(30-APRIL-18) AURORA, COLO. — In today’s day and age we find the topic of abuse to be at the forefront of many news headlines. It is a troubling topic and one that many would never consider to be a part of their world. However, it is one, that as an association, we urge our members and the equine community to be aware of and to educate themselves about.
A great resource for equestrians is the USEF Safe Sport Policy that talks about the different types of misconducts, how to report it and how individuals can train and educate themselves about abuse.Furthermore, SafeSport is an independent non-profit organization whose mission it is “to make athlete well-being the centerpiece of our nation’s sports culture”. SafeSport was established as a safe place for athletes to learn the signs of misconduct and to report abuse while bringing light to what has been happening in the sport industry. Earlier this year through the support and hard work of SafeSport, President Trump signed bill S.534, the “Protecting Young Athletes from Sexual Abuse and SafeSport Authorization Act” which provided “important new standards and protections for athletes”, which is a first of its kind. This bill was a tremendous step in the right direction to help bring awareness and aid in ridding any sport industry of abuse. To learn more about SafeSport, visit www.safesport.org or call 720.531.0340.
“It highly behooves each and every one of us to understand what constitutes misconduct and abuse to ensure that we don’t place ourselves in a questionable position or place others in those positions.” said Glenn Petty, Executive Vice President of the Arabian Horse Association (AHA). “Furthermore, we strongly encourage that everyone take the free online training that SafeSport has available to guarantee that they are well-versed on this subject matter.”
AHA members can do the free online training in two easy steps. First step, if you don’t already have a current US Equestrian membership, sign up for a free US Equestrian Fan Membership at https://members.usef.org/join-renew/fan-application and use promo code AHA18. Make sure to write down the membership ID number from US Equestrian to use later for the SafeSport Training sign in. Second step, go to https://safesport.org/authentication/register?token=92e6afd1-c848-4e8b-a844-3c559383f49e for the SafeSport Training. Here you will use the US Equestrian membership ID number to sign in and create a password. A confirmation email will be sent to the email address used to sign up for SafeSport. Once you have confirmed your email address, you can sign in and complete the SafeSport Training online.
We highly suggest that individuals inform themselves about the topic of abuse to help ensure the safety of all and to aid in bringing higher standards to the equestrian industry. We as an association will continue to strive and to push for continued education and measures from our lawmakers to create an atmosphere where all can feel safe and to enjoy the industry we all love.
