Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Again...if some independent organisation with lawyers decided to go after an organisation that runs endurance rides, they will harm the organisation. You can sue the NFL, you can sue race tracks, you can sue a business...but you can not sue a sport. A sport has nothing that can be sued. It can be driven underground, it can be carried on on a strictly informal basis, but it cannot be stopped. Look at things like dogfighting, cockfighting and so on. They still happen but there is not Fighting Dog Owners Association. If you think that the FEI is going to let PETA declare their activities illegal...I doubt it. The American fondness or tolerance for lawsuits could make life tough for AERC...all the more reason to make sure that it doesn't follow the lead of the FEI.

But again you are talking about structure not the actual sport. 

Maryanne

On Thu, Feb 14, 2008 at 10:46 AM, Steph Teeter <stephteeter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I'm trying to make a very pragmatic point: if some independent
organization (perhaps with lawyers) were to go after Endurance riding
in general, I don't think it would care about the soul of the
organization as much as it would about the definition of the sport
that the organization is formed to govern.  More simplistically - I
don't think AERC would be protected from scrutiny simply because it
abolished it's International committee and said 'but we are
different'.  But hey, what do I know ? :)

Steph

On Feb 14, 2008, at 12:19 PM, Maryanne Gabbani wrote:

> Steph, the realities of any organisation will include rules,
> leaders and sanctions. But that is not ALL an organisation is,
> those are simply the bones from which you build something. Just as
> the bones and skin of a person define the person as a human, the
> structure of an organisation will define it as an organisation. But
> the structure of an organisation does not define what KIND of
> organisation you have before you anymore than the bones and skin of
> a person will define what KIND of a person you have before you.
> Forgive me for getting all metaphysical on you all, but it is the
> soul of the organisation just as it is the soul of the person that
> determines what kind of organisation  you have. And just as you can
> have a person with a cancer that is part of the structure, so you
> can have an organisation that has fatal flaws in its
> structure...and these fatal flaws will have a determining effect on
> the actual soul (please forgive me any hardline religion types but
> I'm using the term a bit metaphorically) of the organisation just
> as they will affect a person. The flaws can be overcome or they can
> overpower.
>
> Don't confuse the structure of anything with its actual being and
> reality. I'm talking about the actual reality of a sport not the
> bones. Those are just technicalities and can be changed at whim.
> Look at what the FEI has done to the rules of endurance racing.
>
> I'm not saying that anyone who follows the FEI is evil. Absolutely
> not. I know some very nice FEI people...in fact getting a chance to
> say hi to them is the high point of any international competition
> here as far as I'm concerned. The FEI as a structure is just a
> structure...with a couple of flaws in its design as far as I can
> see. And people can deal with the structure while keeping a firm
> eye on the flaws too. When you dance with the devil, you can have a
> great time, but you do have to watch where you put your feet. LOL
>
> I'm saying stop getting so hung up on structures. That's not the
> reality. It's just a framework.
>
> Maryanne
>
>
> On Thu, Feb 14, 2008 at 10:00 AM, Steph Teeter
> <stephteeter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Maryanne - you speak so purely and from the heart. It's hard not to
> be moved.
>
> But your example : "Any group of riding fools can get together on a
> Saturday morning for a weekly horse race followed by a pancake
> breakfast seasoned with laughs and boasting. Does that make them
> involved in the same sport as Thoroughbred racing, Arab racing or
> Quarterhorse racing? I don't think so. "  does not address the
> realities of organized Endurance riding.
>
> AERC/AERA/etc etc are not just a group of riding fools (well maybe we
> are, but that's another subject :) - AERC is a corporation with a
> board of directors and published rules for the conduct of the sport.
> The fact remains that AERC's rules are almost identical to FEI's
> rules when it comes to the sport.
>
> Steph
>
> and for the sake of accuracy, there are many cultural versions of FEI
> Endurance - Leonard's comment that FEI in Europe is different from
> FEI in UAE is true, just as FEI in United States is different from
> FEI in UAE. I think this should be factored into the discussion. In
> most of the rest of the world people ride their own horses in FEI
> rides, and in most of the rest of the world there are no large cash
> purses in FEI rides, and in most of the rest of the world people in
> FEI rides DO care where the horse is tomorrow.
>
>
> On Feb 14, 2008, at 10:53 AM, Maryanne Gabbani wrote:
>
> > I find this really funny. If you all decide that endurance riding
> > with its emphasis on the team participation of a horse and rider,
> > the rewarding of lifetime achievements of distance and time, the
> > cooperative nature of participation by riders...including the
> > aspect of the ridecamp itself... is the same as FEI endurance
> > racing where the riders are jockeys who usually don't own their
> > horses and may only have ridden them a few times before the race,
> > where participants are staying in hotels rather than near their
> > horses, where the contestants are fighting over large cash purses,
> > where the only thing that matters is your win that day and no one
> > cares where the horse is tomorrow....are the same thing, well, I
> > suppose that you can.
>
>
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> --
> Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
> msgabbani@xxxxxxxxx
>
> Egypt Face to Face
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 Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
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 Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

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-- 
Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
msgabbani@xxxxxxxxx

Egypt Face to Face
www.alsorat.com
Weblogs:
Living In Egypt
miloflamingo.blogspot.com
Cairo/Giza Daily Photo
cairogizadailyphoto.blogspot.com
Turn Right At The Sarcophagus
haramlik.blogspot.com
Photos of Egypt:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/livinginegypt/