 |
Re: [RC] Rude riders are not the majority (Long Story) - Lori BertolucciYears ago, in the PNW, I was doing a ride, maybe the same one that Kate mentioned, don't know as I didn't read her email about it, but I was still a newby. There was an accident where a rider was hurt. There was someone with her and I assumed help was on the way. I wasn't sure of rider etiquette then, and rode on. I have felt bad about that ever since. So now, if I see anyone that needs help at all, I try to make sure I stop and ask if I can help. If they need help I stay, if not, then I will go on, but making sure they appear fine first. We all make mistakes, let's just hope we learn from them. Lori B. Don Huston <donhuston@xxxxxxx> wrote: Kate Kearby's post about a rider off her horse being ignored by 30 passing riders highlights a very useful function that rude and indifferent riders provide......they make the rest of us look even better when we stop to help 8-). Ten or more years ago about 30 miles into a very mountainous Pine Valley ride I came upon a woman standing by a muddy cattle trough looking up the side of the mountain. Her clothes were muddy, helmet visor crunched and when she turned to tell me what happened she was crying. It all came rushing out, horse spooked, fell in the mud, jumped up and bolted up the mountain out of sight, her 3 buddies stayed about 5 minutes then rode off to finish the ride, she had been alone for 20 minutes, she knew her beloved horse would never be found, she didn't know what to do.....the perfect setup for a guy on a white horse (I was riding my white arab). She seemed pretty shaky and was talking about running the 6 miles back to Vet #2 so I asked her to go 10 yards in the direction her horse went up the mountain then stay there in the open and look for any movement (gave her something to do). I told her that I figured the horse was not too far away and was watching us because the brush was 10 to 15 feet high, very thick and would probably prevent her horse from going very far. I pointed my horse in the direction she indicated and hoped my horse would follow where her horse went but after shoving his way thru what seemed like a solid wall of brush for 50 yards my horse wandered off to the left and stopped in a small high clear spot. So he and I sat there methodically looking at the tops of all the bushes while the poor lady fretted and scolded me for being in the wrong place. I asked about the horse's color (brown) and tack (blue headstall & reins) and other stuff but kept looking the same direction as my horse was looking. Suddenly, about 25 yards away, in a tiny hole no bigger than my hand at a low spot along the tops of the bushes I could make out the perfect silhouette of 2 brown ears but nothing else. I told the lady that I was gonna work my way farther up the hill but not about the ears cause I didn't want her to start yelling or something and spook the horse. I never saw the ears again until my horse pushed his way between 2 big bushes into a tiny one-horse-bush-corral and we came nose to nose. Now this started a lot of movement and branch snapping and me saying whoa and getting the reins to lead the brown horse and the lady jumping up and down yelling "My horse..my God it's my horse...I don't believe it...you are wonderful". Stuff like that is what makes the extra effort and time spent helping someone worth almost as much as the ride itself. Anyway I checked her horse, he was fine, the lady was ecstatic, saying how she wanted to hurry up and catch her friends (the same ones that left her and her horse to die....go figure) so off she went and I never saw her again not even at dinner but I assumed she was alright because there was no report of a missing rider or horse.
|