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Re: [RC] 20 MT and Little Big Man - Joe LongOn Sun, 19 Feb 2006 19:24:25 -0700, Bruce Weary <bweary@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: But more impressive to me, and to many who attended, was a new rider that participated, whom I now call Little Big Man. His name is Colton Madeiros, and he is six (6) years old. He started the 65 miler with his dad, Matt, but when his dad got pulled, he continued on and finished under the watchful eye of Dame Karen Chaton. The next morning, he had the audacity to walk (even run) normally, and be apparently medication and caffeine free. He looks like a full grown cowboy that someone washed in hot water and shrunk in size. He has the boots, jeans, Carharrt jacket and a black Stetson hat that's as big as he is. Oh, and he finished the ride in plenty of time for cartoons and milk and cookies. I am more assured tonight about the future welfare of our sport, with riders like him stepping up to "wear the pants" of an endurance rider, while other kids his age are still filling theirs. At first I wasn't going to respond to this on the list, but I changed my mind. The two reasons the Junior Committee and the Board of Directors have given for not having a minimum age for riders at AERC rides are 1) it's not a problem because it almost never happens anyway, and 2) it's the parents right to make that decision. Well, we see again that it does happen, pretty much every year. And we don't say "it's the horse owner's right to decide when his horse is old enough." Why are we less concerned about protecting children than we are about protecting our horses? Is it going to take a tragic accident, with a small child severely injured or worse, before the AERC faces up to its responsibilities? -- Joe Long jlong@xxxxxxxx http://www.rnbw.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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