I think the Aussies have quite a few concepts we could draw from. I
really like the idea of the Novice Rider and Novice horse. The fact that
you have to earn, in miles and completions, the right to be called an endurance
rider. And, the fact that the title can be withdrawn for poor
performance.
The Novice horse, down under, has a controlled speed. At some of
their rides they have a Pacer, a seasoned endurance rider, who leads the group
of new riders at a pre-determined speed. The new horse must start out
slowly and I love the idea of a Pacer traveling with the beginners. This
Pacer could teach them so much during their first 3 rides.
There's the answer to the "mentor" program for new riders some have
been suggesting on this site. A really good Pacer/Mentor leading the
Novices down the trail for 50 miles is a wonderful idea. We have so many
people that I bet would love to do this. Joe Schoech, down here in the
Southeast, would be my first pick. After spending 150 miles with Joe,
there is no way you would ever have any problems with your horse in the
future.
At a Florida ride last month the ride manager let me give the newbie
talk. The words just started flowing. The first thing I told them
was, "you must put your horse ahead of anything else you want to do with this
sport. That horse is your responsibility and his well being must be the
most important goal you have while riding in this sport." I went on and on
and I probably scared a few of them a little but, I did try to accent why it is
we love the sport as much as we do. I'm not sure if I did a good job, I
sometimes have a tendency to digress. I do know Joe, Tamra, and
Truman can do much better, but I was honored to be asked and I tried to
cover everything and answer every question. My point is, the Pacer/Mentor
could do this on the trail with the beginners, first hand, and I think it's a
wonderful idea. Let's set a standard, with a requirement that it be
maintained, before we start calling anyone an American endurance rider.
There are some intersting things in the AERA rules. Of of the
more interesting and one I think the logbooks are directed toward is the
ability of the AERA to give the horse a "holiday" or vaction as would we
say in the States. Thinking about this, it's a good solid concept
and may be something we should consider.
However, some of the
things such as thier formal log book system would require a significant
change to implement and would probably require Stewards to manage.
While I like the idea on paper, I'm not sure we need to go that far yet.
The log books are also to satisify a regulatory requirement placed on the
AERA by the government. We don't have a formal regulatory process to
respond to so a formal log book system like used by the AERA seems like
over kill.
