Re: [RC] Re[2]: [RC] AERC National Championship ride qualfications

[Jim Holland <lanconn@tds.net>]

Roger Rittenhouse wrote:

> What we DO need is for AERC to step up and support this AERC EVENT. It
> is NO different then the AERC annual convention (note it is NOT a
> MEETING)  It is a party, provide at the expense of all for a few.


Hmmmm...now let's see....

How many $$$$ in REAL AERC funds do we spend on International Riding and
what percent of the membership can participate? Was the membership given
an opportunity for input on the use of these funds for that purpose? 
Don't think so....but might I be wrong.

How many $$$ in REAL AERC funds do we spend on the NCR and what percent
of the membership can particpate? Was the membership given an
opportunity for input on the use of these funds for this purpose?  If
memory serves (failing more each day) over 55% VOTED to support this,
even tho no specific $$$ figure was mentioned.

OK, how about it?

Would someone on the BoD care to step up? The ones I've asked seem to be
"tap dancing".  Maybe that's just my perception. How about a REAL $$$
figure with a breakout of those funds? Or aren't we privileged to know?

OK, let's say the AERC DOES support the NCR, both in $$$$ and
otherwise...we don't HAVE to make a profit...we want it to be the REAL
event that the membership voted for. We certainly don't make a profit on
International. How about a fixed amount of $$$$ to a Ride Manager who
sponsors a NCR AT LEAST equivalent to what we spend on International? I
would like to see it prestigious enough that Ride Managers are competing
to host it, without worrying about losing money.  I'm not saying pay for
it, but subsidize it. As it gets better and better, we eventually make
money on it. Isn't it normal (and acceptable) business practice to
"promote" a new product or service the first year or so even to the
point of taking a loss in order to make it successful?

As to qualifications, I don't care WHO I ride against.  Letting the
finish line sort it out is OK by me, but that does not make it a
"prestigious event".  That said, there were several issues discussed
regarding qualifying that pointed out that it was unfair nationwide
because of the length of the ride season, the number of rides available,
etc.  It was also pointed out that not all riders ride to win or Top
Ten...but just for miles. It was also generally agreed by most that we
would like to emphasize "To Finish is to Win" and reward those riders
with a lot of miles on the same horse. 

WE ALREADY HAVE A POOL OF THE TOP RIDERS IN AERC, DIVIDED BY WEIGHT
DIVISION, THAT REPRESENTS THE TOP 5% IN EACH REGION BY WEIGHT DIVISION
BASED ON THE AERC POINT SYSTEM. IT'S CALLED THE REGIONAL AWARD PROGRAM. 

You can get a Regional Award by riding a few rides fast, or a lot of
rides slow. You can't win a Regional Award by winning, say two rides.
The top 5% of the riders in each region get a Regional Award.   That
means that there will be more riders from the SE than MT.  I think this
is a fair system, because the SE has more members. 

Ignoring the issue of when we make the qualifications effective for now,
why don't we start with this pool of people, then add some additional
ones that are imminently qualified for other reasons?

For example:

ANY National or Regional Award winners, whether it's Pardners, Jim
Jones, etc.
Any horse/rider team with 1000 miles in the current season.
Previous years Top Ten Horses/Riders in the NCR
Any Horse/Rider team that has WON a previous NCR.
Any Horse or Rider with 3000 miles with the horse or rider of their
choice! <grin>
Any Hall of Fame Horse or Rider with the horse or rider of their choice!
Top point horse/rider from Endurance Organizations. (SERA, DBDR, etc) 
All AERC International Riders
IAHA NC Top Tens in each weight division. (How about courting IAHA a
little bit and helping with prizes to get some publicity. (They might
even help US if we recognize their winners)

Etc....

Bob Morris is, of course, automatically qualified for life! :)

Nah....let's just forget it...just tired of going around in circles with
the same old arguments. Haven't heard any new proposals in so long my
mind is fuzzed...so thought I would write one. <sigh>

Jim, Sun of Dimanche, and Mahada Magic