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USA
Equestrian Officers Issue Response To USOC Hearing Report
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The
officers of USA Equestrian, the National Equestrian Federation
of the United States, met Monday, June 10, 2002, and issued the
following joint statement upon a preliminary review of the recent
report made by a hearing panel to the United States Olympic Committee.
For
over 80 years, USA Equestrian has served as the governing body
for equestrian sport in America. To encourage broad participation
in equestrian sports, in order to field the highest quality representation
of our country possible in international competition, we have
always pursued three primary goals:
* Decision-making that is inclusive, transparent and open to the
public.
* Sound management of financial resources.
* Competition that is open, fair, and above reproach, protective
of the welfare of horses.
Everything
that we do going forward will continue to focus on these objectives.
Although
the report is only a recommendation and has yet to be approved
by the USOC, USA Equestrian is gratified that the hearing panel
adopted our long-standing position that we should combine our
organizational strengths with those of the United States Equestrian
Team. We will weigh this and its other detailed recommendations
to the USOC board of directors very carefully, while we evaluate
their possible future impact on the sport as a whole, and specifically
our corporation. As our evaluation develops, we will share our
own recommendations, the advice we receive, and any decisions
we make, with our fellow corporate directors and the larger equestrian
community.
Particularly
at this time, we believe that experienced and effective leadership
throughout the sport is especially critical. Leaving the National
Federation or any other organization with any significant leadership
vacuum would do those organizations as well as the entire sport
a disservice. Therefore, all the duly-elected officers of USA
Equestrian plan to continue to play an active role in the organization's
activities, while the sport's governance structure is resolved.
The
officers of USA Equestrian are Alan F. Balch, Judith Werner, Linda
Allen, Kathy Knill Meyer, David O'Connor, and Stephen O. Hawkins.
USA
Equestrian Inc., as the National Equestrian Federation of the
U.S., is the regulatory body for the Olympic and World Championship
sports of dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, reining, show
jumping, and vaulting, as well as 19 other breeds and disciplines
of equestrian competition. As
the country's largest multi-breed organization, the Federation
has over 80,000 members and recognizes more than 2,800 competitions
nationwide each year. It governs all aspects of competition, including
educating and licensing all judges, stewards, and technical delegates
who officiate at these shows.
VISION STATEMENT
The vision of USA Equestrian is to provide leadership for equestrian
sport in the United States of America, promoting the pursuit of
excellence from the grass roots to the Olympic Games, based on
a foundation of fair, safe competition and the welfare of its
horses, and embracing this vision, to be the best national equestrian
federation in the world.
www.equestrian.org
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