Fatima's Ace's ABUSE
(due to political corruption in the US industry)_
So, there were some comments on the recent Chronicle of the Horse Forum 'Jumper Conspiracy?' regarding my claims to Fatima Ace's abuse (a.k.a. Fate) while in full training at Erik Hasbrouck's the Pavillion Farm in New Jersey from April 1st, 2016 to May 28th, 2016 that require a formal response. I haven't really outlined why I claim abuse, other than commenting on it in some of my writings and posting some pictures on facebook, but for the sake of my students (upset by the chronicle comments), the mare, and horsemanship in this industry in general I'm going to do it here, with the help of photos.
The picture below is Fate today ... not prepped or brushed ... just pulled out of the field. She's been in very consistent work for over 3 months, being ridden 4-6 times per week, and jumping from 2'6" (.75m) to 3'6 (1.10m) courses on average twice a week by two different students with a rare tune up from me.
This mare is as easy a keeper as they come (i.e. she stays fat on very little feed). She is maintaining this weight in real work receiving a minimalistic 2 handfuls of grain a day and 2 flakes of hay with very light pasture. Her topline is smooth, her face, neck, shoulder and hips are not sunk in, and she has good muscle tone. This is Fatima looking exactly as a well cared for high end show jumper with a steady job should.
This picture below is Fate May 29, 2016, a day after approximately 2 months in full training with Erik Hasbrouck at Pavillion Farm in New Jersey.
Her topline is now angular. Her head, neck, shoulder and hips are all sunk in and her wither and hip bones are protruding. Her barrel is pulled up, and even though she was supposedly in full work and showed multiple times during this period and so should have gained muscle tone, the muscles in her neck, shoulder and hind end have atrophied. (In other words, the muscles have shrunk in a short period of time, a sign of not receiving the proper nutrition while under stress, as the body reverts to using muscle for fuel rather than the non-present fat, or energy via food, to sustain life.)
I bred this 11 year old mare and other than these two months she has been with me her entire life, and I've competed and taught on her for years. I know her. The ONLY way this body condition could be achieved in 2 months is (for all intents and purposes) an amount of feed so low (for a 1000 plus pound animal) it would have to be called STARVATION.
This picture below is Fatima April 2nd, 2016, the day after I dropped her off at Erik's farm. This is directly proceeding 2 months of competing and ribboning at up to 1.20m and acting as a school horse to my working students while living at HITS Ocala, Florida horse show.
I also personally transported her directly from the horse show to New Jersey, a 20 hour trip for me with traffic, and as any horsesman knows that coupled with intense competition is bound to cause a horse to lose weight.
So, this is Fate, as thin as I comfortably would ever want to see her. Still smooth through the topline, still good full muscle tone (though they are more pronounced than the Wisconsin picture) and a stomach that is slightly pulled up under (for this mare) but nothing to be concerned about. Just a very fit horse on the back side of two months of consistent showing and travel.
Now, how ANY horseman with a clue to the management of show jumping performance horses can look at these pictures, and say that my claims are not valid, regardless of whether you like me or not as a result of the often manipulated publicity I've received , but as a lover of the horse (especially a great one), is honestly beyond me. I'm assuming you saw these pictures I posted on facebook to even comment?? And we need to remember, this is a sport in which animals often perform for 10-15 years because it normally takes at least 10 years just to produce a well educated top jumper ... so as horseman we pride ourselves on not keeping their body in extreme conditions. Unlike say a race horse who is normally only super fit for a year or two (and young, light, etc). I mean, in what world do you ever see top show jumpers at A shows that look like this??!! Maybe one out of 1000, and I would still not be impressed if their muscle was deteriorating, even if that horse had a racier build (which this mare naturally has the opposite of).
My then student-client, Ivona Butcher, paid $3k a month to receive this care for Fate. I kindly recommended this student, after she had been riding with me for years, to ride with Erik Hasbrouck (who I had watched compete many times in Califormia) when she moved to New York City, during which time she continued flying into Wisconsin and riding with me. Ivona later told me he wasn't always the nicest employer to his non US citizen staff (which did concern me as one's behavior when empowered over others is certainly a profound statement of character), but other than that she seemed to think he was a decent horseman.
This was an opportunity for Ivona to receive some free showing and training in on a top horse I was willing to pay for via a sale, and for Erik to make some money on a horse in full training and a commission.
This is a horse that was third in the Midwest Young Jumper Championships and 7th in the nation as a 5 year old in 2012. She went in to the 3rd day of the finals winning, and unarguably was on her way to winning the entire championship, but I was unwilling to full out run my 5 year old sensitive, up, potentially hot mare the 20 plus strides to the last single oxer. I had a future in mind for her that required a sound mind and body I wasn't willing to risk for a trophy.
I personally haven't competed in the young jumpers since. The division certainly has some benefits, like riding against top international competition without having to reach the level of competing at 1.50m (Grand Prix). It does prove extreme ability in young Prix prospects because most horses simply can't do it at that age, and there is quite a bit of potentially international recognition as a breeder and developer of horses (if you win top ribbons). But for my particular cross and my training style I've decided it's too much too soon, as I want my horses fully physically and mentally developed before I subject them to that level of stress.
My focus is maintaining long term in the international Grand Prix ring, not the young jumpers. So to be safe, I prefer mine about 7 years old before I start galloping and pushing around 1.20m and better courses. I have horses that are amazingly still growing (i.e. putting on an inch of height) between the ages of 7 and 8 years (for example, Kogan's ACE) and its less likely the body and mind will hold up long term when it's being pushed to the limit while still developing and maturing.
Fate was also clean (in the first round and had 1 rail in the jump off) and was 3rd in her first $15K 1.40m, and 9th with 2 rails in her first 1.50m as a fall 7 year old. She had a setback as an 8 year old, due to some terrifying personal human life risking health issues I was trying to ride and work through (a broken neck pushing on my spinal cord that required surgery and six months off), but I had her perfectly prepped just prior to Erik's place and confidently showing around 1.20m courses ... ready for an easy sale with a supposed top horseman.
Ivona also would have received a return on a small investment. Small in comparison to the money she has since spent in the past 2 years harassing me with completely unlegitimized claims of fraud and lawyers, and a lawsuit in which she claims unjust enrichment (even though I was willing to still pay her back via a sale despite Fate's return condition if she didn't go after me legally). Ivona shows as an amateur, in spite of her website she's had for years in which she claims to have sold and taken on a commission on many horses imported from the Czech Republic.
I'm not sure how you can claim unjust enrichment when the mare was ridden mostly by an amateur and came home hotter and hollower than she's ever been, and hasn't been quite as settled jumping around with my student riders since (although she does still get quiet and relaxed the minute get on and jump her). This mare could've been leased to a grateful amateur in their right mind (not under the influence; of political corruption via deception) for decent money ... instead of me handing Fate to Ivona on a silver platter, when I was under no legal obligation to do so, to make her feel better about the Deluca-Momma Ace sale many of us lost out on.
Erik told me he rode and jumped Fate one time the entire two months over a crossrail. He told me based on this she was a 1.15m horse at best. This doesn't even make sense, given the mare had already consistently distinguished herself nationally as a 5 year old at up to 1.25m in the finals! The mare came home from Erik's sore and lame at the walk (having failed a pre-purchase vet check ... there's a surprise given her body condition) and with stitches in her head (see below). She's never had stitches or even an injury, and now I get to look at an ugly scar on her head every time I see her to remind me of all this.
I can hear it now on the forum ... 'OMG ... that was just, like, an accident Amy.' Well, I've got news for you guys. Well cared for and managed horses rarely have accidents. Not always, but often it's a sign of extreme stress and poor management that folks are not paying attention to. Horses under stress they can not deal with often fall apart and find creative ways to get your attention (and the entire worlds', at times), or to remove that stress.
Upon returning home, her head hung between her front legs for 3 days ... she was so depressed. My students who now ride her witnessed this, and it's the reason the ignorant chronicle comments made them upset enough to talk to me about it.
If you'd like to consider yourself a horseman, and still question the validity of my claim after seeing the above pictures, you seriously need to read a book on equine management (something other than how to look pretty on a horse or make it win for you.) If the hunter-jumper industry isn't doing it for you, join pony club, or 4-H, or FFA ... become a working student ... hop into a different equine sport for a while ... whatever it takes to figure out the meaning of the word horsemanship.
I've got an idea ... why don't you volunteer for the ASPCA instead of riding in it's medal class? Then you can learn what a debilitated and depressed animal at the hands of pure human evil really looks like.
Read Black Beauty ... it's fiction but powerful stuff ... it teaches EMPATHY for the animals that are willing to carry you around and suffer so you may learn to become a decent human being. What it feels like to be mistreated via starvation and to say falsely have their heads pulled up (in that age to look pretty while pulling a cart) and how physically painful that is when taken to an unprepared for extreme.
Yes, there is not a professional athlete (or dancer for that matter) that hasn't learned to overcome physical pain to excel in sport. And I believe the horses willingly do it for us because they want to be in partnership with us, competing and becoming better on every level. But considering they can't talk (these days some of us are living in such a state of dark self absorbed delusion I'm not sure anyone would listen if they could, cause I know I can talk) we as horseman need to very carefully watch and listen for what they have to say. So that we don't take it further than they willingly want to go; though admittedly not always 100% happily, until they really know their jobs if the training and management is correct and the horse is compatible. But I hated school too even though I knew long term it was good for me; like it could give me a fun job and a good life, and there are many horse in the world jumping around enjoying their life, and the often positive attention and high end care that comes with it.
You know, if thin is so important to you that you want to be Bulimic, go crazy ... it's your life. I like thin. It makes life easier when you professionally work to overcome gravity. But thin, and fit and strong are not the same thing. And I would never subject myself or a student or my horse to abuse (verbal or otherwise) or extreme undue hardship of any kind to achieve it.
Anyway, the real question is, why did a supposed top horseman and a student of mine (who often become my close friends) , both who I mistakenly trusted with my mare, allow this to happen, when all involved only stood to gain?
I'd bet my life I know exactly why ... because the message to me was ugly, 100% clear and a direct physical assault on what is basically a carefully raised family member. Political pressure from Mr. Morris, that I at the time was not fully aware of the implications of, is the only thing that makes sense. Especially if you've read my factual story on the matter, and what later happened to my other chestnut mare. Me successfully selling Fate, finding a good home for her, making money for myself and my client and another professional, and receiving more recognition for putting another good amateur horse out there, was simply more than Mr. Morris could stand or allow to happen.
And if you think George Morris is dead (has been for 10 years but we are too afraid to tell him) as posted in a facebook meme (and none by me, btw) i'm here to politely tell you, while I enjoy a bit of support in whatever form I can get, you are wrong. He still has HUGE POWERFUL influence in this industry. The lure of fame and medals and money have turned some of my closest friends ... and I have the not quite as bouncy and happy little chestnut mare with the scar sitting in my barn to prove it.
Was Mr. Hasbrouck feeling huge political pressure as a USEF course designer? I'm sure. Is that an excuse? ... absolutely NOT. There is no excuse or reason for what my horses, I myself, my family and my students have experienced in this industry as a result of dark, gross politics (as a good long term proven professional and top horse owner in what is, believe it or not mom, a viable and lucrative sport).
Until last fall I hadn't actively pursued any of this ... but just steadily plugged away and tried to survive doing my thing with my horses and students. But, unless you want me to take a break from training, have the nicest group of pleasure riding pasture ornaments in the country, and start to look for the most ambitious lawyer and publisher willing to invest in my cause I can find, the folks involved in this work in the US need to wake up to what has been and is going on, and start to push back a little.
Breaking legs and collecting insurance money is horrendous ... it's still hard to believe even though we all know it happened in the US in this sport. But at least they owned the horse (or they wouldn't have received the insurance money) and the animals suffered for no more than a day I hope. Fate was owned by someone else who trusted a friend and a peer ... and for almost 60 days, 12 hours a day, they walked past her and didn't feed her when I KNOW my incredibly kind and giving mare, who has taught me and others as much as any other horse, was literally starving of hunger. All while being locked up in a stall for 23 hours (because the barn owner prefers the pastures to look pretty than the horses to be happy) and expecting her to carefully carry someone around and perform, which I also know she did. There were no other horses in the barn that looked thin, so she obviously got to watch everyone else eat.
And this is not a creature that eats 3 meals a day guys, but one that naturally moves and grazes and forages continuously. And associates health and well being with continuous supply of or opportunity for food, above all else.
So if that situation is not brutal, torturous abuse of a horse who is use to focused, compassionate care, then I don't know what is. So yeah, I'm a little angry. Sorry if my truthful words offend your delicate sensibilities and are hard for you to hear and wrap your mind around. I was in the same ignorant state until I lived it over and over and was forced to face the truth.
The point is, leave my horses (any horse I've bred) alone. Stay away from my students, my students parents, my working students, and anyone seriously intelligently thinking about getting involved with me (as a top horseman) and my fantastic and rare show jumpers. As every time I manage to fight past you and make a move that helps me and my horses career, it only legitimizes me as a horseman, and validates my factual, provable claims and complaints against you. And God forbid your carefully crafted legacy have the slightest scar, regardless of the truth.
(And you and I both know, I am about to prove the horses I've bred and placed as international performance Grand Prix athletes beyond a shadow of the world's doubt. And now have a pretty good idea of who the minions are, and it doesn't matter what coast you are on or how many trainers removed the situation is.)
Do that, and if I begin to actually see real positive normal results for someone who has preserved a monopoly on the rare blood of a group of daily more proven top equine athletes (instead of every move I make for my business and profession being brutally thwarted) and I will focus on being a professional horseman instead of a professional writer and court goer.
(And btw, in answer to I'm a terrible writer ... it's called editorial liberty or slang. Once you've written and have a congressional speech preserved on permanent record in Washington DC, you've earned that right. It saves time and brings out personality in sometimes a powerful way. Kind of like no longer needing to look like a princess on a horse. I prefer looking nice up there and agree mostly with the idea that form is function, but at the end of the day I've proven what I'm capable of producing, and have enough experience and body awareness to take the liberty of focusing 100% on the horse when I'm on top of them.)
I would probably even permanently remove anything directly related to all of this from my website. I don't enjoy rattling and upsetting an entire industry (and I know I am, regardless of how well that fact is being hidden).
But, like I've said before, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not afraid of tough horses or courses or a tough life lived for the truth. I'm not afraid to hold out for a fair deal for a pro that has worked hard their entire life, and consistently succeeded at making great horses and improving students as real horseman. And I am not afraid of or even intimidated by you. Because at the end of the day, the truth wins, sets us free, is good, and is nothing to be afraid of.
ACE SPORTHORSES
