Nothing against horses, mind you. They're lovely to look at. I grew up watching Westerns so I even know a lot of horses by name: Trigger, Buttermilk, Champion, Fury, Sport...My friend Bernadette's family had once helped local kids' TV show cowboy Rex Trailer change a flat, so she got to meet his steed, Goldrush. And, of course (of course) I never missed an episode of Mr. Ed. I have even more horsey stuff going for me.
Sometimes I'll turn on a horse race. I've even been to the track a few times, where I bet strictly on a combination of liking the horse's name and the jockey's colors.
I've ridden around Central Park in a horse-drawn carriage.
And for a tiny period during my early reading life, I consumed some of those girl-meets-horse books. Not many. They weren't all that interesting. But I did have a prepubescent fling with fantasizing that I was a beautiful, cosseted rich girl at a Southern boarding school where the only courses of study seemed to be riding and handsome boys. IRL, of course, I'd never known anyone who'd been on a horse, let alone who owned one.
Anyway, I like horses just fine, and I want them to be well treated in life. I feel badly that when they break their legs, most horses end up euthanized - regrettable, but, given equine anatomy and the state of veterinary art, largely a necessity. And, although I've never thought of it, I believe that horses (like all creatures great and small, other than insects, snakes, and rats) should be treated respectfully in death.
Thus, I was appalled to see the picture of Gordon Elliott - the leading racehorse trainer in Ireland (where horses and horseracing are a very big deal) - perched on a dead horse (heart attack, not euthanasia), smiling, throwing the peace sign, and - what else - talking on the phone.
You will note that I have chosen not to share that picture here, offering the illustrious Mr. Ed instead, confident that Wilbur would never have perched on Mr. Ed's fallen, cold, and dead body.
The picture was taken a couple of years ago, and its release likely has something to do with Elliott's enemies plotting to take him down a peg or two, but it is pretty awful.
Elliott is, of course, full of remorse about his lapse in judgment, and, in truth, his apology sounds authentic and not just one of those pro forma I'm-sorry-I-got-caught-if-I-have-offended-anyone jobs. Although it does include the pro forma I-apolgize-to-anyone-offended-by-this-image bit. (Really, why do these apologies all use that trope? Why not just I'm-sorry-I-did-it-because-it-was-a-bad-thing-to-do?)
As a result of his thoughtless decision to park his carcass on that of a horse that had been in his care, Elliott has had horse owners remove their horses from his care, and has received a six-month suspension of his license in Ireland. (A further ban in England is anticipated as well.)
By all accounts, Elliott was/is an exemplary trainer who loved horses. Alas, as the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board wrote in announcing the ban,
1. This Committee is of the view that the photograph shows the most appalling bad taste on the part of Mr. Elliott insofar as it demonstrates a complete absence of respect for the horse at a time when he still remains in his charge. We believe that respect is an integral and essential part of the duty owing by those in charge of animals alive or dead.
2. It is undoubtedly and most regrettably the case that the reputation and integrity of horseracing has consequently been brought into disrepute and has been prejudiced and serious damage has been caused to a sport enjoyed and loved by so many.
3. There can be no doubt but that the production of the subject photograph has been a cause of enormous distress to all those who appreciate the enjoyment that horses brings to their lives. (Source: The Independent)
Etc.
They also note that Elliott is/was a caring and competent professional (albeit that he was "extraordinarily foolish" to sit on the dead horse, and that "there was a pointed absence of common sense,") and that:
In the view of the Committee there is also a sinister aspect to this case. The Committee are satisfied that the publication of this photograph is part of a concerted attack upon Mr Elliott, the full circumstances of which are unknown.
If I know my Irish press, this story will be all consuming for a good long while. Especially given the acknowledgement that "there is also a sinister aspect to this case." That would be the enemies of Elliott trying to bring him down.
Years ago, on a trip to Ireland, the headlines in all the papers the week we were there - and the leading item on each evening's news - were all about the professional rod-angler fishermen striking over new fees on their licenses.
This scandal has got to be a bigger deal than the rod-anglers' strike.
And, since one thing invariably leads to another, it's no real surprise that another dead horse thang has emerged. This time it's a video of Rob James, an amateur jockey who'd ridden for Elliott, "climbing onto the back of a dead horse...accompanied by laughter from onlookers, apparently shortly before the body is to be removed." (Source: The Guardian)
I suspect that Rob James' career as an amateur jockey is at an end.
How easy it is to do something thoughtless and stupid. To get goaded into doing something for the quick laugh.
How easy it has always been.
It's just that now, with cameras and social media, it's out there for everyone to see. And for your enemies to use to take you out if and when they can.
Should Gordon Elliott and Rob James spend the rest of their lives living in infamy because of one boneheaded move? Nope. But I suspect they will.
For all the other horse people out there, this is a warning. You can't beat a dead horse, and you can't sit on one either.
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