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| Rodney Dick riding I'm Mayhem (Times-Gazette photo by Gary Johnson) |
The trainer and rider whose horse was named Tennessee Walking Horse World Grand Champion on Aug. 31 was allowed to compete even though he will soon begin a mandatory suspension for serial violations of the Horse Protection Act. Rodney Dick rode I'm Mayhem to victory during the 81st Annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration in Shelbyville, Tenn., John Carney reports for the Shelbyville Times-Gazette.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture ruled in December 2018 that Rodney Dick is disqualified from all involvement in the horse industry from Oct. 1, 2019 to March 31, 2021, and must pay a $2,200 penalty for engaging in the practice of "soring" Tennessee Walking Horses. The technique involves harming a horse's front hooves to encourage the high step that wins competitions.
The Horse Protection Act already bans sored horses from competitions, exhibitions or sales, but the provision is largely ignored and rarely enforced. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill called the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act in July that would ban other soring techniques, increase penalties for violations and expand the USDA's enforcement of the HPA. Though Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee have sponsored corresponding legislation to the PAST Act, it faces an uphill battle in the Senate.
Many horse competitions have shunned Tennessee Walking Horses because of the abuse associated with soring, Marty Irby writes in an op-ed for the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Irby is now the executive director at Animal Wellness Action, but is a former eight-time World Champion rider and a past president of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders' & Exhibitors' Association. He urges other senators to pass the PAST Act: "Tennessee can remove the stigma of being known as the 'Horse Abuse Capitol of the World' and the Tennessee Walking Horse breed can remove the label of being the most abused horse on earth, but only with legitimate change."
The fact that Rodney Dick was allowed to compete is a "sad state of affairs" that shows how necessary the PAST Act is, Irby wrote in an email to The Rural Blog.
from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2LnoXV9 Op-ed: horse trainer was allowed to compete despite imminent suspension for soring, a 'sad state of affairs' - Entrepreneur Generations
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