[RC] rude riders and ride managers rights - Susan Norris-Romero
Susan said >
" My question is, if I
deny entry and they go home then file a protest, what can AERC do to me?
Ban me from managing a ride? Really? There's some motivation!
LOL It seems AERC would want RM instead of doing everything possible to
get rid of us."
I would like to address this observation from
Susan, but first I would like to give my view of the incident at the Colfax Coal
Rush ride regarding the rude, obnoxious rider, that was mentioned in a post by
my dear friend, Susie Jones.
I am the ride manager of the Colfax Coal Rush
Ride in Raton, New Mexico. On the second day of the
ride, Susie Jones offered to be my day manager, so I could ride the
55. I have never ridden my own ride, ( in the 8 years of putting the
ride on ) since I am always too nervous to burden someone else with
the responsibility. Anyway, after much encouragement, and reassurances
from my friends/ride help, I went ahead and let Susie take care of the
management for the day. My husband Ralph was also in camp all day, to make
sure that things were taken care of while I was out
riding.
I was in the vet check, with about 15 minutes
to go, before going out on my last loop, when a woman rider, came into the
vetting area, yelling and screaming, and pointing fingers at my husband,
Ralph. Everybody was looking at this embarrassing display, including
myself. I think everybody was stunned, including me. Ralph was very
quietly, trying to explain to this woman that she did not read the turn signs
correctly, but she just kept on screaming at him. At this point, I wanted
to deck her. Here is my husband, a sweet guy, who only was trying to
settle her down, and she just kept on verbally abusing him. He did NOT
deserve that kind of abuse, not to mention my poor friend Susie, and everybody
else who had to witness this poor display of sportsmanship. I knew I had
better just stay away at that point, and let them handle it. Then I
found out later, after I finished the ride, that she went on to yell at one of
my vets, who had absolutely nothing to do with her problem. That was the
icing on the cake. There is NO EXCUSE for treating ride staff, volunteers,
or vets with that kind of disrespect. Anybody who had managed a ride,
knows that it is alot of hard work, both before, during, and after the
ride. We do the best we can with marking trail, etc. Of course we
don't want anybody lost. We all sacrifice our personal time,
only because we love the sport. The ride manager also has a huge financial
investment in a ride, and time investment ( I have taken 2 full weeks, and
then some, off from my business to put this ride on ) and you never know if you
are going to break even, or sometimes, even lose money. I could not do
this ride without my volunteers...no way could I do it. If there is a
problem, the way to handle it is to talk to the ride manager, without yelling,
screaming, and acting like a spoiled child. Most ride managers want to
know how to make the ride better, and safer, and the way to do it is through
constructive discussion, and suggestions. We have all gotten off trail at
some time in our careers.........I know I have. And it was ALWAYS my
fault, at least in my experience. Sure maybe the marker wasn't a neon
sign. But the markers were there. We do the best we can, people.
And how does this look to the new people coming
into the sport? What ever happened to being accountable for your own
actions, and taking some responsibility for yourself and your
horse?
The way I look at it, it's my party, with money
out of my pocket, and I don't have to put up with rude, out of control riders,
if I don't want to.
So, like Susan said, if AERC wants to ban me
from managing a ride, that I have to finance, organize, and risk financial
loss for, fine, let them. We certainly don't do it for the MONEY! I
don't think that AERC works that way.
I would like to end this with letting everybody
know that MOST riders are courteous, thankful, and do take the time to tell me
and my staff how much they appreciate all the hard work that we do to give
them a quality, ride experience. I am still getting emails from riders,
just to say "THANKS"
And THAT'S what it is all
about.
Happy Trails,
Susan Norris-Romero
Susan Norris Art Studio #10 Bartlett Mesa
Road Raton, NM 87740 505-445-8541
