You have probably noticed that I have said very little about the faster-than-a-speeding-tent-pegger exit of our Fearless Leader since it all went down like a lead balloon on January 10th. My silence is officially over. The investigative report I wrote for the March issue of Horse Sport has now been posted on the Horse Canada website. You can read it by clicking here. Feel free to come back here after you have read it and leave your thoughts in the comments at the bottom of the page.
I am very saddened by the resignation of Akaash. In reading your article it makes me ashamed , once again, of my association and its behaviors. They try to blame Dressage Canada for not getting along for the greater good of the Sport…perhaps they should look at themselves. Who is at the helm now that Akaash has left? Please don’t insult me to think that Mike Arbor and Craig Andreas have the scope of the entire association and can make informed decisions for the betterment of our sport. What is next? thank you for your continued diligence ..
In my opinion, and in the opinion of my sport, Akaash Maharaj was a dedicated and effective leader, a person of integrity and compassion, dedication and commitment, and one who actively worked to raise the profile of equestrian sports and of equine welfare in Canada and around the world. It is unfortunate that the EC board is so apparently ineffectual in governing that it has allowed one of its committees to exercise an agenda that may be perverse to the purpose of the organization. Personal conflict is not unusual between people of accomplishment and ego, but when it has a significant impact on an organization, it must be dealt with swiftly and effectively. By allowing a disproportionate authority to one committee, and by allowing this committee to exercise its own agenda without demonstrated vision toward a common goal and a common good, the EC and its board are beginning a slide down a very slippery slope. Very disappointing for equestrians in Canada indeed.
Oh my god. I’ve never been so ashamed of being an EC member.
Akaash’s achievements in only a few years were just mind blowing. I wouldn’t have believed it before. He made me proud to be a Canadian equestrian and every time I heard him speak I was truly inspired and truly shocked that such an honorable person was leading EC.
I was shocked that EC was letting him get away when I thought he was just moving on. Now, I wonder whether that board and it’s committee must have no morals AND sh*t for brains. Talk about killing the goose that laid the golden eggs!
But what was it really all about? Whatever reason they have for wanting him out so quick must be pretty horrible for them to be so dishonest. If they had an honest reason they could’ve just used an honest process.
So what was it Karen? Jealousy? The old boys club cutting up an outsider? I’m afraid to ask, but racism? Or are they just so used to everyone hating EC that they couldn’t stand stand a CEO who was respected and admired?
The word in the paddock is that the COO Craig Andres was carried out of EC to the hospital with some kind of nervous breakdown this week after trying to fill in for Akaash. Any truth to this? Is EC really going from historic success to overnight collapsing beacuse of the selfishness and stupidity of one committee? Who the hell are those people anyway?
I thought everything had changed at EC. But it looks like the bad guys won and it’s all changing back.
Aw Canada, My heart bleeds for you.
I am a U.S. person and somehow thought we had a lock on kicking ourselves in the head..
Apparently committees, boards or what have you, are the same the world over.
But really,I thought you had the best of the best. I was thrilled by and envious of you for your Mr. Maharaj’s intelligent and dignified stance at the big FEI meeting.
I hope that you all come very loudly to his defense, since you seem to agree with the rest of the world that you have lost a great advocate.
Of course no one will know the particulars of this debacle, but you know the parties concerned and must know who had your best interests at heart.
I left Canada to study and train in Europe about 10 years ago, so you can guess how surprised I was a while back to hear leaders of France’s equestrian federation come back from WEG and FEI meetings talking about how much they were in awe of Canada’s CEO Akaash Maharaj. I’ve never met him and I’m not involved in equestrian politics, but it’s incredible to me to hear people here talk about wanting “France’s Akaash”. Believe me, anyone who can make the French publicly wish for the doings of another nationality has got it going on!
But my issue with the situation Karen describes doesn’t have anything to do with Akaash. It’s now that he is gone, Equine Canada seems to be in the hands of people who have no respect for honesty or the sport.
Does this person Mike Gallagher have some kind of illness that makes him unable to tell the truth, and does he think Equine Canada’s members are stupid enough to believe anything he says in this article?
Gallagher dismisses Akaash’s role with Equine Canada’s major funders, but the head of the funding body itself calls Akaash’s role “critical” and calls Akaash personally “a role model” for other sport CEOs.
Gallagher says Akaash’s contribution to the “Olympic teams is almost insignificant” but the head of Eventing credits Akaash for “leading us to our greatest success in history” and the head of Jumping says “to lose him now, in such a critical period, is devastating”.
Gallagher told Akaash that he was dealing with him “at the express direction of the Board” but then admits that the Board didn’t even know what was going and says arrogantly “the Board can’t change anything”.
Gallagher says that the CFO “had been working on transition stuff” with Akaash, but the CFO says that he wasn’t even in the office when this all went down and didn’t come back until after Akaash had left.
Our sport federation had an internationally respected leader, and now it’s under the control of a dishonest fool. And if Equine Canada’s members and board let Gallagher and his friends get away with it, then Canadians have noone to blame but themselves for the results.
Unfortunately, you will not get balanced input here. The true insiders and the ones who understand firsthand that AM only put his attentions to the topics that placed him in the spotlight, thereby furthering his personal agenda in national politics, cannot comment. Canada’s membership were not served well by this man who wore costumes with no bearing on his actual heritage and baffled people with extravagant language. Let me just say, that if they could speak, they would say with a loud and unified voice, “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!”
I am no “true insider” like GiddyUp, but when I hear people criticising someone for wearing ethnic dress and making fun of it with words like “costumes”, then I start to smell racism. I’m going to guess that you wouldn’t make the same comment about me when I wear my kilt to events.
I wonder if people who are so proud to call themselves “true insiders” don’t realise that the rest of us know that the problem with Equine Canada is the old boys club that think they own it like the mafia.
Far from not commenting, the old boys do nothing for our sport except talk, but they do it by gossip, lies and behind the scenes character assassination. The grassroots who are not “true insiders” (and even Torchy Millar!) have been vocal and public in our gratitude to Akaash.
I wish him well with his future. Equine Canada is worse off without him, and I’m sorry to say that he is better off without Equine Canada if its “true insiders” are racists and liars.
Alas Henry, your anger is misguided. I am far from racist, and when I say costumes, I mean exactly that. As on example, I am talking about the selection of a particular miltary sweater because he was ‘going to battle’ at a meeting. We all wanted great things from this man who would at some level demonstrate that Canada’s horse sport was for all Canadians. Unfortnately the luster on that became as dull as the costume jewel he was seen to adorn himself with in his “formal wear”, and he was quickly seen to be as authentic.
Sorry GiddyUp, I’m not buying your attempt to run away from your comments about his “heritage”. To try to explain it away by saying you were actually talking about him wearing an army sweater doesn’t stand up. It also sounds pretty hollow to hear someone who describes themself as the voice of “true insiders” suddenly change gears and claim that they really want horse sport to be for “all Canadians”.
For horse sport to belong to “all Canadians” it has to belong to more than just “true insiders” and more than just people who are the same color and wear the same clothes and speak the same way as self-styled “true insiders”.
Let me put it to you this way Henry, if someone draped themselves with a gingham table cloth and called I a kilt, would you buy it?
Personally I find the threat of racism a convenient deterrent for masking ill behavior that would not be otherwise tolerated.
Also, I am not an insider nor do I represent them. I am however close enough to have seen enough to know that we were not served well. The true insiders cannot speak here and for that reason, you will never get the full picture.
So now the comparison is gingham table cloths and kilts? It sure looks to me like whatever else you were saying, you certainly weren’t talking about army sweaters.
Sorry, that should have read, “Personally I find the threat of racism a convenient deterrent that allows for the masking of ill behavior that would not be otherwise tolerated.”. In other words, in my observation, AM took liberties that many would have been penalized for.
There was a wide variety of costumes. Unfortunately a porperly fitting, suitably fitting sportscoat did not appear to be in his wardrobe. This is a basic courtesy regardless of where you come from. Attendence at FEI events in a logoed hoodie was an embarrassment.
As usual, the most interesting insights are in the comments more than the original article!
IMHO the most insightful statement was by Sue K, when she said that none of us will know all the details of the debacle, but it’s possible to see what’s what based on who’s on what side.
I see that Torchy Millar has come out publicly to say that Akaash was a leader of distinction and skill, that him leaving is a “devastating” a failure by the EC board and president.
I see that the head of Own the Podium has come out publicly to say that Akaash was one of the best CEOs of any sport in the country and that him leaving is “a tremendous loss” for Canada.
And I see that Equine Canada’s “true insiders” are hiding behind pseudonyms on this blog to attack Akaash’s “heritage” and make an issue of his ethnicity and race, to do school-yard name calling and anonymous bullying, and they still have nothing better to go on about than his wardrobe and the fit of his jackets.
I don’t know all the details of this debacle. But after reading these comments, I sure as hell feel that I now know enough.
As a “true outsider” I must say that I am stunned by your “true insider’s” explanation of your difficulty with Akaash Maharaj.
You were baffled by his extravagant language and you didn’t like his clothes?
Being a complete outsider, I have never spoken with or met Akaash , however I have read articles that he has written and listened to interviews that he has given and I was not once “baffled” by his “extravagant” language.
I had no trouble understanding him and thought he made his points quite well and intelligently.
I must admit I never noticed what he was wearing..
Ha. I was never baffled, but clearly many were.
A true horseman is one who sees past the shine and the hype and will know without a doubt whether he is looking at a quality horse. A developing horseman will listen to those who are good horsemen, if he is fortunate enough to find one who will share his unguarded knowledge. A bad horseman will believe himself to be a good horseman.
EC is clearly corporate and playin the same old games. Deny, deny, deny. Stay the course folks and the public – even though they suspect you’re lying will do nothing about it. For shame EC, for shame!