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Re: RC: RC: Re: FEI/AERC Rules



<< >>Same with hooded stirrups or 1" heels on footwear, even though this is protection for the rider.  Most of us feel that our safety should be OUR decision, not the 
decision of some government agency or international organization.>>

Whoa!  I'm about as Libertarian as one can be, and I wholeheartedly agree with that statement, regarding anything that anyone is FORCED to do.  However, no one is FORCING anyone else to ride in FEI rides!  Or in any other sporting event, for that matter.  Sporting organizations have as much right to make and enforce safety rules or any other sorts of rules for THEIR benefit, just as you have the right not to participate if you so choose.  Voluntary situations such as sports can hardly be comparted to governmental agencies who make rulings that give you NO CHOICE in your daily life.

There is another side to AERC/FEI crossover that no one seems to mention here.  Sure, we can be provincial and pick up our toys and go home if we don't like how FEI does things.  But fortunately a great many folks have been more far-seeing and realized that as a national organization, AERC can have a positive effect on FEI over time.  Already, in the nearly two decades that US riders have been competing in FEI rides, the rules have become much more like AERC's than they were in the beginning.  To work for positive change, one must first be involved.

In addition, clearly enough folks WANT dual sanctioned rides, or ride managers would not be doing it.  You can vote with your feet and NOT attend FEI rides--but quite a few AERC riders ARE asking for FEI sanctioning.  Ride managers don't jump through all these hoops unless a fair number of folks want the service!

Heidi



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