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<<Get PETA and the Humane Society to join with us against this flat track fiasco by teaching them how we run our USA endurance rides and our "To Finish Is To Win" motto and how we reward equine longevity and high mileage and Best Condition etc. >>

 

I hate to say it, but that will never work.  You're talking about a group (PETA) that thinks it's cruel to even keep cats and dogs as pets.  And you think they're going to think it's ok to ride a horse 50 or 100 miles, even the way we do it here in the US??  Forget it...

 

Dawn Carrie, Texas

 

On 2/13/08, Don Huston <donhuston@xxxxxxx> wrote:

Hello Richard,
I think you are right on about "endurance will be represented by what goes on at that event" and it really sickens me to see the bastardization of Endurance into FEI flat track endurance racing. I think that all of us that love Endurance USA Style should boycott and protest and give FEI flat track racing the biggest black eye possible. Big signs proclaiming what true Endurance is and how this flat track crap is not our sport and not what we do in this country and that as AERC members we do not support it and we want it stopped in our country. Get PETA and the Humane Society to join with us against this flat track fiasco by teaching them how we run our USA endurance rides and our "To Finish Is To Win" motto and how we reward equine longevity and high mileage and Best Condition etc. This is our country and our sport and we can stand up for how we want it to be run. Any WEG run in this country should be done USA style on a Tevis type technical trail where those UAE jockeys will have to actually know their horses and how to ride them to compete but I know it will never happen....so I say lets boycott FEI flat track endurance racing.
Don Huston


At 08:03 AM 2/13/2008 Wednesday, Richard wrote:

Well, this is going to be an interesting situation. In 2010, the FEI WEG is going to be held in Kentucky (that is in the United States for the geographically impaired). One way to affect the FEI is to refuse to participate in this event or even protest at the event. With the TV coverage the FEI would have to take note despite UAE money because of the TV money they might loose. On the flip side, doing this would give endurance a black eye that I am sure we don't want. I am sure that the USA chef d'equipe and USA riders would say that they wouldn't perform the way the did at the Jnr/Yr race, but then we might not show well on our own turf against the UAE riders and horses (some of the horses are currently being trained in KY at stables they own). Regardless of whether AERC disassociates itself from FEI prior to that time, endurance will be represented by what goes on at that event. Perhaps just the opposite is needed. Maybe AERC should get more involved in the 2010 WEG endurance event so that it can control what goes on. Some ideas that come to mind would be stricter drug enforcement rules (daily testing for 2 weeks prior), tighter vetting controls, etc. If not, just wait until PETA and the Humane society get wind of this. If you think it is hard to keep a horse, no less put on or participate in an endurance ride, just wait.


Richard Sacks
rsacks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.equipedic.com

Don Huston
donhuston @ cox.net
SanDiego, Calif