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Re: [RC] AERC changing to FEI like rules?? - Diane TrefethenRichard:I agree with your remarks and would add that the primary focus of FEI and AERC are diametrically opposite. AERC is INCLUSIVE, ie, it wants all its members to do well and enjoy Endurance while FEI is EXCLUSIVE, its focus is on the support of excellence in the sport, excellence defined by winning. The AERC uses "To Finish is to Win", not because it helps the horses (note how often posts here point out that the mid-packers are often the ones who push their horses to complete when they really need to call it a day, just so they get the mileage) but because it at any given ride, only one horse can come in first, but at that same ride, EVERYONE could complete. If FEI has a motto, I don't know it, but it might have been, "After Tenth place, Stop the Race". Even if the proposal to stop the race after X horses completed was only intended for the WEC, the highest level in FEI competition, look back at the ROC, and when our National Championship races were winner take all and when they were garner the most points at specified rides. Look at our current Championships. Have you EVER seen even a whisper about stopping these races because the top X horses had completed or gathered enough points that no one else could beat them? Hell NO! And that's the point... inclusive (pull people into the sport) vs exclusive (keep out anyone who can't win). So there's an FEI rule against, amongst other things, rubbing your horse's forehead during the veterinary exam. Taken alone it sounds ridiculous - but it ain't. If such a rule exists, it is the perfect example of the foci of the two organizations. AERC would argue that if a horse's pulse can drop to criteria by just having its forehead rubbed, the horse is obviously not in such dire shape that it needs to be pulled. FEI would argue that since the horse is a biomechanical device and needs to be evaluated on those merits only, if you bring its pulse down by rubbing its forehead, the horse is clearly not in good enough shape to continue. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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