From the Desk of Marty Schaffel: Second Survey Results Show Enthusiastic Ridership

The Joint Leadership Council has just received results from our second survey and the responses are quite interesting.?Our goal is to chart sentiment toward attending horse shows and this latest round proves a more vigorous attitude and desire to compete. The complete survey will be released by the JLC tomorrow, but here’s a sneak preview, and our take on the results.

The numbers convey that people feel safer in a controlled environment with precautions in place. Simply, we are willing to attend and support shows as long as health and well-being remain top of mind. Statistics also confirm that those financially impaired by Covid will be less likely to attend. 

So, what does this mean for our industry?  

The federal government has offered no unified guidelines;?48 states have proceeded to open up their economies.?Government leaders have passed much of the decision-making to local officials.?At the end of the day, we have a variety of perspectives coming from many different geographical locales. This gives us some freedom to make our own rules. How we behave at the shows will affect how our industry will get through the next six months to year.?

This brings me to where we are today. My friends and family are ready to get back in the saddle and show.?We want to showcase our talents and our horses and yes - have fun! But we must do this with safety in mind. We must take responsibility in preventing the spread of this terrible virus. That responsibility is a collective effort between horse owners; riders; breeders; trainers; spectators; veterinarians; farriers; and all of those folks who work to make our industry shine. Please govern yourselves judiciously. If this virus is traced back to any of our horse shows, it will set us back considerably. Our future is in your hands now.  

Marty Schaffel, ASHA President