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Re: [RC] [RC] Kids, ponies and distance riding... Get a grip people - Joe LongOn Mon, 20 Dec 2004 11:20:59 EST, Magnumsmom@xxxxxxx wrote: I remember by the age of 3 just wanting to RIDE... and it had nothing to do with wanting to please my parents. We had no horses. I rode the springs off my spring loaded pony. I was stuffed back into bed at 3am because I'd be up on my spring loaded pony all night long. (hmm... all night... 100 miler in the making???) Unfortunately the springs squeeked and gave me away. But, did you want to ride a 100-mile endurance ride when you were three years old? ; ^ > Hey Maryben, can you ever remember me doing anything because I wanted to please my parents? :) :) :) I am one for protection rules... I am one for stomping on bad parents... but I am NOT backing a rule that eliminates good kids and parents just because of some arbitrary age. Then you also favor removing the age limits for horses, so that we don't eliminate good horses and horse owners because of some arbitrary age? If not, what is it that makes horses more deserving of that kind of protection than children? I submit that the reason that the AERC has rules requiring horses to be a minimum age before competing, and not a similar rule for riders, is that when the AERC was founded and the rules drawn up nobody thought that anyone would ever want to take a five-year-old child on an endurance ride. The need for a minimum age for riders simply didn't occur to them. I know there are parents who really believe THEIR five year old is ready for a 100 mile endurance ride. I believe they are fooling themselves, and their child may end up paying a terrible price. -- Joe Long jlong@xxxxxxxx http://www.rnbw.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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