To The Editor,
Some Owners and
Trainers have criticized me for voting not to use the H.P.B.A.
We’ve run our own Horsemen’s Organization for a lot of years and
even with our ups and down’s we have made it work pretty well. We
can’t tuck our tails between our legs and run every time the
Commission does something we may not agree with. I’ve worked with
the Commission on several issues. It’s taught me you can pull a
chain faster than you can push one.
When I decided
not to vote yes to use the H.P.B.A., I felt our organization just
needed some T.L.C. not someone to tell us when to put our pants
on. I also feel to use the H.P.B.A. would be a slap in the face to
the very people that worked to put our organization together years
ago. I say if it’s your dog feed it, don’t expect your neighbor to
feed it for you.
An organization
can’t be any better than the people we elect to run it. If you
elect self serving people on your committees that have one agenda
and that’s to benefit themselves, you may not like the outcome. We
had only about forty people vote for our committee election. That
is the smallest amount of horsemen I’ve seen vote at Sunland Park.
This tells me we
need to reach out to our horsemen and let them know we are concerned
about all their needs and not just the needs of a chosen few. I’d
like to give Lou Wooten a special thanks for all the years she has
given the New Mexico Horseman’s Association. I know her job has
never been easy.
Thank you
Jack Hemby
