RE: Biltmore Blues

[Leonard.Liesens@cec.eu.int]

HR 60 is not making part of the FEI rule; all rides in FRANCE or BELGIUM
apply the HR 64 rule; the president of the jury may always decide to change
a rule.

Leonard, Belgium

>-----Original Message-----
>From: Rides 2 Far [mailto:rides2far@juno.com]
>Sent: lundi 7 mai 2001 21:53
>To: lanconn@tds.net
>Cc: Ridecamp@endurance.net
>Subject: RC: Biltmore Blues
>
>
>> This FEI "event" was not at all what I expected.  I thought that it>
>would be a "normal" ride,> Instead, FEI "took over" the ride.  Special
>rules were imposed that
>> applied to all of us, I fell "harassed" at times, and generally 
>> didn't> like the atmosphere.  
>
>OK, lets take the problems one at a time.  First, the one that 
>seemed to
>gall people the most...Parking.  When you enter Biltmore first you pass
>the *far* field and it had a sign that said, non-FEI and large rigs. It
>also said FEI *and* open parking ahead. You could come on down 
>nearer the
>main tent...just the immediate field at the tent was FEI 
>reserved, *but*
>guess what?  We were required to get there Thursday, so on a first come
>basis chances are it would have been taken anyway.  In case you didn't
>notice, we had to deal with parking requirements open riders did not. 
>the lots were marked off exactly 24' wide.  It was like being in a
>subdivision.  We were allowed extra width according to the number of
>horses so if you see the Kanavys with extra slots it was 
>because they had
>more horses there...as did Darolyn Butler.  We were also required to
>remove our tow vehicle from the parking "area".  Fortunately for me, I
>was able to just drive my truck over the line on the ground with the
>trailer inside and the truck outside along the road, but those 
>parked on
>the inside of the field had to unhook and move their trucks 
>out along the
>road...even if all their water was in a tank on it, etc.  I thought it
>was a silly rule until I saw that it actually left the center of the
>field open for EVERYONE to use.  The open riders who were able to park
>just past the reserved area didn't have to deal with that and 
>the center
>lane was quickly clogged with lots of vehicles. Hope this explains why
>there were so many trucks and cars lined up down the road.  As far as
>them not letting vehicles go set up vet checks in the morning 
>hours, come
>on!  I was surprised she allowed any up there at any time that 
>morning. 
>There are nearly 200 horses all wound up and milling around and people
>want to drive their vehicles up and down that darned road clipping your
>knees with their mirrors and stirring up a huge cloud of dust. 
> There was
>plenty of time to set up vet checks the night before the ride 
>and we had
>no trouble driving the truck around back of the field to unload.
>
>As far as "extra rules".  The walk through they gave on the vet check
>helped me a lot and I think they should have had them all 
>evening to let
>the open riders see the differences, because it was really minimal.  I
>was irritated by the idea of it being different t first, but the
>difference in the "arrival slip" or whatever instead of using our card
>was actually a good idea.  When we would come walking in from 
>the trail,
>6 riders together, there would be someone well out from the gate and
>they'd call our numbers back to the timer and she'd write them 
>on little
>yellow slips of paper.  This totally eliminated having the horses all
>bunched up and riders climbing over each other to hand in their cards,
>they just had them written out when we got there and handed 
>them to us as
>we kept moving.  I just stuck it in my bra and kept walking (found a
>spare after the ride, very confusing. >g<)  That way you didn't have to
>get your card out till you got to the vet and it didn't get so wet and
>torn up since by then you're done with the sponging, etc.  No 
>big deal if
>you have it explained to you.  The 60 pulse criteria was a pain, but
>they've done it there before when it wasn't FEI.  The lanes looked more
>complicated but with 200 horses there I never once had to wait for
>anything and so I'm all for whatever causes that.  As far as the "FEI
>people" (which one FEI person laughed and gave me a very nasty acronym
>for) they all seemed to be AERC endurance riders who were assuming the
>roll.  No, I'm not crazy about the hoopla.  Yes I whined about 
>the collar
>and short sleeves (didn't make you do that did they Jim >g<) but the
>darned things were warmer than a tank top when it started raining; and
>nobody narced on me when I  rolled them up and tucked them under my bra
>straps going down the trail. :-)  
>
>The weird BC times were due to the fact that they had the finish on the
>hill where it was safe, and allowed 30 minutes for us to walk 
>our horses
>down to camp, so timewise, they pretended the end was at camp.  Maybe
>that was a problem and not well thought out, but it was to get 
>the finish
>on top where it's possible to race.  I did not agree with 
>weighing in on
>top, but planned ahead and had a blanket waiting the second we whipped
>the saddle of and had Bill start walking him down to keep him 
>moving.  I
>was warned so I lived with it.
>I'll tell my story better later...my kid hits the ballfield in 
>15 minutes
>and I've got to go, but I got news for ya.  With or without FEI, the
>parking and the crewing areas are cramped at Biltmore simply *because*
>it's such a popular ride.  What did you LIKE about it?
>
>Angie
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