To Fast/any distance.

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

I think that allot of the trouble, all distances, is that our sport is really growing fast. There are people out there "racing" that have only been riding horses at all for a very few years. Sure we all had to learn the hard way. But years back the ratio of experienced horsemen vs. new to horse people was allot different. The pendulum has swung the other way.  The oldies are fast becoming almost a minority. Awhile back I offered the idea of a sign up sheet for oldies to ride with newbies, it was never even commented on here in RC. I was disappointed at that, not because it was my idea, but because we should be able to see the ditches up ahead before we fall into them! Now that we are once again rolling over on the LD'rs it has come up. Jerry mentioned a mentor program. We need something. If you ride managers don't take the initiative to do this on a voluntary basis to properly initiate the newbies, we will once again be back into the too many rules debate and we will be faced with a mandatory time limit, or some other kind of crap forced on us by yet another rule, and all of us oldies will be whaling about the good old days when we were responsible for " ourselves and horse".  Please RM's what's the big hastle for you to just put out volunteer sign up sheet? ((And as the RM are you not ( I'm asking ) in the position of authority  to require all newbies to ride with an oldie ? )) At least the first ride or 2. We have this for the Juniors, ( for different reasons maybe) but there is never any shortage of volunteers. There is always an oldie of some kind in the LD's, they are there for the REAL reason that the LD's were intended.   Most of the newbies I have visited with are anxious to learn, and would love an oldie to ride with.  And the ones who don't want to learn, well fine. Do we want them anyhow. Isn't that what the whole premise of AERC and our sport as it was intended , is any way ? To be horsemen/women, horsemanship as a craft, proud of our goals and finishes instead of afraid of printing a pull list in the ride results. Why should any vet ever have to pull a horse, or have to argue with a rider, we should be pulling our selves. Quality not quantity or speed or wins.   TO FINISH IS TO WIN  !!!!!!  Annie George

www.vtc.net/~ageorge