RE: [RC] AERC members should come first...ALWAYS - Maryben Stover
Thanks Barbara. You and Tor were always great. Hopefully this will put an end to this subject. If not, I will start hitting the delete button....................mb
From: ronbarbara@xxxxxxxxxxx To: merryben@xxxxxxxx; ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: RE: [RC] AERC members should come first...ALWAYS Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:20:22 -0800
This discussion is very interesting to me (and maddening) re the FEI vs. AERC attitudes displayed on this forum. I applaud the ride manager holding the ride so that individuals can hopefully achieve their COC's and further their goals. There is plenty of history across the country going back years when riders represented their time zones and nominated their horses for NAC's or PAC's (I am one of them). Was passporting your horse, joining USET, following FEI procedures expensive then? Yes. In prior years, those of us who set our goals to compete on that level submitted early in the year, a schedule of rides which were to be our "demonstration" rides. There were not always 100 milers in our zones early in the year so many of us traveled out of our regions. Some of us even traveled from Calif. to South Dakota to enter the Race of Champions (remember those entry fees?). Add gas, meals, etc. Along with that, there were individuals who stepped up to the plate and held rides specifically so that folks could demonstrate in their areas (Mt. Diablo 100 comes to mind as well as the Mendicino 100). Thank you Teresa Cross and Lari Shea, again. Many hopeful riders held barbecues, auctions, raffles and begged and borrowed in order to represent their zones. Every single one of us has a team jacket in our closet, loads of t-shirts, medals and awards that remind us of representing not only our zones but our country. Crews and support for teams sacrificed their vacation times, $, family time and who knows what else in order to travel far and away to support their riders and teams. Many of us in years we did not ride, volunteered as "selectors" and traveled hither and yon to view horse/rider teams, critique crewing techniques, etc. Was it expensive to do so? Yes.
As a former ride manager, putting on any kind of ride whether there are frills or not is a huge undertaking not without risks. The intent of this ride is obvious and I wish every rider a successful completion and another step in achieving their goals. FEI level competition is not for every horse/rider whether by choice or athletic ability. Can we just leave it at that and stop this whining and sniveling? Opinions are one thing, but geez folks, getting a grip appears to be in order here.
Barbara Sanches
AERC #2273
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