RC: Re: Dogs at RIDES... small child attacked at OD 100

[Deanna German <dgerman@earthlink.net>]

>I have a really hard time with loose dogs and kids (people) on bikes at

>horse events!! I could hardly saddle my mule last year at the
Manzanita
>75 miler because of
>a kid racing his bike back and forth past her corral.  She is petrified
of
>bikes and kids, so a kid on a bike puts her over the edge.  I finally
had to
>find Terri (the RM) and ask her to have the kid wait until after the
start
>of the ride to ride his bike.    gesa


I'm afraid I would have put the fear of me into that kid rather than
wait for the RM!

Let's face it: extras of anything animate (spouses, kids, pets)
generally can become a nuisance to other riders. The rider who brings
any of the above with them should keep them out of everyone else's way!

But sometimes loving spouses can be so well meaning and bring themselves
and the kids thinking they are helping the rider (very twisted
thinking). My friend and I just went on our first overnight CTR. It was
the first horse camping experience for her and our horses. We both
planned to get little if any sleep keeping an eye and an ear on the
horses (read very grouchy and stupid the next day). Well, towards the
end of the week of planning previous to the ride, my friend's husband
announced that he thought it would be a good idea to bring the kids up
and go camping with Mom and her horse. Big red flags went up inside my
head since I planned to camp only and not ride. (Free babysitting?) It
all turned out OK, no loose kids and the spouse was very courteous and
stayed out of everyone's way (including mine). But STILL....

Long story short, after being told numerous times by various riders and
volunteer help that various things weren't a good idea and now that he
realizes that a ridecamp is completely different from a family campsite,
hopefully the husband will think twice (or maybe three or four times! I
hope, I hope, I hope) about doing this again. This despite the fact that
the kids are great, well-behaved and mind adults and that I consider my
friend's husband a friend.

I'll take anybody's nuisance animals any day over non-riding kids and
non-helping spouses.

Deanna (no kids, just critters and lots of nieces and nephews)