OUR VIEW: Mulford’s combative style does him no good
Published: September 27, 2009
» The candidate for Stevensburg District supervisor can be his own worst enemy.
When you sit down and talk with Gardiner Mulford, at times he comes across as a funny, coherent guy with good ideas and logical reasons for his outspoken behavior — the kind of guy with whom you’d like to share a beer.
The rest of the time, you don’t know whether to laugh, cry or drop your jaw in utter bewilderment, especially when you consider the outlandish, sophomoric statements coming from a candidate for the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors.
Such is the case with Mulford’s role in a controversial saga involving his ownership of 11 horses donated to him after the previous owner — an Orange County woman charged with abusing other horses on her “retirement farm” — was forced to surrender them.
When some of the original owners wanted Mulford to return their horses, he made headlines by essentially telling them to shove it. Mulford has since backed down a bit, offering to sell back the horses for about what he’s paid in expenses.
Fair enough. Good call.
But it’s how Mulford, running in the Stevensburg District, has handled the situation that is so perplexing. The problem is, he doesn’t know when to stop. Whether it’s in a letter to the editor or an online forum, he’s usually in war mode, launching venomous tirades against anyone who takes him to task.
For example, he recently e-mailed this reply to a woman who was trying to get her horse back: “Look, I know women suffer from ‘misplaced emtional (sic) attachment mental disorder’ MEAN ... Your extreme love also makes you capable of extreme hate.”
It’s one thing to disagree with someone. It’s another thing, as a candidate for office, to insult half the voting population. On top of that, he got the acronym wrong.
Mulford admits he has a lot of strengths that can turn into weaknesses, and we agree, particularly when it comes to his zeal. If Mulford would just take a little more tact and not “attack in all directions,” as he wrote in Saturday’s front-page article, he might be a more attractive candidate for office.
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Reader Reactions
Thanks, Liberty, for taking the time and effort to help get the word out. Makes it easier for those of us with the intelligence and willingness to seek the truth. The rest can just keep their heads buried in the sand and continue to enjoy their bliss born of their ignorance.
Liberty, please don’t feel the need to respond to ALL comments. I can not change your narrow-minded mentality…. You can not change mine.
I don’t care what Mulford said to you or any member of the venomous website you are referencing to. Action talks louder than words. Being responsible for 11 abandoned horses by taking them on just before winter is not what most people do.
“Breadbox”, I have to give you credit for at least going to the Chronicle discussion and doing some reading. However, it appears you are one who is ignoring the facts.
Furthermore, quoting others incompletely to suit your perception is pretty lame.
Regarding the quote of mine that you posted, here’s the rest of it to put it into proper context:
“I don’t care what Mackall’s personal/physical problems might be. With there being obvious sufficient, suitable pasture, there was no excuse for this to happen.“
LINK to full post:
http://tinyurl.com/MyCOTHPost
Regarding Belplosh’s quote that you included, here’s more to put into proper context as well:
“And I am sick of hearing she had health problems…your point? I am sure they didn’t sneak up on her one day out of the blue but became more serious over time, something she had to have been aware of and should of acted accordingly, NOT starving to death so many horses.“
LINK to full post:
http://tinyurl.com/BelploshCOTHPost
For those interested in hearing the whole story, thus far, including input from Mulford himself, please see the ongoing discussion at The Chronicle Of The Horse at the following quick link:
http://tinyurl.com/ChronicleOfTheHorse
“Mrs Culpeper”, Had you received any of the various nastygram, immature, illiterate emails from Mulford that I and several others received, I doubt you would feel the way you do.
Seriously, he shows himself to be an uneducated, pompous, south-end-of-a-northbound mule when attacking from the “privacy” of “private” emails.
Surely, Mr. Mulford has a certain amount of heroic willpower. The personification of an idea “a real man does not cry, a real man stands up and fights back” makes him look naïve, but trustworthy. We need more politicians who are not simply polite and easy to get along with, but with the guts.
Ah, “breadbox”. Saying other commenters are “brain damaged”. Taking snippets of others’ posts to make them appear out of context. True signs of a real Mulford supporter.
You obviously haven’t take the time to go read the full story. Or maybe you are having problems comprehending it.
Wikipedia : The use of irony introduces an element of humor which may make the criticism seem more polite and less aggressive but understanding the subtlety of this usage requires second-order interpretation of the speaker’s intentions. This sophisticated understanding is lacking in some people with brain damage, dementia and autism, and this perception has been located by MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging ) in the right parahippocampal gyrus( is a grey matter cortical region of the brain that surrounds the hippocampus).
Liberty and Ms. Equineelders when did you fall off the horse and damaged your brains?
These people are not only MEAN…. Read the following words addressed to Nancy: I am sick of hearing she had health problems….( says”Belplosh”); I don’t care what Mackall’s personal/physical problems might be ( says Liberty); I want this woman and her low-life connections to go down in flames (says “foundationmare”).
These people are lynching Mulford on and off ignoring the fact that the former owner of rescued horses and a member of The Chronicle of the Horse web site LauraKY said: Not all of the horses at Mulford’s were retired. Some of the horses, particularly the stallions, were Mackall’s breeding stock. I assume, as breeding stock, they are fit enough to be sold and, since they actually belonged to Mackall, probably should be sold.
I just read this perceptive and insightful staff editorial regarding Mr. Mulford. I believe it was William Tecumseh Sherman who said “if nominated I will not run, if elected I will not serve”. It seems that Mr. Mulford has about as much chance of being elected in Culpeper and Sherman would have had in Georgia. Well, perhaps he has a slightly better chance, since he has only alienated a little over half of the potential voters.
I also checked out Mr. Mulford’s previous statements and I was particularly concerned by the following: “A retired horse is an abandoned horse. It costs money to keep horses, and when people get done with their loyal servants and no longer want to pay the bills, they retire the horse, leaving it abandoned and uncared for until it dies.”
I wonder if Mr. Mulford has ever been to Montpelier and seen the “abandoned” race horses there, in the care of the “Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation”. www.trfinc.org
Has he seen the condition of these magnificent animals and the pastures in which they roam? Is he aware of the work that TRF does at James River, combining rescue of horses with vocational training of prisoners, so that they may become productive members of society upon their release?
It seems that Ms. Mackall’s “Polo Pony Retirement Foundation” represented itself as the same type of organization, but with a focus on polo ponies rather than thoroughbreds. Ms. Mackall’s past connections with the polo world lent credibility to her foundation and may have led people to believe that their polo ponies would experience something similar to the thoroughbreds at Montpelier.
To suggest that retired horses are “abandoned and uncared for until they die” is incredibly insulting to wonderful people like Mike and Chris of Equine Elders ( www.equineelders.org ), or the Kundruns at Bridleton (among thousands of others) who provide care for retired horses.
“Mulford stated:
“I never knew rescuing horses could be so much fun!!...I highly recommend it to the anyone seeking worldwide fame”
Intersting. I don’t see the people who had the unpleasant task of triaging, transporting, and caring for the starved horses achieving worldwide fame. Nor do I see those tasked with burying the remains of 20 dead horses acheiving worldwide fame. I’m also fairly certain they haven’t experienced the “fun” mentioned.
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