The American Horse Shows Association, Inc. (AHSA) today (March 2) publicly released its submission to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Membership and Credentials Committee.

In commenting on its summary presentation to the Membership and Credentials Committee meeting held in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday, Feb. 24, Alan F. Balch, president of the AHSA, on behalf of its officers, stated, “While the United States Equestrian Team (USET) has formally commenced litigation against the AHSA through its challenge of our National Governing Body (NGB) status, we feel our submission to the USOC demonstrates how well the AHSA fulfills its NGB functions as required, and also provides options for the future. We continue to hope that the USET will withdraw its challenge, and take steps to join in a new, all-inclusive governing organization for the sport.”

Balch noted that the USET has scheduled an Executive Committee meeting for Thursday, March 1, 2001. The notice for the meeting includes discussion of the USET’s 2001 budget. “We hope to learn more about the USET’s plans at that meeting. In a letter to the USOC this past Friday, Robert Standish (USET Executive Director) predicted that the operations of the USET would ‘grind to a halt’ if the AHSA did not extend the Operating Agreement between the AHSA and USET. We do not see any reason for that to happen, and now that the Operating Agreement has come to the end of its agreed term, we do not think it will. Only the USET can decide how much funding it will continue to provide to our international athletes. As we said late last week, in light of the USET’s litigation, the AHSA has taken all necessary steps as the sport’s NGB to see that no rights, opportunities, or funding for international athletes will be compromised in any way.”

The AHSA submission, which in printed form includes 125 pages, plus exhibits, is posted on the AHSA website (https://www.ahsa.org) via the Equestrian Governance section. Only selected exhibits are posted due to constraints of space. All exhibits are available upon request to the AHSA