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.