Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Actually the only thing "electronics" has to do with it is that it becomes 
more likely/easier for more people to take advantage of information if they 
choose to do so. The issue boils down to "what information about other 
riders is a competitor allowed to be given." If I'm racing, (Which is kind 
of a joke in my case.)  I'm going to come into a vet check as quickly as I 
can anyway, whether I have a crew talking in my ear or not. While there, is 
it "cheating" to find out from the timer how many people are in front of me 
and their out times? If I pass a campsite along the trail, is it "illegal" 
to ask how long it's been since they've seen another horse with a number on 
it's butt? I've always considered finding out the location of the 
competition a part of savvy riding. If all of this is not allowed, then we 
have to start securing the timer info so the riders' only know their own 
times, and how do you prevent talking to people along the trail? Okay, 
people with crews would have some advantage, but they do anyway, and we're 
not likely to outlaw that. Everybody has the right to have a crew if they 
wish.  With the insignificant cost of some of these FSR radios today, if you 
can afford to enter the ride you can have a pair of radios!
To me "prompting" only means something that will encourage the horse to 
travel faster than the rider is able to make it go without help. It can be 
following a crew truck with grain, a fresher horse, or even a learned 
response to a radio sound. We're not banning all crew trucks from every 
ride, in most cases we can't close our courses to other trail users, and 
electronic communication is used far more often for informing camp about 
sick or injured participants than to call a horse in to the vet check.
It is my belief this would have to be decided on case by case basis, based 
on the individual facts and intent of the contestant.

Nancy Mitts

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