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Re: [RC] Future AERC Directions - Was 100 Mile One Day Rides - Dabney Finch

All I can say is Angie, you run for AERC pres., and you've not only got my vote, I'll even "campaign" for you!


----- Original Message ----- From: <rides2far@xxxxxxxx>
To: <AERCMembersForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <AERCMembersForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2005 4:42 PM
Subject: [RC] Future AERC Directions - Was 100 Mile One Day Rides


Growth would give us more stength in numbers and resources which can
be used to promote the creation and preservation of trails for
distance riding, to educate others about the
horsewomanship/horsemanship of long distance riding, etc.


Growth for the sake of growth...sounds like cancer. Here's a nice quote
from Ed Abbey:

"We are belabored by the insistence on the part of our politicians,
businessmen and military leaders, and the claque of scriveners who serve
them, that "growth" and "power" are intrinsic goods, of which we can
never have enough, or even too much. As if gigantism were an end in
itself. As if a commendable rat were a rat twelve hands high at the
shoulders...and still growing."

I ask...*why* did we want to be the biggest group? Because we can say we
are the biggest? Where will we put these new riders? We're using most of
the public and private lands around here that are appropriate for our
sport on most of the weekends that it's possible to use them. The rides
are pretty large...many are having to limit entries. I'm not sure of the
rational of bringing in a bunch of pleasure riders who will soon want
their share of awards for being the most *amazing* fun rider. I *would*
like to recruit all the *real* endurance riders out there who will be
happier if they find this sport, but see no reason to alter the sport to
bring in less motivated riders simply for the sake of numbers. If this
means being a "leaner & meaner" organization so be it.  I believe that if
we continue to recruit non-endurance riders with non-endurance goals into
our voting ranks they will naturally steer the entire organization in a
non-endurance direction...and then the "natural evolution" will be for
another "truly endurance" organization to be formed elsewhere.

Randy says that we need higher numbers so we can be a large enough group
to be noticed when dealing with the government...that there are a LOT
more trail riders than endurance riders so we need to pull in these
people who might handle a "fun ride" to add their numbers to ours to make
a more effective lobby. I have a different theory. As I see it not all
trail riders are endurance riders ...*but* ALL endurance riders are trail
riders. Perhaps we should be doing *our* lobbying through trail riding
organizations which already have the big numbers.

I think our board members need to stop thinking of this as a business
that they want to make the "biggest", "best", "most successful", "fastest
growing" and go back to thinking... Why did we come up with an
organization in the first place? What is the purpose of AERC? Isn't it a
records keeping organization to promote ENDURANCE riding...not "fun
rides", to come up with some standard rules and procedures to protect the
horses. There are already trail riding clubs out there. He suggests that
our "extreme sport" status makes us less marketable to sponsors. Yeah,
tell Mountain Dew and all the sports gear companies that. Do you think
every kid who buys "Jordans" is going to the NBA? No, they want to "look"
like someone who is. If you wanted to market a product to a weekend trail
rider, what better way than to show them it's good enough for the
*extreme* crowd. If you want to sell a guy who may camp in his horse
trail occasionally that it's the right one...what better endorsement than
to show that the riders who camp in theirs *every* weekend use it? You
don't tell them that endurance riders are their market...you tell them
that if endurance riders use it trail riders will *know* it's good!


On the other growth may be we go further from the roots of the sport
in "endurnace riding" with the Tevis as the model of an endurance
ride, i.e. we would have less focus.


Amen...and why on earth do we have an American Endurance Ride Conference
if not to serve Endurance Riding? All those other goals are distractions.

Angie McGhee
AERC 7092



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