Hi Tish, I just wanted to clarify Rule 11.8 re cash awards as Mike
Tomlinson explained it to me. Rule 11.8 says that when prizes (cash or
anything else, like trailers, saddles, etc.) in EXCESS of $1000 is given
away, an AERC steward must be present. If your prize is only worth
$999, you don't need an AERC steward present. Mike told me that the
role of the steward's presence is to help ride management in
interpretation of AERC rules and to theoretically settle disputes over
rules as they arise. For example, this past weekend at Casper's there
was some confusion over trail markings and some riders missed a loop.
It all got more or less straightened out with some tweaking here and
extra mileage there, etc. If this had happened at a
cash-prize-in-excess-of-one-thousand-dollars-ride, the Steward would
have been the one to make the decisions about the situation.
As I understand it, as the rules presently stand, the only rule that
addresses Big Prize Value is 11.8 (I may be wrong). So a ride could
give away a gazillion dollars theoretically and the only requirement is
that they have a Steward present. No special sanctioning or permission
is required, although perhaps this may change in the future, who knows.
Susan Evans