Re: RC: Re: FW: The Posse Ride (From the Ride Manager)

[jlong@mti.net (Joe Long)]

On Mon, 10 Apr 2000 20:23:05 EDT, Tivers@aol.com wrote:

...
>It does not seem unreasonable to me that a rider would make a decision to 
>take a different line when, at speed, an out-of-place obstacle presents 
>itself. But then, stuff happens. Two of these horses didn't behave as their 
>riders expected, probably because of the obstacle, and they went a little out 
>of control--like an Indy car temporarily losing its grip on the track. And in 
>the midst of trying to regain control of the horses, a spectator, unprotected 
>from this chaos, is hit. 
>
>For the rider, decision requests are coming as fast as he can adjust--at this 
>point he's still trying to regain control of the horse. In the movies, Roy 
>Rogers would have made a flying dismount and come to the aid of the 
>spectator, leaving Trigger to come to his usual well-behaved stop. But one of 
>the things that might have flashed though my mind in the case here is, "how 
>many people do I want to kill with my horse today?" I'd opt for 
>reestablishing control, then parking the excited horse where he should be 
>parked, and keeping him under control there. You have to assume that somebody 
>with lesser responsibility than establishing control of a runaway vehicle 
>could come to the immediate aid of the "civilian". 
>
>Then, after the dust settled, I'd see about the condition of the injured 
>spectator. After that, I'd find out who in hell was the idiot driving the red 
>pickup and who in hell was the idiot that let him drive in the middle of the 
>path to the finish line. Only later would I consider what the hell spectators 
>were doing in the line of fire. 
>
>If this happened at Indy, or on a Thoroughbred or Standardbred track, or on a 
>cinder running track for humans--nobody would be questioning what the 
>athletes did.  It's like blaming the gun instead of the guy who pulls the 
>trigger. The trigger was pulled by the red pickup driver and whoever set up 
>the circumstances that could allow this chaos to occur. It you set a bear 
>trap and a human falls into it and becomes injured, is it the trap's fault? 
>It's the fault of the human who set the trap and then made the environment 
>appear safe--the fact that humans can be as stupid as bears should be taken 
>into consideration--perhaps by setting out a sign that says "bear trap 
>ahead--keep out".  
>
>Unfortunately, with authority comes responsibility. If you take control of an 
>environment, then you are responsible for it.  If you set a bear trap, you're 
>responsible for what it catches. 

Tom, you've written one of the most cogent evaluations of this
unfortunate accident that I've seen.  I'm sick of so many people
crucifying the riders over this, without having been there or even
been in similar circumstances.  From what I know of the accident, the
riders had no real chance to avoid it and they did nothing wrong.  But
the rumors and innuendo fly, and they will never get this blot off of
their reputations.  All because people are too quick to judge without
having the facts.

I was seriously injured only once in 12,000 miles of racing, in a
sprint to the finish line.  I had the race won, the finish line in
sight, when a lady not involved in the sprint lost control of her
horse and he backed into our path -- the collision put me in the
hospital and injured Kahlil.  The rider chasing me jumped over my
fallen body and finished in first place.  I don't blame him; there's
no way he could have stopped his horse and been of any help to me.  I
don't blame the lady whose horse spooked into me; she was trying her
best to control it.  It was an accident.

My heart goes out not only to the injured man, but to these riders who
have been so pilloried by those who are so eager to lay blame.

-- 

Joe Long
jlong@mti.net
http://www.rhythms.net     Business
http://www.rnbw.com    Personal