What an ecologically responsible organization we have! Rather than just tossing past presidents into the trash like used diapers, EC recycles them! Though for some reason CEOs, which actually cost money to train and employ, are given the Huggies treatment faster than you can say ‘potty train’.
Way to solve the downward spiral of a federation, EC Board. Bring back a man whom I don’t recall ever having cause to interview during his time as Prez last time around. Actually, I can’t recall a single thing Al Patterson ever uttered in his role as previous Prez, except for when he was quoted in an EC press release back in 2008 that Akaash was the “obvious choice” for CEO, in an unfortunate but funny juxtaposition to another comment about Akaash’s previous work experience advising countries embroiled in armed conflicts. I have interviewed Al’s predecessor, the Barbie-boyfriend-sounding Ed Kendall, and I’ve certainly drunk deeply from the word trough of his successor Mike G. But Al? His previous stint as Prez left as much of an impression on me as hospital food. Especially the Jell-O.
Oh, Karen, you say. There you go being a meanie again. Picking on a man because he’s bland. I wouldn’t ever pick on Al Patterson if he hadn’t become EC Prez for a second time at such a rock-bottom time in the politics of EC. We have a Board that has exhibited lack of skill, lack of will, and lack of accountability to the members that pay the bills – and that does include plane trips to Winterpeg, don’t you know. We have fresh blood on the EC Board, the likes of which clearly possess the chops that the Board has lacked these past so many years: a former CEO of Coca Cola Canada, who is also a member of the COC and recently spent three years at the helm of Tennis Canada; a former President of Via Rail, and head of the Bromont bid committee for WEG 2018 (even though as I’ve said before, I believe the Bromont bid is a lost cause). Sure, these two men are new to the EC Board, but they are hardly strangers to Canadian equestrian sport. I suppose it’s possible these individuals didn’t step forward and volunteer to be Prez, but surely a Board has the ability to have a dialogue and encourage a person to take it on? As far as I’m concerned, a golden opportunity to turn the ship around has been missed. All in the name of recycling.
Perhaps a better name for our national federation would be Requine Canada, since they are so in love with ‘re’ doing things. Here are a few examples to go along with their recycling of presidents:
Reject (as in CEOs)
Repeat (as in ‘doomed to’)
Remind (me of Russian politics, a la Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, the puppet president Putin installed in office while he took his mandatory four year break from being Prez – the only thing is, I don’t know which of Mike G and Al P is Putin and which is Medvedev)
I can imagine the arguments Board members would make in defense of their vote for bringing Al back. They would sound a bit like the description of ‘system restore’ on your computer (yet another beloved ‘re’ activity): ‘System Restore undoes harmful changes to your federation by returning it to an earlier time’. Trouble is, I’m not aware of any ‘earlier time’ that EC is worth returning to. Certainly it wasn’t between 2004 and 2008, when EC’s war with the provinces was at a bitter impasse, and the company had three CEOs in as many years. Oh, wait, I get it! Al has lots of experience with EC’s favourite game, Reverse Musical Chairs’, which goes like this: every time the music stops there is one more empty chair in the EC office than there are bodies to occupy it. Of course. Now it makes perfect sense to me. EC’s Board has finally fully embraced the current reality and is now working to put the most qualified people in place to keep it that way. Rejoice.
The fun just never ends, does it?
I’m ready for a break from EC’s circular reasoning – as I’m sure you are too – but for those of you who are looking for some good news in my next post, I have to warn you that’s not likely to happen. I’ll be doing some ranting about the atrocious situation with FEI Endurance, where it has just been scientifically proven that even when you get to the bottom of the barrel, there is a trap door leading down still further. On the upside, it’s a situation that makes even EC look better; like they say, everything can serve a purpose, even if it’s just to serve as a bad example. At least EC’s not actively promoting the abuse of horses. Think I’m exaggerating? Check out this video taken by the official show video contractor at an FEI two star endurance race in Bahrain last weekend. That would be the same weekend that the FEI held its Endurance conference, a conference that according to Pippa Cuckson at The Telegraph, was not attended by a single delegate from the Middle East – not even Saeed Al Tayer of the UAE, who is on the FEI strategic planning group assigned with spearheading the clean up of the discipline.
