Re: Warner Springs Ride Canceled (long)

["Patrick E. Allen" <jfhr@inet1.inetworld.net>]

Dear Terry,  it was great fun to be at Warner Springs this weekend in spite of the
damp conditions. My daughter and I enjoyed the fellowship and the great attitudes
of the riders. I have a lot of respect for you as a ride manager and for the
decision you made for the ride. Hopefully the next ride will be under better
weather conditions. Thanks for saving that special place for me. Also I really
enjoyed having Lisa from Fort Dodge share my booth , it was my pleasure. She is a
nice lady. See ya next time.
Evelyn Hartman
Just for horsin-round
Ontra-manuer Extraordinaire

Terry Woolley Howe wrote:

> The days preceding Friday were beautiful, but on Friday it began to
> rain.  It rained on and off in the morning, and by nightfall it was a
> steady downpour.  Throughout the night it was heavy.  I was awake most
> of the night hoping that it would stop raining so that the riders would
> not have to ride in the rain.  At 3:30 a.m. I said to my husband David
> “I’m going to cancel the race.”  I was not concerned about the riders
> riding in the rain, but I realized that even if it stopped raining by
> morning, so much rain had fallen that some of the uphill climbs in the
> first loop would become so greasy with over 100 riders that it would be
> dangerous to both rider and horse.   There were also a couple of areas
> along the Pacific Crest Trail that were narrow and I was not sure
> whether or not some of those trails would have become unstable, thereby
> creating more dangers.  Another consideration was the damage that would
> have been done to the trails themselves by riders running over
> rain-soaked ground.  I got up at 3:30 and went to the lodge to call the
> fifth vet that was coming out in the morning to tell him not to come.  I
> went to the equestrian center at 4:00 a.m. to talk to the equestrian
> manager (she was going to feed the endurance horses at 4:00 a.m.).  We
> discussed the situation and she agreed with me that the trails would be
> dangerous after so much rain.
>
>         While it was a disappointing decision to make, it was not a difficult
> one.  When weighing the safety of the riders and the damage to the
> environment, against the monetary loss, there was really no choice.
> Initially, some of the riders did not understand the necessity of
> canceling the ride, but after many of the riders returned from riding
> parts of the course on race day (the weather was nice), and relating
> stories of slippery trials, stream crossings up to their horses'
> bellies, mud bogs, etc., the riders realized the dire consequences that
> could have happened had the race not been canceled.
>
>         All the riders were given the option of receiving a full refund,
> rolling over their entry money to a future ride, or participating in a
> “fantasy ride.”  All of the completion awards had already been
> purchased, as well as awards for the top five best conditioned 25
> milers, and top ten as well as division winner awards for the 50
> milers.  The majority of the riders participated in the “fantasy ride”
> because I think they realized what a financial burden canceling a ride
> puts on the ride manager and understood that if ride managers lose large
> sums of their own money on rides, they can no longer afford to manage
> them.  The vets even waived most of their fees.  Some people left in the
> morning, but the majority stayed for the remainder of the weekend and
> listened to a talk by Dr. Louie Enos, enjoyed the cocktail party at the
> Olympic size hot pool in the afternoon, and had great buffet dinner
> (even many of those receiving refunds or roll-overs stayed).  Amazingly,
> 12 hours after the ride was canceled, there were 160 for dinner at the
> awards banquet for the fantasy ride.
>
>         The “fantasy ride” was a great success (there were no pulls, no riders
> got hurt, no horses had to be treated).   There were lottery drawings
> for the premium awards, and so a couple of the riders received top ten
> awards on their first 50!  It was a very festive awards dinner and at
> times there were shouts of “great ride,”  “nice job” when someone
> receive their completion award.  Everyone got into the spirit of things
> and had a great time.
>
>         This weekend reaffirmed my faith and bond in the “great endurance
> family.”
>
> Terry Woolley Howe
> San Diego