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[RC] The "Derby" - Bruce Weary


Truman, you are really confusing me, and I imagine many people here and among the ranks of AERC. If there were a national award for the person
who publicly (here) expresses more disdain for the AERC's and the HWC's efforts to protect our horses, you would easily be voted "Man of the Year."
I took a little stroll through the Ridecamp Archives, and it is literally strewn with comments from you over the years about what you apparently feel is an embarrassing dearth
of protective measures, protests and punitive actions taken in order to protect our horses. You are at times uninformed, at others simply opinionated, but
always angrily enthusiastic when it comes to standing up for what you feel is appropriate protection measures for our horses, and you rail at the current
shortcomings as you see them. Your posts are there for anyone to review, and they date back as far as 1995 or further, if anyone cares to dig.
Yet, you portend to have 20/20 hindsight vision, and assert that hundreds of horses that are not fed for, bred for, conditioned for, or experienced in endurance riding, in a land you likely have never visited,
would be undoubtedly safe when involved in an event that is billed as the "world's toughest endurance ride." You then say that voicing concern about the potential outcomes, especially in light
of initially insufficient veterinary supervision (which was eventually provided in great measure from sources outside the ride's management) was folly, bordering on uninformed
fanaticism.Your proof of this clairvoyance, if I'm not speaking out of turn, is that, so far, no serious illnesses
or fatalities have been reported. Yet, again, in your previous posts, you have many times expressed your disdain for riders that you personally suspect are overriding
their horses, but you just can't prove it, and you often admonish AERC to take more of what you deem to be effective and punitive action. "It's all about
the horse," you often like to say. You use that quote almost as often as the one about a drunken sailor spending money on shore leave, or some such.
Well, even you can see the disparity here. Why in the world would you so enthusiastically berate folks from expressing concern about such a potentially
dangerous equine endeavor as the the Mongol Derby, as it was first described to us? The fact that it turned out well, as far as we can tell, is a reason
to take a deep sigh of relief, but surely not reason enough to say "I told you so," and suggest that anyone having expressed concern at the outset ought now to feel
embarrassed and ashamed at holding such ridiculous thoughts in the first place. Ah, that we all had your vision.
I read that the "Suicide Race" held annually in Omak, Washington has only had four horse deaths since 2001. In the years that they didn't have a death, would it be appropriate
for that ride's supporters to respond to those who wish to see that ride banned by saying, "I told you so?" By your reasoning, it's not much of a stretch. Is it that you care about horses in general, or only those entered in AERC sanctioned events?
I am anticipating an angry response that goes nowhere, but one can always hope for an intelligent rebuttal that earnestly addresses the concerns mentioned above.
Bruce Weary, Member, AERC Horse Welfare Committee


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