By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
Videos posted on the Internet by dressage rider Adam Steffens of training by American Cesar Parra has finally blown open one of the worst kept secrets of horse sport–abuse of horses and riders–to prompt “immediate” reaction from the sport’s governing bodies after years of inaction. Florida’s Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office sources report it is receiving numerous complaints about Parra, including serious allegations involving past and current female employees.
Adam Steffens competing in Wellington, Florida. File photo. © Ken Braddick/DRESSAGE-NEWS.comThe Parra case has led to widespread publicity in Europe, with the German sport horse site St. Georg prominently featuring reports including condemnation by professional riders.
Some customers have already pulled horses in training from the Parra farm.
The 30-year-old Adam is married to Dutch migrant Sven Smienk, who rides for Canada and who had worked at the stables of Parra with long-time training centers in New Jersey and Florida, but currently based at Jupiter Farms 30 miles north of Wellington, Florida.
Sven worked for Parra for less than a year but like many previous employees hired from outside the U.S. on a visa supported by Parra that allowed them to work in America. Several former employees confirm the same situation as Sven–fearing they were held hostage by the visa situation. That appears to be not the case legally, but few dared challenge what had been a life changing move to the U.S. that they believed could be jeopardized if they quit their job.
“As soon as possible he was able to exit the situation there,” Adam explained of Sven’s situation, “and since, Sven has been with me at our paradise, Candoit Stables, where we make horse care our absolute priority… even over sport. We are so blessed that the Petrik family has blessed us over and over again with not only the ability to be here but the ability to care for horses in the absolute best way possible.”
“WHAT YOU see in the released videos is nothing compared to what is happening on a daily basis between Cesar Parra and his groom Jen Mendecia.
“Sven, like many past employees I’ve connected with through this process, is receiving therapy for PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) for what he had to witness there. We do not condone or support anything that is happening there, and I am doing my best to shed light on this situation.”
What is shocking to many in the dressage community as reflected by complaints to law enforcement and social media posts is why it took so long to reach this stage. Hundreds of posts on social media express a mix of anger, disgust and frustration at the lack of action from official levels–particularly US Equestrian–over so many years.
The videos compiled by Adam over three months and posted to U.S. Equestrian and the FEI (International Equestrian Federation) have since been supplemented by reports of abuse at Parra’s European source of horses, now being investigated by the German federation.
Dressage-News.com has pursued but without success allegations involving Parra for more than 20 years. The Internet site and the magazine HorseSport USA that it owned prior to creation of the web site in 2009, failed to convince Parra employees, FEI stewards and others to go on the record in support of privately expressed allegations. None would provide any videos or photographs as evidence, and none would allow the use of their names.
What has emerged shows a pattern of years of methods to maintain the Parra operation:
–Employees forced to attend regular cult-like meetings that one former employee described as “real mental terrorism” with managers enforcing the stable doctrine and horse abuse ignored;
–Some owners cut in for commissions on horse sales so as not disclose behavior at the training facilities;
–Coaching of Parra by then FEI Dressage Committee chair Mariette Withages who in violation of rules would stand beside the arena during his ride in an apparent display to the judges of the competition her support of the rider, as did her successor, German judge and trainer Volker Moritz;
–The decision by the FEI for Withages to stay with the rider when travelling to Florida to perform as sole judge at the time he competed for Colombia, to go to the 2004 Olympics in Athens, a ride that was not witnessed by anyone outside the farm;
–FEI and national stewards disclosing privately they were instructed by a show organizer to go to a part of the show venue away from Parra warming up because he brought the most horses to the event and they did not want to jeopardize entries which, unlike in Europe, is the primary source of show revenue as there typically are no spectator charges;
–Alleged rider complaints to the Congressionally-mandated U.S. Safe Sport organization that they say have been ignored;
–A European Internet dressage site that for years posted items that were displayed as “stories” that appeared to be promotional items of Parra’s operations, and
–Some owners, as well as managers and some employees, confronting and verbally abusing dressage-news.com for reporting incidents involving Parra. He personally confronted this correspondent at a national championships warning that he was advised by his customers to sue the site for the reporting. This correspondent responded he welcomed a suit because then he could call witnesses to testify under oath on training and treatment of horses.
Prior to the current exposures, the closest an individual came to highlighting behavior at the Parra operations was a multi-year effort by owner Trudy Miranda that culminated in her filing a civil lawsuit in New Jersey alleging negligence by Parra in the training of her horse, William PFF. The Hanoverian stallion was seriously injured, she alleged, because of incorrect training methods. The jury voted unanimously 8-0 for a finding of “no cause” and the case was dismissed in 2015.
The lawsuit along with video of the alleged incident shown on the Internet triggered telephone complaints to the U.S. federation, some calling for the body not to approve an invitation to Parra to compete at the World Cup Final for which he had qualified. The federation said he had not been convicted of any criminal or civil charges so would take no action.
An example of the extent of Parra’s influence was approval by the FEI of the rider for the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The FEI’s chief dressage judge, Mariette Withages of Belgium, traveled to Florida to individually review the performances of Parra riding for his native Colombia and the Wellington-based Israeli Oded Shimoni. She stayed with Parra. Efforts to witness the Parra trial were stymied when Parra told this correspondent the ride would be held the following day but early the next day met the response the ride had already been performed and Parra had received a score that qualified him for the Olympics. There were no outside witnesses of the the ride. Withages, Parra said, was “out shopping” after the ride and showed up in Wellington an hour late and after Shimoni’s horse had already been warmed up in preparation for the initial specified time of the trial.
The previous year, Horses Unlimited of Albuquerque, New Mexico pulled all its horses from Parra’s Jupiter stables after a newly arrived young temporary employee complained of sexual harassment. The family of the young woman did not press charges for fear of her being interrogated in a hostile manner in a public hearing.
