand,I felt bad for her because I think she was instructed to not measure anything out. But on the other hand, she threw her integrity away by following instructions.She is not the only person to be the fall guy for this duty, there have been others.
I guess that the only way to fix this thing is to demand that it be done right the first time. Have people do the measuring that have a spine and enough guts to say that we will not measure your horse until you stand it up correctly and abide by the rules. If you choose not to, then remove the horse from the measuring area until you do. If an exhibitor gives an official any flack, they will be called to the show office and escorted off the grounds. This is the only way to stop the insanity. There needs to be a team that works together. 1 person to determine the position of the horse, one running the video camera and the measuring person. I believe that there should be a director present at all measurements. The board should be involved in the instructions given to the measurer.The intructions should be simple, DO IT RIGHT!
I was a little put out about our Presidents comment about how the trainers and the breeders were responsible for the loss of integrity in the AMHA. AS far as I know, we are not the ones that hire and instruct the measuring committee. All this would go away if you just do it right the first time.
If you truly care, unite and come forward to fix this situation. Demand that the measuring be done correctly. Stand up and protest a horse if you know he is too big. Too many people are scared to protest due to the fact of retaliation. Know what your horses measure and dont be scared to do the right thing. This is a turning point for the AMHA. They know they have a problem and have known it for several years. If they do not fix it now, Then the leadership of this association should be held accountable and the members should rally to replace them all.
Thank you
Ed Sisk
Let me introduce myself, I am Ed Sisk, owner operator and trainer of Blue Ribbon Training Center in Washington Tx. Many of you I know, but there are many I do not. I have been a professional trainer in the AMHA for 24 years. I show in AMHA shows primarily and also AMHR shows periodicly over the years. I have been a member of the AMHA show rules committee at different times over the past 24 years and I am on the committee now.
The following statement is my opinion and my opinion only.
I have been reading all the threads on The forum and applaud all of the intensity that this measuring topic has created. The funny thing is that you are all correct in your thoughts. But until you unite to make a difference, it will be the same old thing, just a bunch of tounge wagging that keeps people talking and not doing.
The answer to this huge problem is so simple. We all want to blame somebody, well, put the blame where it belongs.I honestly do not think that the board of directors are totally to blame, just partially. The blame should fall on the person or person's that are hiring and instructing the official measurers on the criteria that will be used. It has been said that in the years past, that the measurers were instructed not to measure out any horses due to the fact that AMHA needed the money and also to be able to compare numbers with AMHR. If you witnessed any of the measuring in the past few years, It would be hard to beleive that this statement wasnt true. I have been fighting to correct the measuring for the past 4 or 5 years. I have witnessed all of the atrocities that most of you have heard about. Its like anything else, they wear you down, and the next thing you know, you are doing the same thing just to be able to compete. For the past 3 or 4 years, the exhibitor didnt have to cheat, the measurer did it for you. We measure every horse before we go to a show, some of these horses were measuring 1'' to 1 1/2'' smaller than they were. I was the person that protested the first 2 horses at last years world show. One horse is permanently registered at 33'' and the other was a horse that showed in the 32- 34 class the year before. Both horses were entered in the 32 and under class. When the protest measurement was finished, the first horse measured 33 1/2 and the other was 33 3/4. The lady that did the 1st official measurement made the statement," Well this makes me look bad" NO KIDDING, DO YA THINK. On one hand,I felt bad for her because I think she was instructed to not measure anything out. But on the other hand, she threw her integrity away by following instructions.She is not the only person to be the fall guy for this duty, there have been others.
I guess that the only way to fix this thing is to demand that it be done right the first time. Have people do the measuring that have a spine and enough guts to say that we will not measure your horse until you stand it up correctly and abide by the rules. If you choose not to, then remove the horse from the measuring area until you do. If an exhibitor gives an official any flack, they will be called to the show office and escorted off the grounds. This is the only way to stop the insanity. There needs to be a team that works together. 1 person to determine the position of the horse, one running the video camera and the measuring person. I believe that there should be a director present at all measurements. The board should be involved in the instructions given to the measurer.The intructions should be simple, DO IT RIGHT!
I was a little put out about our Presidents comment about how the trainers and the breeders were responsible for the loss of integrity in the AMHA. AS far as I know, we are not the ones that hire and instruct the measuring committee. All this would go away if you just do it right the first time.
If you truly care, unite and come forward to fix this situation. Demand that the measuring be done correctly. Stand up and protest a horse if you know he is too big. Too many people are scared to protest due to the fact of retaliation. Know what your horses measure and dont be scared to do the right thing. This is a turning point for the AMHA. They know they have a problem and have known it for several years. If they do not fix it now, Then the leadership of this association should be held accountable and the members should rally to replace them all.
Thank you
Ed Sisk
OH!
