Oh, sorry. It is sad to hear off the infighting going on. I am just now considering taking up reining, but will hopefully be well out of any politics and have some fun learning this exciting sport.

Very best of luck QH! Nice to know somebody is planning to just go out and have fun. 

I've just come into reining over the last year or so, and last show season was the first time I started to get my act together and have a go. I absolutely love it, and have had so much fun attending shows. I've totally supported David Gray in his appeal: it's not about being 'political' (whatever that means) but it is about having an open and transparent selection process that's fair to all.

This isn't about being 'political' but it is about ensuring that British Reining is 'fit for purpose' - which will be essential if Reining ever gets Olympic status. All of us expect to be subjected to rigorous standards of judging when we're showing, so why should it be any different for national team selection. Surely by definition, selection criteria should be equally objective and applied fairly to all? Only in this way can Reining in the UK 'come of age' and join the other equestrian sports by being run a professional manner.

I have strong feelings for the public statement put out by BR especially as I'm a member of BR and actually object to stuff being said in 'my name' - but that's for another time. In the meantime, PLEASE, PLEASE, please anyone out there interested in Reining, DON'T BE PUT OFF by what you hear. David has won his appeal hands down, BR has to get its act together and its house in order. It cannot be run as an exclusive private club (it could do with looking at how WES runs itself and take lessons in proper Governance).

Anyhow, I'm very much a novice at Reining. I bought my American Quarter Horse almost by accident, and came into western riding because I promised his previous owner that I would make the most of him. I don't have loads of dosh and probably not a lot of talent ... but I love my western shows (especially WES ones) and have met lots of great and supportive people. So come on, join the growing band of British Reiners.

Im hopeing to have a go at reining  at some point, what  do I need to be a member of to show, im a AQHA member  do i need to join BR??or would NRHA be ok.. Thanks

Just a couple of responses to some of the comments that have been posted. First of all, please don?t be na?ve enough to believe that it is only in Britain where political infighting amongst equestrian groups occurs. It has always been rampant in Italy, is occurring now in Germany, and has apparently been quite nasty in France (especially as regards Reining).

One thing that does seem unique to Britain, or at least more prevalent here than in many countries (which I observe in my capacity as a student of Sociology), is the peculiar form of social interaction that occurs in a situation where Party A wants what he/she wants and does just what he wants to get it, not caring in the least whether what he/she does is unfair, is immoral, is against the rules, offends someone else, or damages someone else. Then, when Party B--who has been injured, offended, or damaged by Party A?s actions?DARES to speak up and protest and/or stand up for what?s right, it is PARTY B who gets criticised for bickering, causing dissent, and rocking the boat; he/she gets told that he or she is a trouble maker, offensive, and not polite!

So what does this say? That those who have more power or more money, or who just don?t have any scruples and don?t care if they?re unfair or if they damage other people, should be allowed to do whatever they want, and the rest of us should just remain silent and submit and suffer the consequences without speaking out or standing up for what?s fair, what?s right, and what?s best for everyone rather than just the privileged few?

The statement now appears to have been removed from the BR website - it was modified last night.

While I am saddened by BR's reaction to a legitimate process followed by the BEF, it was hardly a surprise.

From frequent dealings with the BEF in my previous job, the one thing I know that they hate is infighting among the disciplines - it shows equestrian sport in a bad light to the outside world and makes communication difficult from their perspective.

OK, the BEF is far from perfect, but they are our link with the sort of funding that has helped other sports make huge strides (no pun intended!) in the UK, and I would suggest that if we want a slice of that, then we have to respect their decisions.

If only BR could have accepted the BEF's verdict, said, 'OK, we got it wrong, now let's move on and adopt a more transparent selection policy' then at least something positive could have been salvaged out of this sorry mess.

As I have said before, we went to WEG and it was the most amazing competition - truly inspiring to see how the other European nations are progressing. Reining is a fabulous sport with so much potential, it would be a tragedy if Britain was unable to develop its standard of competition because of the views and actions of individuals