From: Lif Strand
Sent: Monday, May 27, 2002 10:50 AM
To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [RC] Green Horses
At 12:54 AM 5/27/02, Tracey wrote:
>And *this*, Howard, is why I'm so reluctant to participate in "your" sport.
And of course we all understand that much as we all love Howard (or don't, as the case may be), Howard is not the Official Voice of AERC, and that not all endurance ride starts are dangerous swirling herds of bucking, kicking horses.
However, I must say that the 'feel' of Howard's post seems pretty right on to me. The freedom and individuality of endurance is part of what makes it what it is - and of course it's every rider's right to just not go to a ride where he/she doesn't like the start procedure. No point in throwing out a whole sport because of one day's event that you aren't happy with.
Lif Strand
Quemado NM USA
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Hey, I'm just making observations here. I don't try to make it more or less dangerous, I just participate and observe. If some of ya don't like my reports, then don't read them. But, please, don't blame me for how some of the starts take place at an endurance ride. I really have no control (pun there somewhere) of how they are done, whatsoever. I have yet to manage a ride.
Now, come on, most of you have figured out I do embellish a little. And most rides I go to have so few riders the biggest danger is at night, when creatures go a wondering around, sneaking about from campsite to campsite, unchaperoned. lol. And then there's that loose horse problem.
I speak for no organization or no other person, other than myself. My wife and my kid, more often than not, disagree with me on most issues I write about. If you're not starting the sport of endurance because of something I wrote down here on Ridecamp you might want to go see a shrink or a brain surgeon, cause I think you might have landed on your head, helmet or no helmet, a few too many times. The safe thing would be to at least get it checked out.
I'm just trying to say the sport is fun and enjoyable the way it is. We don't need to make changes in this area just to please a few timid riders (Uh-oh, there he goes again, another stupid comment). If folks thought it was really "out of control" they would not show up to a ride. And, making the starts controlled is not always the answer.
I was at a ride where they did that once, and yellow jackets started attacking the horses and riders while we were going up a steep incline. Because of the controlled start, everyone was jammed up, and when the horses started bucking and kicking out because of the stings, there was no room to maneuver. It was a miracle that no one got seriously injured from that event.
There is no simple answer here. There really isn't even a problem. If you're that worried about the start, wait a half an hour after the start time, and leave out on your own or with a friend. Nancy will still be there to take your number.
cya,
Howard (blame it all on me; haha)
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