RE: [RC] preventing problems at rides - Bob Morris
But Pat; how do we
get this philosophy across to the majority of the competitors and how do we get
them to really believe in it? Of course it is the basic essence of endurance
competition but not practiced by most of them.
Bob
Bob Morris Morris
Endurance Enterprises Boise, ID
-----Original Message----- From:
ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of
superpat Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2003 2:43 PM To:
oddfarm; ridecamp Subject: Re: [RC] preventing problems at
rides
Lisa,
It is not my intention to argue point for point the issues
you present. However, even as a rank novice, on my first ride, having owned my
(first) horse for less than six months, I happily assumed full responsibility
for his safety and health. I did my best to make myself knowledgeable about
the sport and what I was asking of him. I had a lot I did not know and so much
to learn. I am thankful for all of the advice, assistance and information so
freely given by others. I was eager to learn from the vets. When on his fourth
endurance ride, (through my own ignorance) my horse pulled a suspensory, I
could not ask anyone to shoulder the blame. I learned a very important and
valuable lesson at my horse's expense. It is my opinion that when I elect to
participate in this demanding and rewarding game of endurance riding, I have
to accept full responsibility to learn all that I can about every aspect of
horse ownership and riding and competition. I feel it would be a cop out for
me to ask anyone else to share in this. I do expect that the trail will be
safely cleared and well marked. That there will be adequate water. That the
vetting will be competent and fair. If I get into trouble, I will consider it
a wonderful bonus that there will be assistance from RM and vets. (After all,
when I am on a long and hard conditioning ride, if I were to get into trouble,
I am on my own). And if (worst case scenario) my horse should get into
real serious trouble of whatever nature, sometimes that is just the way
the cookie crumbles. In my opinion, that is what makes this game so much fun
and so different from other riding disciplines. The more I learn, the more
responsibility I shoulder, the less I look around for others to blame, the
better competitor (at whatever level) I will become.
