Subject: Re: [RideManagers_of_AERC] Race of Champions?
I believe the ambience, the publicity, the
awards, the champagne at the end....all of these went into making ROC what it
was... a huge celebration. Susan had a touch for that. One thing I
feel is really wrong with our present AERC NC is there are too many weight
divisions, too many rides. Fifties are nice, but not the challenge of
100s, and 100s are real proof of champions. Can you envision Tevis
offering a 50? Nooooo....it just wouldn't work. AERC is spreading
itself too thin and trying to reward too many people. A lot of us
don't remember who won the NC an hour after it is given at the convention.
Sad.....
We could put on a meaningful NC with great
awards if the number of winners were cut down to 1 FIRST PLACE and 1 BC.
Not one in each weight division, not two different rides.
At least this is my opinion, for what it's
worth. And find a publicity chairperson who knows how to put on a big
bash. This person need not, and probably should not, be the same person as
the ride manager.
Judy and I went to the ROC in 95 or 6, in Fishlake Utah. She rode
our Appaloosa Warpaint and was one of two non-arabs entered. (Lost a
shoe at 50 miles and was pulled for lame) The thing about the ride was
that it really did seem like a championship. The
rider qualifications were maybe a little tougher than the NC, but
not impossible. The ride gave big awards- the winner used to get a horse
trailer. Becky Hart still drives hers today with the license plate that
reads RIO1IT. Every rider got matching color halters with the
horses name on it. I got a West region team captain hat, which I thought
was amazing. The whole feeling was so much more "big" than how I see the
AERC NC. Everyone, and I mean everyone who rode 100's wanted to be at
the ROC. It did not really matter if you placed or even finished.
It was huge to be there. I don't quite understand why that same feeling
is not as preva lent at the NC. It could be, and I know the committees
are doing what they can to recapture that. I don't know if its just
money-
