NEWS and THOUGHTS - Bits & Pieces from the Celebration: GO USDA!!!!!!!

I have a friend who calls it the UNCelebration. She's really right.

Anyway, here are the bits I've gotten about what's going on out there. My comments are in italics

A post received via email 8-22-08 from a sore horse chat room (the incident happened on 8-21-08): "The horses that were taken out from the barn and taken to the inspection area should have never happened!!! Exactly right, BECAUSE THEY SHOULDN'T BE SORE!!!! That was pure ignorance on the trainer's behalf. Everyone knows that plastic wrap is banned from the show grounds, which means that it is not allowed to be on the horse's legs when they are in the barns at the Celebration. {insert sarcasm here} Oh yes, he should have kept that plastic wrap at home. Way to ruin it for those of us who are more covertly soring our horses through pressure shoeing and using eyedrops! No one can be mad at the VMOs for doing this. Rules are rules, and with something so blantely clear, this insident[sic] shouldn't have had to take place. It was just a case where someone thought that it wouldn't matter, and that no one would be checking for this and that they could get away with having illegal wrapping on the horse. Actually, this hits the nail on the head. This is how it has gone on for the past 30 years--no one will catch me, no one is serious about the threats. Now this trainer and the sore horse community are learning that yes, the threats are very serious. Guess they know better now. It's the stupid little mistakes MISTAKE? MISTAKE? How is this a mistake? Oops! I didn't mean to put that plastic wrap on the horse to cook those chemicals in. Silly me! To coin a term from Fugly Horse of the Day, that asshat knew EXACTLY what he was doing! which are killing us in the eyes of the media. My dear, you are killing yourself. The media and the rest of the world knows about what is going on, and the lies and trying to cover it up are not working anymore. I'm sure they will make a big story out of this!" YOU BET YOUR ASS WE WILL! Even if the media doesn't act on it, the word will spread!!!!!

Received via email 8-26-08 from an online chat (not sure which one): "USDA is cracking down on them. Going into barns and pulling horses out of stalls and taking them back to inspection and inspecting. They wrote up Scott Benham and Golden West Farms the other night for a horse in their barn. Horses are still sore in the ring, but the numbers are down."

YYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Scott Benham is a usual out here in AZ at the Carousel Charity Horse Show that is held every March. It is our only A-listed gaited horse show in AZ. It used to be an NHSC affiliated show up until 2006, when they decided to go sound and be affiliated with FOSH. Scott always came with Russ Thompson (I have seen his grooms soring horses right in front of me). There is a worry that the Carousel will go back to being a NHSC show due to the fact that they want more money (OF COURSE), and we all know Thompson is willing to dole it out. So I made sure those at the Carousel know about this.

From the Walking Horse Chat (known sore horse online chat group), 8-28-08: "Latest news on the grounds is....Golden West Farms [Scott Benham] has left the Celebration due to numerous barn inspections by the USDA. This is unfortunate. Save the breed before it's too late!"

Did you ever watch "Ren and Stimpy"? They used to have this song on there called "Happy Happy Joy Joy." That's all they said over and over again. I AM SCREAMING THAT SONG FROM THE TOP OF THE ROOFTOPS! Way to go, Benham--THANK YOU for proving to us that you are a sore horse trainer! Now we definitely know to avoid you!

Overall, it's been quiet about the show. I keep checking information from newspapers and other sources, and not much is being said. The USDA and other groups are out there in force, including the HSUS, monitoring things and carrying on spot inspections in the barns per the Celebration's new rules.

I am praying every night that the USDA will take over the inspections tonight and tomorrow night for the big WGC classes. PLEASE, let's pull shoes, use radiology, ANYTHING that needs to be done to make changes. I am hoping these messages are loud and clear to the UNCelebration and the sore horse trainers. Please, please, PLEASE let us end this atrocity this year by getting it shut down again!