Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Karen Nelson knelson@xxxxxxxxxx
Let's cut to the chase:
There are riders  AND horses which should NEVER do even a 15 mile ride, 
much less a 25-50-or more.  They will manage to do it all wrong because of 
a large number of things, and a nightmare set of rules and the 
administration of same will not fix that.  There are also a number of good 
riders and good horses which could do their first endurance ride at 100 
miles and  not get into trouble.
 If you are going to have to qualify to do each and every event, that runs 
against the AERC open event foundation rule.
I have brought up "rookie stripes" in the past.  You can go with or without 
a more experienced "mentor", but if you are being a stupid jerk, riders, 
vets, and ride mgrs have to have some starch and PULL these riders and have 
a little talk with them, privately if possible, publically if necessary. 
Rookies who show they can learn what is expected of them, get their stripes 
pulled from their horse's tail! Bright yellow ribbons makes a good 
color---or very bright green if your region managers use yellow for stallions.

Entering ride after ride and getting pulled and embarassed doesn't feed the 
"I WON" ego of these jerks.  They will either learn they can't operate in 
this unacceptable manner without a hit to their pocketbook and no reward, 
or they will quit and go be some other group's problem.

I have written a proposal to Mike Tomlinson regarding a mentor program.  I 
don't know his feelings about my proposal yet.

Aluminum trailers:  There are a number of sealants you can use for your 
trailer floors, but the floor has to be as fresh as possible for it to 
work.  That would include sandblasting a used trailer floor, etc.  A clear 
epoxy sealant can be professionally sprayed on at an auto body shop or the 
trailer dealer.  Buy the very best you can, and it will give you long life. 
A couple of clear coats might be applied.  I would never drill any holes 
into the floor.  Wiring and structural integrity are at risk, and any 
warranty might be null and void if you tamper with same.
As for moving the mats, mark your mats with spray paint or whatever, in a 
pattern you can remember. A1/A2   B1/B2   or L1/R1   L2/R2  L3/R3  etc.  If 
you do not have a VERY STEADY hand, call your local carpet installer.  Take 
your trailer to him, have him carefully mark with a long straighedge to cut 
each mat in half, probably lengthwise down the trailer.(My mats run from 
side to side, so I would almost have squares instead of rectangles)  Then 
you have a left half, and a right half, first row,;  left half, right half, 
2nd row; left half, right half 3rd row, etc.  You may have to sketch this 
out on paper before you start cutting.
The carpet installer has very good sharp knives, a long straightedge, and 
usually the strength to cut straight, so that you don't end up with a 
"Puzzle" when you pull and replace your mats.  It's not just the weight, it 
is the awkwardness of the mats.  Like moving a dead body...I know a couple 
of persons who did this and they solved the mat moving problem.


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