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[RC] WS 50 Accident--INVESTIGATE - Mary Abbott"Some of the posts talk about the rider having to take responsibility, others talked about a tail-gaiter being responsible..." (from Catfish Daniels' post) Exactly... I myself was particularly bothered when it appeared the blame was being put on the rider. After all, she lost her horse! Bad enough to have to deal with that. It is a "tough" trail, and there are places where you simply cannot pull off--uphill is a cliff, and downhill is a cliff. "I got the heebie-jeebies on that section more than on the actual California Loop, and because that section was early on in the ride, there was a number of times where there was stop-and go, and with all the dust, horses slightly bumped into me, and I probably did the same." (from Catfish Daniels' post) Perhaps the person behind the horse that went off the cliff was having horse control issues as well--and possibly for good reason. That is an absolutely terrible area to have horses crowded in! On the Tevis, horses are way spread out by the time they pass Deadwood and enter into El Dorado Canyon. They are not hyped like they are at the start of a ride. (Most of the horses have already been out for nine to eleven hours by the time they get there.) Again, I have to say this is why there should be a thorough investigation, (note: emphasize "thorough") so that we ALL can learn from this accident and stop drawing conclusions based on hearsay and one's own limited, personal experiences. AERC will be looking into this accident, right? Let's get the facts. I hope people are being interviewed as we speak... And IF in this case, or any others, it turns out someone CHOSE not to control their horse, and thus put others in harm's way--for ANY reason (naiveté and stupidity included), well, there should be some repercussions. If that was not the case, let's study the situation further to learn if there is some way this type of thing could be prevented in the future. (Like, possibly not a Deadwood start?) "The trail from Deadwood leads past the cemetery into the gorge of El Dorado Canyon and steeply descends for three miles... It is considered a difficult and devious path, with steep inclines. The side of the canyon is abrupt and precipitous." (from the Western States Trail Foundation's official Tevis website: http://www.foothill.net/tevis/trail/TOMICH.HTM) Mary Abbott Grass VAlley, CA =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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