Pacific Northwest Ride Managers

[llayman@neorx.com]

     To Ride Mangers in the Northwest:
     
     I completely agree with your desire for a safe ride. And I support 
     that. But I do not support giving up. The sport is NOT about giving 
     up. It was bleak before all the cancellations. We had eight. Now we 
     know for sure that four rides are gone.  That's fairly sparse for a 
     year of competition and training. Tevis has once again become a dream 
     too far away for me, and the sport is becoming one I'm not sure I want 
     to participate in anymore. I don't like the attitude of giving up when 
     the stuff doesn't go exactly the right way. I've ridden 50's with a 
     broken toe and a sprained ankle. I've ridden a 50 the day after 
     seriously throwing out my lower back. I've ridden on after nearly 
     fainting off the back of my horse, and after sailing head first into a 
     gravel pit with my horse and still got 4th place. Endurance is not 
     about giving up, and that includes the riders, the management and the 
     P&R crew. 
     
     AERC does not care that you're canceling the rides. If I may quote Mr. 
     Patrick in a letter he sent to me concerning the subject: "Life goes 
     on." I think AERC is happy about the problem taking care of itself. 
     Those that are creating the problem are now going away. Canceling the 
     rides is not going to make an impact on anybody but the riders. There 
     are no bargaining chips, AERC is not going to beg you to put on the 
     rides or raise a salary if you come back into the fold. The only ones 
     losing are the riders.
     
     And I've P&Rd. I know what it's all about. I've pulsed horses that 
     were obnoxious and had to deal with riders flinging water-filled 
     sponges in my face. I've been yelled at, stomped on (by horse and 
     rider), and nearly knocked over. I back away, tell them politely I 
     can't do this right now, call me when you're really ready, and I get 
     instant compliance. Nobody wants to delay the down time of their 
     horse. If an animal is obviously posing a threat to the P&R people, 
     and the owner can't or won't do anything about it, I'd go to the 
     management or vet and have them DQd right then and there due the fact 
     that a pulse could not be safely taken.  P&R crew should be taught to 
     deal with every horse as if it's a dangerous horse, and when to back 
     off and call it quits.  
     
     I quote from Jim Rogan, chair of the P&G Committee: "Each ride is a 
     new event under the absolute control of the ride manager who is free 
     to exercise his or her individual judgment about Patricia's ability to 
     ride Solszar."  So use that right, for all dangerous horses (there are 
     more than one), hold your rides, and continue forward in the manner 
     befitting an endurance rider. Isn't endurance about moving forward 
     against the odds, pushing forward even in the face of adversity, 
     striving to go further than you ever thought possible? So, let's go! 
     
     I just don't see that backing out of ride management is going to do 
     anything except make AERC relieved.
     
     Please don't give up on the real AERC, the riders. 
     
     Linda-Cathrine
     AERC # M17527, H25377
     Pacific Northwest Region
     Cascade Ridge Runners, Co-captain