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Re: [RC] Running down people...is okay? - heidiI'm confused. I do believe that placing a finish line in a safe place is important. Warning staff, crew and spectators to stay out of the way and watch for everyone's safety is necessary. But placing, finishing, racing, completing...not one of these is reason enough to run down a person. I'm surprised that riders can be allowed to show for best condition, let alone place in the top 10 after a collision. Shouldn't this be a reason to disqualify riders? Isn't there a rule about safe conduct? Aren't people and their safety more important than...well...anything? I know that horses might be out of control, but then the rider should be disqualified if someone gets hurt. The rider is ultimately responsible. It is possible to ride a horse at top speed in a pack, and have the horse stop when asked. It just takes training. True, lots of it. But surely when we ride a horse in a competition, it has been trained enough to be safe. If not, spend more time training before competing. It's like driving a car in that we shouldn't drive any faster than we can see or be in control for that location and conditions of the road. I'm not advocating shooting the horse and rider. But if they run a pedestrian down, well, that team shouldn't get a completion. (And they should be VERY grateful in our litigious society that the "victim" doesn't sue them and the ride manager.) Let's keep expectations high. Please, let's not forget what's important. People, safety, training...then placings. I'm with you, Nina! A horse that isn't under control at the finish isn't ready to race yet. Usually it doesn't take a rocket scientist to sort out the difference between the sort of accident that occurs because of something that can't be helped (bee sting, grouse jumped out, horse stepped in a hole, that sort of thing), and in such cases, even if someone other than the rider is injured, well, that's the risk of the sport. And yes, it behooves ride management to do everything possible to aid in safety--finish line in non-congested area, warnings of obvious hazards, etc. But--when a horse is just flat out-of-control because a rider got caught up in race fever, THAT is an error in judgment on the part of the rider, and I agree that some sort of measure should be taken--ranging from completion only to flat-out disqualification. And--I've been to rides where riders WERE DQ'd for that very reason--and I fully support RMs who do that. Happened at an Oregon ride a few years ago--I remember hubby and I getting moved up in placing because the "winner" rudely barreled over somebody at the finish, and the RM had the cojones to DQ her then and there. I always hope that discussions of cases like this will make RMs think about it in advance, so that if it DOES happen at their ride, they realize that they DO have the power to do something about it. Heidi ============================================================ Black care rarely sits behind a rider whose pace is fast enough ~ Theodore Roosevelt ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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