I have to say that I never thought much about the AERC BC for LD until I saw how successful and popular it was in other regions. I observed much comraderie and encouragement among all the riders - both LD's and 50's genuinely congratulating eachother for a job well done.
In my mind, it all comes down to taking the most excellent care of our horse that we can. It is this horse that carries us all those miles and we are the responsible ones, in the drivers seat.
To be rewarded for doing the very best we can, with a recorded award on our horse's record, is a very good thing. It has nothing to do with the ego of the rider - at least it certainly is not for me. To me, it is all about my horse and managing him to the best of my ability. When he continues to do well, finishing a ride strongly, either in the top ten or not, I am very proud of him. I know he could care less, but if could think like a human, he'd certainly be feelin' pretty darn proud of himself!
Seeing a BC on my LD record is a very encouraging thing and something to be very proud of. We all know that those the have them on their record in 50's and 100's are very proud of them as well.
