Connemara inspections appear to violate antitrust law

What should Connemara owners take away from the Texas cloning lawsuit, in which a jury ruled against a ban on cloned horses in the American Quarter Horse Association?

We should take heart from this federal court ruling that says breed officials who are breeders themselves should not be allowed to create rules or behave in a manner that prevents other breeders from having an equal playing field for selling their horses.

In the Texas case, plaintiffs argued, and the court agreed, that the cloning ban allowed AQHA officials to maintain higher prices for their own horses by keeping the cloned horses from being registered.

The case was decided on July 30, 2013. A jury ruled that the AQHA violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, which is designed to prevent the artificial raising of prices by restriction of trade or supply and which requires the federal government to investigate organizations suspected of being in violation.

On Aug. 12, 2013, U.S. District Court Judge Mary Lou Robinson said she would sign an order requiring the AQHA to begin allowing cloned animals to be registered.

In the American Connemara Pony Society, the active inspectors are all longtime breeders. Inspectors in training are breeders, too. In fact, if you read the profiles of inspectors on the ACPS website, these inspectors seem to value being breeders above all else. Who would be more likely to resent competition than this group of inspectors?

Thus, currently, a new Connemara breeder faces the daunting task of trying to gain a foothold in a breed in which officials say they want more breeders (to pay the bills), but they maintain a death grip on who can actually thrive as a breeder through their inspections process. Their own business needs and ego obviously rule every decision they make and work against any competitor.

Basically, a new Connemara breeder will fail in this marketplace.

I can’t think of any situation that violates the Sherman Antitrust Act more than this one.