RE: [RC] Minors in Tevis - Stephanie E CaldwellMinors and young people in events and being discriminated against is a topic very dear to me. I turned 21 last year and am now a legal adult and free to do what I please. >ggg< But, it is pure and simple age discrimination. The entry to Tevis should be based on the rider history. If they wish to discriminate against Courtney they also need to have a old rider rule and not allow anyone over a certain age. You will hear over and over how young people cause most auto accidents. Statistically they cause neither the most, drivers over the age of 80 do. But still you see young people paying out the rear for insurance and paying dearly for things we want to do because we're high risk, or so the people in charge tell us. But you don't see Gramps who kills people with his big Cadillac paying high rates. If anyone out there would take someone to court over age discrimination I would love to see the outcome. If you're treating me as a second rate citizen because I'm young and not because I haven't proven myself that is pure and simple discrimination and it's wrong. I hope you don't give up the fight Courtney even once you're old enough to ride Tevis alone. Steph -----Original Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jonni Jewell Sent: Monday, October 11, 2004 10:05 PM To: Ridecamp Subject: RE: [RC] Minors in Tevis In reply to Andrew's post, from Roxanne: Jonni ***************************** In response to Andrew Gerhard, please understand that I am not "in charge" of anything regarding the Tevis Cup. I have made a very special effort over the years to make sure the Ride is more friendly to junior riders, and that they receive some special recognition for the accomplishment of completion. It seems like a small thing, but with the issues of pulled sponsors, substitute sponsors, transporting juniors and their horses, locating crews and/or family, making sure pulled juniors and their horses are safe and cared for, everyone who works the ride has added responsibility. I am certain it has been worthwhile in that we have many more juniors attempting the ride now, and a lot more completing it. I do not make the rules. They are reviewed very regularly by the rules committee and the Board of Governors. In fact, with any request or complaint like Courtney's, the Board usually reviews why the rule exists, and makes certain it still fits the purposes of the Foundation and the Ride. That was the case with the age rule for junior riders. Perhaps, since I don't know Courtney, I over-reacted to her attempts to be excused from following the junior rule. However, her posting is not the first communication from her on this matter I have seen. Perhaps I'm reacting to the fact that Courtney is unwilling to accept that the way to realize her dream is to ride with a sponsor, or wait and ride in 2006 by herself. All the other juniors will have to abide by these same rules. It is my personal opinion that following the personal letter she received from the president of the Western States Trail Foundation,her efforts to be excused from the rule are misguided and selfish, and do reflect on her maturity. In a perfect world, we would be able to judge the ability of every person separately and assign them privileges and responsibilities commensurate with their skills. We would have some 10-year-olds out there driving 18-wheelers on the freeway, and some 35-year-olds in school learning to read. Rules, like laws, are an attempt to provide order and predictability to life. They are far from perfect at doing that. Nevertheless, we need them, and to be fair, they must apply to everyone. Roxanne Greene WSTF BOD vgreene@xxxxxxxxxxxxx =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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