Connemara society should survey remaining members about inspections

Surveys appear to be gaining ground in the horse world, at least in many circles. Horse groups are ramping up their efforts to get feedback to improve and survive.

As a former member of USEF, I recently received a survey asking me what changes in USEF’s focus would provide me with enough value to make me want to rejoin the organization.

Before that, I received a survey from the maker of horse equipment I once purchased asking what improvements would make me buy that equipment again.

For each survey, I put a lot of thought into my answers because I appreciated being asked.

For any entity, feedback is helpful. Using online surveys is the new norm and good business practice.

In 2005, I surveyed members of the American Connemara Pony Society on how they felt about newly established inspections failing horses deemed “not Connemara enough.” Note that there were 759 members at the time. ACPS officials, people who once were close friends of my parents, were furious and treated me accordingly. In fact, all of those officials had become inspectors and were failing horses that looked just like my family’s stallion, a black horse that suddenly was considered too refined to be a Connemara because ACPS officials had decided Connemaras should be short and stout.

Breeders with offspring of our stallion said I was ruining their ability to sell horses because who would want to buy a pretty horse if the Connemara society didn’t want pretty horses anymore.

Many breeders followed the lead of inspectors and started breeding coarser horses, horses that wouldn’t be valued in the open show world. Apparently, the opinion of a few inspectors meant more than the horse industry in general. And that’s when I saw the similarities with the grade school playground. Many breeders wanted to be liked by the inspectors, and they were willing to breed whatever the inspectors wanted to fit in, even if that meant producing horses that couldn’t function physically.

Some ACPS members said my attempt to seek feedback from the membership was a huge breach of protocol.

In my opinion, I was doing exactly what the society had failed to do. And I did the whole thing by hand and snail mail at my own expense.

Those who responded to the survey made some really useful comments, yet officials within the society turned a blind eye.

Someone who was involved in the planning of inspections responded that the whole program changed midstream without many of those on the committee knowing it, and several of them complained about that secrecy to no avail. If the officials driving these inspections wouldn’t even discuss them with the committee, I can see why they never sought input from the membership in general.

Nowadays, anyone can do a survey for free in a few seconds, and tabulating the results is all done by computer instantly. It’s a breeze. As indicated, I’m getting surveys all the time.

USEF’s Bill Moroney, vice president of national affiliates, said in 2013 that USEF member groups should be re-evaluating their practices every two years. That would suggest a survey would be in order every two years.

I haven’t received even one survey from the American Connemara Pony Society on anything. An appropriate survey might ask questions to try to get to the bottom of why membership is down (to 561 in 2013), along with new foals, registration of horses and general interest.

To me, not seeking feedback means you don’t want to hear it. If you ask people what they think, they will tell you.

It takes thick skin to seek input. Connemara officials have been pretty thin-skinned up to this point. Many newcomers to the Connemara society have told me they didn’t like attending meetings because they were treated as if their opinion didn’t matter.

I can only assume that, while USEF and others reach out to former members and horse owners, asking for their input and support, ACPS officials will continue to cover their ears with their hands, which will lead to even fewer members and a continued decline in American Connemaras.