I have been keeping an eye on this story over the past few months. It has really shaken up the UK showing scene and there will be a few no-shows at the Horse of the Year Show in October because of it.
Basically, a vet in Essex (my home county....ahem) has been accused of granting life height certificates to over-height show horses and ponies. So far this year, the Joint Measurement Board (JMB) has recalled 62 horses and ponies for remeasurement and word is that more are pending. Last year, a tiddly 20 were recalled.
The owners of 23 of the horses have chosen not to re-present their animals...this means that their height certificates are now invalid.
If these horses and ponies are indeed over height, think of the implications. This means that a large number of worthy competitiors may well have missed out on picking up their HOYS qualifying ticket. You know- that prize we truck our horses all over the country for. That ultimate goal that keeps us dragging ourselves out of bed at the crack of dawn, plaiting up in the dark and spending endless amounts of money on entry fees, sparkly browbands and special shampoos. And it's not like the situation can be rectified either. It would be an impossible task to track down every individual that entered a HOYS qualifying class and was second to a horse that was actually over-height. They have fundamentally been cheated out of their precious HOYS ticket.
Many of the animals recalled have been found to measure as much as 5.80cm over what their certificates stated. Are we supposed to believe that their owners were not aware that they were that much taller than the rules for their chosen class specified?
It's all very dodgy and a sad reflection on how some people regard the sport of showing (i.e. it's all about the ribbon, no matter what) It's good to see that over-height animals are finally being clamped down on though. Fingers crossed we start seeing a bit more honesty and fair-play in the show ring from now on.
Keep up with the story over at Horse & Hound
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