Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

OH, Heidi, Heidi, Heidi, it must be such a perfect world that meets your 
standards out there in those western mountains where you live.  Here, in the 
Southeast, I guess we just wouldn't cut the mustard because we live it what 
I'd like to call the "real world."

The real world involves things like other people.  People who do not ride.  
Last time I checked, public lands are open to all of the public, no matter 
what activities are going on inside.  And, one of the many things that a 
ride manager has to contend with, when dealing with that other public, are 
the hunters, the hikers, and the onlookers.

These are the folks who forgot about the leash laws we put out in our 
endurance fliers, forgot about kids wandering around who just recently 
learned to wander, forgot about doing the 30 MPH speed limit while driving 
down the dirt road with 50 or so horses and riders in front of them, forgot 
that they can't park their car in a certain area because the Ride Manager 
doesn't want you to do so, forgot that some horses will react to loud 
country music, yelling and screaming and carrying on, as the rider tries to 
pass an area knows as the "Redneck Hunt Club" week-end get together, etc.

If we tried to meet Heidi's standards down here we'd never ever have an 
endurance ride or, we'd have a lot of dead endurance riders and Ride 
Managers trying to carry out Heidi's version of rule enforcement.

cya,
Howard


> From: Truman Prevatt <tprevatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> CC: howard9732@xxxxxxx,  ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [RC]   [RC] Racing
> Date: Thu, 08 Apr 2004 18:54:26 -0400
>
>
>
> heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>
> > > You can do that on private land. On public land you don't normall have
> > > control and can't close off areas. On dirt roads in public lands you
> > > have even less since the road is open to public access. You can't keep
> > > other users out of specific areas. In multi use public areas not all the
> > > people will be associated with the ride and you will be sharing the
> > > area  with other and different types of trail users. They might want to
> > > come  watch, stop park their cars near the finish, etc., somthing over
> > > which  the RM has absolutely no control.
> >
> > Actually, some of the permits I've had on public lands have INSISTED that
> > I do that, for the very reason that safety comes first.
> >
> > Yes, the lands are public--but part of regulating them is ensuring that
> > users have exclusive access to certain areas at certain times.  Kinda like
> > making a motel reservation.
> >
> > One year we had a bicycle race in an area across a USFS road from us the
> > day AFTER our ride--and we were required to actually put up orange traffic
> > cones (our permit specifically said that was what we were to use) to
> > designate the exit route for our riders' rigs from the parking for the
> > bicycle people, so that the exit route would not be impeded and so that
> > there would not be any conflict between land users.  We were also required
> > to have a real live person there all morning directing traffic and telling
> > people where to park.
> >
> > In my experience, having a permit to use a certain area gives you
> > exclusive use of that area for that time frame--particular camping areas. 
> > In popular areas, often the schedule of permittees is posted.
> Well that sure isn't the in the forest in the Southern region unless it is 
> a closed area not open to the public and has to be leased. All the horse 
> camps are open to the public on a first come first serve bases. Some are 
> quite big - upwards to 300 sites but they are not reserved nor any portions 
> reserved based on a Special Use Permit. I only know of one closed to the 
> general public except for lease horse facility in the SE - Doe Lake in the 
> Ocala NF.
>
> > It's true that you may not be able to block off a public access road--but
> > you can DARN sure regulate who parks alongside it.  And if a public access
> > road IS heavily traveled, it behooves a manager to pick somewhere else to
> > finish!
> And by who's authroity are you going to do that and if they refuse under 
> what authority do you have them removed?
>
> I'm not going to argue this point with you but if you want the district 
> rangers name and number I'll pass it on and you can argue the point with 
> him.
>
> >
>
> --
>
> We imitate our masters only because we are not yet masters ourselves, and 
> only
>
> because in doing so we learn the truth about what cannot be imitated.

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There are 2 ways to win at this sport. You take a horse and race him for a
short time and then find a new horse or you can take one horse , do the
homework and spend many miles and years enjoying that horse.
~  Paddi Sprecher

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