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Pictures (and Video) Say 1,000 Words and They All Matter

Viral news, social license, and the importance of communications hosted by Sarah Hamilton

by US Equestrian Communications Dept. | Jan 29, 2025, 11:58 AM

Lexington, Ky. -- The equestrian community gathered at the 2025 US Equestrian Annual Meeting and Awards on Thursday, January 23, to engage in a pivotal workshop led by communications expert Sarah Hamilton. Focused on the crucial theme of “social licenses,” Hamilton led a discussion about the importance of trust and responsible communications in maintaining the integrity of equestrian sports.

“Everyone has a role in maintaining social licenses,” Hamilton stated. “In our digital age, where one negative image can overshadow countless positives, we must act responsibly and establish rules that prioritize the health and safety of both horses and riders. There are two living beings in our sport. Horses can tell you what they need and you need to listen.”

Hamilton explained that social licenses represent the community's informal acceptance of an industry’s operations. She highlighted that trust can be fragile. Once it is lost, it can take significant effort to rebuild. “Imagine drinking water from a provider who previously poisoned the groundwater. Even with legitimate licenses, that provider has lost the most critical one: trust,” she remarked.

The workshop included case studies illustrating how quickly a social license can be jeopardized. Hamilton provided scenarios such as Sea World and their response to the “Blackfish” documentary and Beers Diamonds, their once booming diamond business and how it was impacted by the film “Blood Diamond.”

Other equine-related case studies were handed over to breakout groups who discussed if each of the issues at hand would jeopardize the sport’s social licenses and how they would go about responding to each incident. 

Breakout group hypothetical scenarios for discussion included: 

  • Someone is shown on video at home hitting their horse over the head.  

  • At a horse show, a horse is bleeding from his or her mouth. 

  • During a national class, someone is whipping a horse hard. 

  • A large human is on a small horse and yanking his or her mouth. 

  • You see something irregular at a horse show, but do not say anything. 

  • An animal rights advocacy group shows up at your show/event. What do you do? 

  • A horse dies at a high-profile competition. 

  • A horse collapses at a nationally televised horse show. 

  • A rider falls at a competition. 

  • You are at a breed show where it is not a requirement to wear a helmet and a rider dies.

In every case, the groups overwhelmingly agreed that the social licenses to operate as equestrian sports would be in danger. The course of action in which they would take to respond to these issues and tragedies would be contextual, but the common thread between every group was that responses need to be sent out quickly, they must be factual, showing humanity is pivotal, and follow ups must be provided if the situation calls for one (i.e. Deaths and accidents involving horses and human athletes.)


Hamilton also shared her advice on how to handle public opinions online. “Equestrians must focus on their stakeholders, not the social media mob,” she advised. “Genuine communication can help mitigate damage and rebuild trust.”

The session concluded with a call to action for the equestrian community to invite non-equestrians to engage with the sport, fostering understanding and goodwill. “By educating others about our passion for horses and the sport, we can create allies and advocates,” Hamilton encouraged. 


About Sarah Hamilton

©Sarah Hamilton

Sarah is an experienced communications professional who has worked closely with some of the country’s top politicians and organizations, helping them advance their policy agendas. She specializes in campaign management and strategy, crisis communications, media relations, and message and policy development. Sarah directed a successful campaign encouraging hard-to-reach residents in Illinois to complete the Census and is currently running a multi-state teacher recruitment campaign as well as a health education and awareness campaign targeted to LGBTQ+ individuals in Chicago.  
 
Prior to joining Avoq, Sarah spent more than a decade working in politics. Most recently, she was the director of communications for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, where she served as the chief spokesperson for the mayor and managed a large team of spokespeople across the city. While at City Hall, Sarah was responsible for developing and implementing strategies to communicate and advance the mayor’s policy agenda, as well as overseeing all rapid response functions. 
 
Watching the full workshop session here. 

Find more information on the 2025 US Equestrian Annual Meeting and Awards, visit,  www.usef.org/annual-meeting and follow US Equestrian on Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok

Related Topics

Events: Annual Meeting