Re: "truth is. . ."

["superpat" <superpat@gateway.net>]

Whitney,
I couldn't have said it better myself.....I've tried, but still couldn't.
Thanks for forwarding it.
Pat

----- Original Message -----
From: Whitney Bass <bass@bigsky.net>
To: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2000 10:05 AM
Subject: RC: "truth is. . ."


> I was reading the magazine "Horse Show", last night -- and a few of the
> things that the AHSA President wrote (Alan F. Balch), reminded me of
> ridecamp.  Thought I'd share!
> "Truth is the child of time, because over time, more and more ideas are
> brought forward, more opinions are contrasted, and more discussion takes
> place.  Open exchanges can be extremely frustrating to those who would use
> our process for personal or hidden agendas, and frustration can easily
lead
> to incivility and bad manners.   . . .Some of us still have to learn that
> personal characterization and attempts to manufacture villains or enemies,
> in order to foster adversarial relationships, is counterproductive in the
> long run.  It might make someone feel better and someone else feel worse
in
> the short run, but it serves no really useful purpose for the sport.  It's
> one of those things we learned in kindergarten, or should have."
> . . . "The welfare of horses need not collide with the profit motive, of
> course,  We are here to see that it does not.  Yet it is always a
> temptation, and if the profit motive ever does overcome our commitment to
> equine welfare, it will also swamp our commitment to fairness of
> competition.  This threat is greater now than it has ever been, as the
> prices of horses rise ever higher, driven by higher stakes in competition,
> driven in turn by the ability of competition management and professionals
> to derive exceptional profit from both competitions and the sale of
horses.
>
> And my favorite part!
> "Yes, you say, this may be true, but how does it differ from any other
> sport where 'professionalization' has overtaken the old and simple
sporting
> experience?  The answer is clear:  the other sports don't consider the
> welfare of an innocent, magical animal, as we do.  The horse, and its
> integrity, makes all the difference in the world."  (Yeaheaheah!!)
>
>
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