Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Re: [RC] Ride shortages: EVEN LONGER

> I am seriously considering it, but I am not an experienced
> endurance rider and would need the help of some. Do you think
> speakers/presenters would be as likely to come
> to a non-sanctioned event as to a sanctioned one?

Clinic aren't sanctioned.  Speakers/presenters are usually not difficult to
find, as long as you line them up well in advance, so that there are no
schedule conflicts for them.

>News flash!  Each year a greater proportion of
> the US poulation (and their horses) live in urban areas!

That is a personal choice.  Everything in life has trade-offs.  I chose to
live in the back of beyond, because it is easier and healthier to raise
horses here.  Making a living is a real drag.  I could make a living much
better in an urban area--but then my horses take it in the shorts, so to
speak.  Sometimes in life you can't have it both ways.  And BTW, it requires
SOME population density to easily support endurance rides.  The fact that I
have to drive 6 hours to a ride means that people in those areas would
likewise have to drive 6 hours to get to one here.  We're considering doing
it (managing a ride here), but the financial implications are daunting, as
there simply aren't enough people living in this part of the world to have
enough endurance riders to support a ride.  It was a different story when we
lived in central Oregon--we had the entire greater Bend area from which to
draw, and the Willamette Valley just 3-4 hours away from many of our rides
as well.  If access to endurance rides is a priority to a person, then it
behooves that person to live somewhere that rides do (or can) thrive.

Sorry you feel you have to be so sarcastic, Amanda.  Nancy and others have
been really trying to provide honest and heartfelt answers to your concerns.
I'm in the same boat regarding access to rides, but getting upset over the
financial and demographical realities of ride management doesn't make it any
more feasible to put them on here--or in "urbia."

Heidi


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