How do we get philosophy across to other riders and ride
managers?
by doing what we have in the North American continent.
free speech.
however, by speaking up and telling people who are bad
competitors that what they are doing wrong in front of everyone who can hear,
and standing up to what you believe in, we can all make changes. Don't be
polite to someone who is hurting their horse!
In Ontario we have Stan Alkemade and Art King.
They have devised education for us to attend. New riders are encouraged by
more experienced riders.
Everything in our two countries are grass roots. It is
by these ideas and these forums we can institute change that we want.
In Ontario Ca. we are are attempting to exchange ideas on
graduated entry system. It is for new horses and new riders. Still
in the idea stage, we are working towards a common goal.
No Horse should need to be treated!
and I believe that at the few rides that we do have,
this has been achieved.
Now we are trying to get the riders to drink more water
themselves to avoid heat stress complications!
But Pat; how do we
get this philosophy across to the majority of the competitors and how do we
get them to really believe in it? Of course it is the basic essence of
endurance competition but not practiced by most of them.
Bob
Bob Morris Morris
Endurance Enterprises Boise, ID
-----Original Message----- From:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of
superpat Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2003 2:43
PM To: oddfarm; ridecamp Subject: Re: [RC] preventing
problems at rides
Lisa,
It is not my intention to argue point for point the issues
you present. However, even as a rank novice, on my first ride, having owned
my (first) horse for less than six months, I happily assumed full
responsibility for his safety and health. I did my best to make myself
knowledgeable about the sport and what I was asking of him. I had a lot I
did not know and so much to learn. I am thankful for all of the advice,
assistance and information so freely given by others. I was eager to learn
from the vets. When on his fourth endurance ride, (through my own ignorance)
my horse pulled a suspensory, I could not ask anyone to shoulder the blame.
I learned a very important and valuable lesson at my horse's expense. It is
my opinion that when I elect to participate in this demanding and rewarding
game of endurance riding, I have to accept full responsibility to learn all
that I can about every aspect of horse ownership and riding and competition.
I feel it would be a cop out for me to ask anyone else to share in this. I
do expect that the trail will be safely cleared and well marked. That there
will be adequate water. That the vetting will be competent and fair. If I
get into trouble, I will consider it a wonderful bonus that there will be
assistance from RM and vets. (After all, when I am on a long and hard
conditioning ride, if I were to get into trouble, I am on my own). And if
(worst case scenario) my horse should get into real serious trouble of
whatever nature, sometimes that is just the way the cookie crumbles. In my
opinion, that is what makes this game so much fun and so different from
other riding disciplines. The more I learn, the more responsibility I
shoulder, the less I look around for others to blame, the better competitor
(at whatever level) I will become.
