Untacked

CO T H . CO M | FA L L 2 0 2 1    65 Green Is The New Blue sponsors a "living jump" at many shows, like this one in the hunter derby at the Upperville Colt & Horse Show (Va.). The jump features living plants that are native to that region, which will be planted at the facility after the competition. KIMBERLY LOUSHIN PHOTO single-use plastic, paper or plastic foam products of any kind; provided reusable mugs and silverware; and ensured all items purchased are made from component recyclables. All of these efforts have contributed to a utility bill that is 50 percent lower than the previous building and internal trash production has been cut in half as well, according to USEF. "We applaud the work of Green Is The New Blue and are very interested in seeing their efforts to help create more sustainable management practices in the equestrian industry," a USEF spokesperson stated in an email. "USEF is a very large organization that has its hands full," Evans says. "Our intention is to help lead by example of how we're moving forward, taking it one horse show at a time or one horse-show series at a time, and very slowly building it up that way. Perhaps, in time, we will be able to do something with USEF to implement a general set of practices for equestrian events, and I'm sure that will happen at some point." The response to the organization's efforts has been overwhelmingly positive so far, Evans says, noting that new competitions are coming on board all the time. And the target audience—the competitors—have been very receptive. "What we've also found out is: Equestrians are eager. They're so passionate about their sport, they're passionate about competition, they love all of that," he says. "When they started to become more aware, they became more responsible for their own trail of trash." But there always are challenges. For example, every locality has its own recycling programs, and they accept different materials, Evans explains, so implementing recycling collection at any new horse show requires researching what that community will actually accept. Some of the most ubiquitous single-use plastics in the horse world are also some of the most difficult to recycle, he notes. "The greatest challenge of all is the shavings bag. We've got 15,000 bags that are going to be used at one of our horse shows that we're involved with, and we need to come up with a way [to recycle them]," he says. "A couple of organizations are working on this with me to figure out how we can do that." An extra wrinkle: In order to be recycled, shavings bags can't have any shavings left in them. "Nothing can be recycled unless it is clean; people don't realize that. There can't be one shaving in there. It's work!" Evans says. the horse world," he says. "There are horse shows around the world that are way ahead of us. In Europe—Helsinki [Finland], the Christmas show at Olympia [England], they're very forward- thinking, and we want to learn more from them." THE PROBLEM OF THE SHAVINGS BAG While the Fédération Equestre Internationale has a sustainability plan, the U.S. Equestrian Federation doesn't—at least not yet. But a sustainability symposium was included at the 2020 USEF Annual Meeting, where industry experts shared best practices and new technological innovations with the membership. The organization also has an internal sustainability initiative, begun in 2018 when they moved into their new building at the Kentucky Horse Park. They have eliminated the purchase of

• Cover