Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

After reading the rant below, it appears to me that part of Courtney's 
problem might be having mentors like Mr. Gerhard.

I don't fault Courtney for making a request to the Tevis ride 
management to be allowed to ride unsponsored despite being underage; 
that is her right.  I do fault the criticism of the Tevis management 
for making the perfectly sound and reasonable decision to deny her 
request.  No matter what you think of Courtney's abilities and 
maturity, the Tevis has "age discrimination" rules in place for good, 
sound reasons and they should not be waived lightly.  In fact, IMO they 
should not be waived for anyone -- fair is fair.

I haven't read all of the messages in this controversy, but from what I 
have read, it is my "perspective" that some people pushing for an 
exception feel that "rules are made for other people" and "If I want it 
reeeeaal bad, I should have it, no matter the rules."

If Courtney wants to enjoy the ride as a "personal triumph," she has 
more than one alternative available to her.  She can ride sponsored, or 
she can wait until she is old enough to ride unsponsored.  The Tevis 
management isn't doing her any harm by asking her to follow the same 
rules everyone else does.  In fact, this can be a good learning 
experience for her, that in the adult world you don't get everything 
you want just because you want it.

But the bottom line, Mr. Gerhard, is that where "personal attacks" are 
concerned, IMO you are a pot calling a kettle black.  'nuff said.

On Oct 11, 2004, at 2:01 PM, Ridecamp Guest wrote:

> Subject: Congratulations Roxanne Greene
> Re: Minors in Tevis
> From: Andrew Gerhard
>
> I want to congratulate Roxanne Greene and all of those who stepped 
> over the line in expressing their opinions and lowered themselves to 
> the level of personally attacking Courtney for entering a plea of help 
> across the message board. Your attitudes are those of real winners we 
> can all aspire to; or not! While most people disagree with allowing 
> Courtney to ride Tevis as an un-sponsored junior, I personally would 
> like to see her able to enjoy the ride as the ride as it was meant to 
> be enjoyed; as a personal triumph. Unfortunately, Roxanne Greene has 
> taken on the role of a dictator not a leader. She dictates that 
> Courtney should quietly and cheerfully belly-up to the Board so that 
> they are not “burdened” by her request. Perhaps it is because Roxanne 
> is in charge of the juniors and she enjoys that power so much that the 
> tone of her response became so pushy and authoritative. I’d prefer to 
> believe however that Roxanne simply wants what is best for the ride 
> and those involved. That is why she should have stopped her response 
> before stating that Courtney’s request is “telling evidence of the 
> level of her maturity.” Many who responded have made it clear that 
> empathy, compassion and flexibility are of no concern to many of these 
> person’s in power.
> 	Although I felt it was unfortunate that the Board of Governors turned 
> down the request, I understand their position on this matter. I 
> expressed to Courtney that if she felt passionate about doing the ride 
> in the capacity of an adult, she would have to remain vigilant to the 
> cause and involve others for further support. Following this advice; 
> it is clear that Courtney’s inexperience in appealing for help will 
> remain a stigma more than her lack of maturity
> as some would believe. My suggestion to the rest of you is to keep 
> things in perspective, not to construe Courtney’s desires as some 
> cocky kid trying to break the rules.
> 	As for myself, I am 26y.o. business student at CSUS graduating this 
> semester. My family has been involved with horses for over 50 years. I 
> am Courtney’s neighbor and friend. Early this year, she purchased from 
> me the horse that I finished Tevis, the VC 100, and won the one of the 
> Smokey Killen rides on. I have sponsored Courtney on one ride and rode 
> with her as an un-sponsored rider on the recent Gold Country 50. I 
> know her abilities as a rider and find her to be mature, competent, 
> dedicated, and capable of doing Tevis. She has met the qualifications 
> set forth by the Tevis committee save the fact that they discriminate 
> on the basis of age rather than ability.
> 	To those of you who have stated that, “rules are rules,” please keep 
> in mind that rules do get changed. They are changed to accommodate 
> people all the time. I believe that our request is not simply a matter 
> of discretion but wanes on the principles underlying the issue. There 
> are a lot of people doing this ride who need sponsors, most are 
> “adults.” Courtney is not unreasonable in requesting to go 
> un-sponsored and should be applauded for taking on a daunting task.
> 	Thank you all for addressing the subject, but please don’t cross the 
> line and turn this into a forum for personal attacks. That is a sure 
> sign of immaturity.
>
> Sincerely,
> Andrew Gerhard
> a_gerhard7@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
>
>  Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
>  Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
>  Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp
>
>  Ride Long and Ride Safe!!
--
Joe Long
jlong@xxxxxxxx
303-601-8507 mobile


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-