Re: RE: Dead Horse at NASTR

["Annie George" <ageorge@vtc.net>]

Absolutely, and I in no way advocate any removal of that responsibility, or shirking of it. I just think all would be served better with more one on one  help for first time riders. It would be a shame to have to legislate that,  I  seems that the volunteer plan doesn't seem to be working. I recd a note from a gal that has been on the mentor list for 2 years, only one call, I have been on it for a year, and no calls. So I'm nobody any way, have any of the higher profile riders had requests for help?  Maybe it would be better served to finds out why it is not working. So,  Any newbies out there contemplating your first ride? tell us what young think, would you like to have a sponsor? Have you tried, How did it go?  Help us out here. Annie

Anne George Saddlery  www.vtc.net/~ageorge

----- Original Message -----

From: Marci Cunningham

To: ridecamp@endurance.net

Sent: Friday, June 22, 2001 11:22 AM

Subject: RC: RE: Dead Horse at NASTR

I always like to hear Dave Nicholson's ride meeting speeches at the rides he
vets.  He places responsibility for the horse's welfare directly in the
hands of the rider.  The following is a direct quote from Linda's post.

"From what I understand this was the horse's first
race, the mare was galloped the entire way, at the last vet check
the vet told the rider to walk her horse all the way in, however,
her "coach" overruled her and told her to keep her moving."

Please note that the vet told the rider to walk her horse ALL THE WAY IN.  I
have been to rides where the same instructions were given to a rider and
when the rider thought he was out of sight from the vet he trotted and
cantered in.  When this was reported to the vet he refused to give a
completion to that horse.  This was a horse that could have passed a final
vet check, but I say hooray to that vet for sticking to his guns.  (And I
knew the horse and rider this happened to.)  It would be nice to second
guess the vets and have lots of 'what ifs' and 'could have beens', but it
all comes down to the fact that the rider holds the well being of the horse
in his or her hands and bears the ultimate responsibility if something
happens to that horse.

BTW, NASTR stands for Nevada All State Trail Riders.

Happy Trails,
Marci Cunningham
Bakersfield CA



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.   
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp  
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=