I’m going to write my own version of the vents from last summer’s Santiam Cascade ride. I was a volunteer and eyewitness for both events mentioned in the protest, as written up in the March copy of Endurance News. I find myself in a difficult and not flattering spot, though I hope my words have the intended effect of openly discussing a difficult topic, not further inflaming an already rough situation. I will not and do not intend to bash or be overly critical of any individual. I am aiming to do what feels needful in this moment to be a better citizen in this sport, a better friend, endurance rider and guardian of horse welfare, all of which I fear I failed last year, in regards to this situation. 

My witness account is such, trying to speak only for myself:

1. In June of 2023, I volunteered at the Santiam Cascade ride for my friend and Ride Manager, Sharalyn Hay. I worked mainly as a pulser, both in camp and at the out check, which was held at the public campground Whispering Pines. 
2. In camp the night prior to the ride, I was hanging out and helping the ride secretary when the rider in question, Kyle, was unloading his horse to be vetted in. He was having some difficulty unloading the horse, it appeared he wanted the horse to back out of the stock trailer instead of turning around and walking out. This was not a quiet or calm process, there was a lot of swearing, banging on the trailer, and other noise that went on for a while, right in the middle of camp. 
3. The day of the ride I was at the out check, assisting the new ride vet as a pulser with a group of other folks. Kyle came into the out check and at one point proceeded to hit his horse with his reins in the middle of the public campground, cursing, yelling, yanking harshly at the bit, as the stallion kept calling for his herd mate. Heading out of vet check he spurred his horse several times while still yanking on the reins and yelling.
4. Back at camp at the end of the ride, the horse did not pass the completion exam. I learned later this horse has never completed a ride, being entered and pulled 5/5 tries. 
5. Per Sharalyn when I spoke with her today, during the ride no rider, volunteer, or other person informed her of Kyle’s behavior at the out check. She stated she is not a close friend of his, has not and will not defend his actions in any way, and would have taken steps to have Kyle removed from the ride had she been made aware of his behavior. There was also an AERC official in camp at the time of the ride. From all the data I’ve been able to gather through multiple conversations, everything was in place for a fun and safe ride at the time. 
6. As confirmed via several people I’ve since spoken to, including Sharalyn, the original protestor, Jo, was asked and advised not to post to the AERC Facebook page about this situation, but rather to just directly file the protest with AERC. She did post on the AERC Facebook page a few days after the ride, without mentioning names, however most people quickly figured out who was mentioned and the post, as they tend to, went off the rails. 
7. Even though I was at the Mary and Anna ride where something with Kyle also occured, I was riding my second 50 miler and entirely unaware of anything happening. I cannot speak to that except to say it seems like the correct actions were taken, with the RMs letting a different official address the issue.

The following are no longer facts, just my thoughts and opinions. 

On the behavior I directly witnessed, I should have been willing (had I felt supported enough in the moment) to step in and offer to give Kyle time to step away and calm down. His actions, as stated and proven as rule breaking by the AERC process, cast the sport in a bad light, abused the horse, and did not set the horse up for success. That I did not interfere, or inform Sharalyn upon returning to camp, has multiple reasons: 

1. A woman confronting (or even offering assistance) to a man she’s not super familiar with doesn’t always go smoothly, especially one currently screaming at and overcorrecting a horse. 
2. Bystander Affect, while I’ve been trained and should have known better, nonetheless still holds true. 
3. I did not inform Sharalyn as I assumed (don’t do this y’all) that someone else had, and anything else I mentioned could be seen as “piling on.”

As for the fall out afterwards, both the FB post from Jo and the recently published Protest and Grievance Committee Decision, I have more thoughts about. As I told a friend, I would hope none of my friends would defend me had I engaged in such behavior and then proceeded to dig down and not apologize or change my future actions at all. We can acknowledge we’ve all picked fights and pushed our horses in ways we regret in our hotter, more stressed moments…that we hopefully learn, grow, and make better choices after reflecting on them, finding new ways to work with these forgiving animals. Had Kyle publicly apologized, acknowledged the error of his actions, and laid out concrete steps to be a better rider and human, this situation would not have blown up and gotten as ugly as it has. However, I would also like to avoid further fanning flames in a burning building by calling folks out without all the facts. It is possible to speak to these situations in ways that don’t alienate good people, call out bad behavior, and support our sport and our horses at the same time. It’s a hard line to walk, but a worthwhile one if the sport is to survive…and if we’re all wanting to gather by the fire and drink and toast each other and our good horses afterwards. 

Our horses should stand as our reputations in this sport. In no other sport do horses and riders (even catch riders) spend so much time and effort together. If your horse, or any horse you ride or train, is racking up miles, having more completions than pulls, and shines with health at camp, you are clearly doing many things right and can point to that as needed. If folks call your public behavior and choices into question and your horse is on the verge of too skinny, never calm, and has been pulled multiple times over just a few miles, that should be a reflection point. If you are banned from AERC rides for six months after an investigation, or when bad behavior is mentioned anonymously and folks still guess who is being discussed…that’s the time to step past defending and make some huge changes. 

Going forward, I am taking the time to review all the AERC rules and processes…and EDRA ones as well, and considering how and why they differ. What could have made it easier to step in during the moment? What could help prevent a similar situation? I will say in over a decade in ride camps, this is a first for me. I still firmly believe endurance is a sport where horses are protected within the framework as built. There are always tweaks and adjustments to be made, but there was an investigation and consequences for those actions. I stand behind Sharalyn as both a Ride Manager and a friend, and I’ve personally apologized to her for my mistakes around this.