>We do things better up North," while visiting the great state of Florida.
>Hey Howard, that's a deal if you and Truman promise to quit telling us how the >Southeast Region does everything better than the rest of the AERC....mb
Well, I can't speak for Truman, but we do do it better down here. haha. JUST KIDDIN!
I've attended some rides here in the SE that would blow you away with the voracity of it's volunteers and the social graces of most of the riders. Then, again, I've seen the opposite, where you're kind of on your own, and the only one watching out for you is GOD, cause the ridemanager clean forgot to look out for that part.
But, I will never mention the bad things I see, at least with any ridemanagers cause I have yet to see one who would do a poorer job than me, so it's one of the few areas where I'll keep my mouth shut. Just show me where to park my rig and point me in the direction to go with my horse; it's all I need to know.
But, park rangers and forest officials are fair game. If I notice em doing anything good (haven't yet) I'll let you know. Actually, there is one place, at Goethe, here in Florida, where I have seen them do good things. The relationship between equestrians and State Forest people is so good at Goethe it should be the model for the rest of the country. But, it's the exception, unfortunately, not the rule.
The rule is authoritarian; they take your hay, take your horse, make sure your papers are in line or mess you up big time. And Teddy is right; because of complacency on our part, we have let our Government get out of control, with it's Agency created to enforce this law and Agency for that one. And it's to the point where it will never get better, only worse. We have to fight for what little we still have if we want to keep it; I firmly believe in that one. As some famous Roman, or maybe he was Greek, once said, "The more laws you create, the less freedom you have."
And when the day comes when they take it all away from us, to me, there's only one answer. RENEGADE RIDERS, daring to travel on horseback on forbidden trails, where others fear to go.
cya,
Howard (feeling a bit radical, with this summer heat, today)