ridecamp@endurance.net: Re: gate-into-hold - how do you guys do it?

Re: gate-into-hold - how do you guys do it?

Joe Long (mail.hiwaay.net@HiWAAY.net)
Thu, 10 Aug 1995 10:55:48 -500

Oops, sorry, I didn't know I had included both my "horsie" sig and my
"Hamlet" sig on that last post!

>To get this straight - there are p/r people *only* inside the
>roped off area? And your hold time begins as soon as you enter
>the area? Do you ever have penalties for presenting for
>a pulse too early?

Stephanie, you descibed it just right. Most of our local Southeast
rides don't use a fixed penalty if you're not down. At the riders
meeting we will explain the system, and say that if you're not down
you must take the horse out and bring him back later. We point out
that we reserve the right, if someone keeps bringing a horse back who
still isn't down, to ask him to wait five minutes before another try.
Few people try to abuse the system.

The question of when to take the time, when the rider presents or
after the P/R team verifies, has long been debated. I have always
felt that the only way that is fair to the rider is to record the
time when the rider presents. Sure, there is a potential that a
smart rider could notice a backlog in the P/R area and go in with his
horse not quite down, hoping it will be down by the time they get to
him. I don't think this is a significant problem, and if you do
suspect someone's trying that trick you can send a P/R team right to
them as soon as they come in the gate!

I haven't been to many international rides, but I believe they do it
this way, except that I think they have a fixed time penalty if you
are not down.

I have been at rides that do it the other way. I find it extremely
frustrating (not to mention unfair) to be at a vet check, call for a
P&R at the same time as one of my competitors, only to see that
competitor leave the check two, three, four minutes ahead of me
because the staff got to him first.

Having a roped-off area for P/R, with a gate, really helps with the
25 mile finish, too. SERA rides give placing, but based on final
recovery, not crossing the finish line. If the first two 25 mile
horses should recover at essentially the same time, it's the first
one through the gate that gets first place! Assuming, of course,
that the horse does meet criteria. As *NO* cooling out or crews are
allowed in the P/R area, it's fun to watch the crews working
furiously on the horses just outside the gate!

Oh, yeah, sometimes you get some congestion there, and you have to
ask people to move back and keep the area open. I once was ready to
enter a P/R area and another rider was standing there talking to the
timer, with her horse standing crosswise in the gate. When I called
out that I wanted to come through she made no effort to move her
horse. You guessed it -- I waked right over her! Some people
chastised me for being rude, and I guess I was, but I figure if you
don't want to get run over don't stand in the gate.

Anyway, give this method a try. We've had good luck with it.

--

Joe Long Rainbow Connection Arabians PC/LAN Manager home of Kahlil Khai Calhoun Community College AERC Hall of Fame horse jlong@hiwaay.net 11,450 miles completed