Sponsers for first time riders

[sharp penny <penelope_75647@yahoo.com>]

   As a newbie I am all for requireing first time
riders to ride with a sponser. However; from my point
of view, I can see problems with this.

   I will be entering endurance, LD's specificaly, as
a crosstraining tool for my show horses. When I do
ride my first LD, I very much want a sponser to ride
with me, explain the rules, show me how to go through
pulse and vet checks, make helpful suggestions, ect.
What I don't want is some one pushing me and making me
feel like I'm holding them back. How would you
determine that the sponser is tolerant of the newbie's
goals and training methods?
 
   I expect my horse to be a joy to ride and under
control at all times.(I hear some of you snickering
out there) I use situations that arise to "school" my
horse. What happens when one of these situations
happens on the ride and I want to stop and use it for
a training session? To me completing even an LD isn't
as important as addressing a training issue and
resolving it right there and then. For example if I
come to a water crossing and my horse balks, then
instead of getting over the best I can, I will want to
go back and forth across that water(staying out of
other rider's way) until we do it right. How will I
know that my sponser will be tolerant and wait
patiently for me..maybe even having to give up a
completion because of it? Thats alot to ask of someone
kind enough to volunteer as a sponser. 

   By the time I actually ride an LD, I will have
tried to prepare my horse for anything I may encounter
on the trail.... but we all know nothing compares to
the actual ride and even the best of trained horses go
brain dead. I don't want to feel like I have forgo
what is important to me for the sake of keeping a
sponser happy.

  What comes to mind is maybe a specific sponser award
or even have the newbie pay for a part or all of the
sponsers entry fee. This way, in my mind, I don't feel
like I'm imposing on my sponser. Infact, I'm paying
for my sponsers day so I won't feel guilty if the day
dosn't go as planned.

  What are others thoughts on this?

Penny

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