Re: RE: A Sad State of Affairs

["Joan Dowis" <jrd@foothill.net>]

Truman, just so you know, Robie Park is a very remote area in the Sierra,
six miles out of Truckee on a dirt road in the mountains, with very little
traffic.  The likelihood of anyone living in the area even knowing when
Tevis would be camping there (or what Tevis is, for that matter) is slim
unless they lived on a road that was used by horse trailers going in.  It is
not in a metropolitan area, although the finish line and stadium certainly
are.  Foresthill is a very small country town 17 miles from Auburn on a
windy road that has very little through traffic.  The town does definitely
know when Tevis is there - it's a pretty big thing in Foresthill.

I am going to ask the owners of Robie Park if they have had any problems
when other groups have used the campground.  There are both endurance rides
and CTR rides located there, and it is available during the summer to
equestrian groups.  It just seems to me that no one would steal a new riding
helmet at a place that remote that didn't want a new riding helmet.

The rubber water tub at Robinson Flat, a remote place several miles into the
mountains from Foresthill, is strictly ride-involved.  As anyone who has
crewed there knows, just getting there is half the fun.  The saddles at
Foresthill and the fairgrounds, however, are a different situation.
Probably riders or crew, but certainly others have access also.  I really
hate to think professional thieves are involved, but everyone will have to
be more on guard after this.

You make a valid point about beefing up security, but this will not be easy
to do.  When did endurance rides start having to do such a thing?

Joan Dowis

----- Original Message -----
From: "Truman Prevatt" <tprevatt@mindspring.com>
To: "gford" <gford@easyboot.com>
Cc: "'Gary Fend'" <garyfend@pacbell.net>; "ridecamp"
<ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2001 2:33 PM
Subject: RC: RE: A Sad State of Affairs


The Tevis is a big ride with lots of people, riders, crew, etc. It's an
event
with a lot of the activities in public places. Fairgrounds are open, as are
small towns where checks are held. And I would assume just about anyone that
wanted to could walk into Robbie Park.

Situations like this are a haven for crooks, whether looking for cash or
credit
cards out of a wallet, or whatever else. I would expect that whoever took a
saddle, cooler or whatever else were not typical of an endurance ride. They
may
also find that a saddle and cooler aren't of much value in the pawn shops. I
would suspect that the ride may have been the target of a few people who
wanted
to see what they could get. A ride like the Tevis with it's size and with
its
proximity to large urban areas is a natural target.

That implies a couple things. First is each rider has to be more careful and
the
Tevis organizers will need to start to take security into consideration.

Truman

gford wrote:

> My father was pulled this year at Tevis and was trailered to the
> fairgrounds.  After putting his horse away, he hung his saddle on the
corral
> and then walked to the finish to find his crew.  When we returned to load
up
> the tack the saddle was gone.  We looked around and but couldn't find it.
> We had it announced at the banquet but nothing turned up.  The days of
going
> to an endurance ride and leaving your trailer unlocked with the keys in
the
> ignition are over.
>
> I hope they like the new saddle.
>
> Garrett Ford


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