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  As a member of the HWC, I can tell you that we have some very good 
people involved. We have been reorganizing lately, with a member 
retiring and a new member on board. I recently finished a horse death 
report, which will be published soon. I will apologize in advance for 
the tardiness of my report, but don't apologize for the fact that as our 
sport is a hobby, it is further down the list than some other of life's 
priorities.  It's been said that if you want something done and done 
right, give it to the busiest person you know. This is somewhat true not 
only of the HWC, but the Vet Committee and the BOD itself. Remember that 
we are all spoiled by CNN and by contrast, our committee processes may 
seem slow. They are carried out by dedicated volunteers who give of 
their time, money, heart and intellect, often at cost to things such as 
their own time with their families or in the saddle. An occasional 
heartfelt thankyou to these people and a genuine offer of help is more 
engendering to the process than innuendo and conspiracy theories.
   Even though we have been fortunate to have a very low statisitical 
incidence of horse deaths in our sport, it has also been no secret that 
deaths due to blatant abuse or overriding are far in the minority. I can 
assure all concerned parties that there is no attempt to hide or flavor 
or slant the information that we are able to gather and report to the 
constituency. Sometimes we are hampered by the availability of 
information or the willingness of the rider involved to participate in 
the investigative process. There are those who would prefer sanctions 
against these riders as incentive to cooperate fully (and this is a 
relatively rare circumstance), but as yet you, the constituents, have 
not voted to empower the respective committees to do so.  There are 
currently several levels of process in place to deal with injustices, 
real or perceived, and yes, we are a work in progress.
 My personal feeling is that some people's "need to know" not always, 
but often, has as it's unspoken motive, a target to aim against, not 
necessarily to "learn from." While I agree that any and all pertinent 
information should be made appropriately public,  Jim, what would you 
"learn" about a horse that colics and dies at a ride, other than what 
that particular rider may or may not have done wrong? At your level of 
horsemanship, are you really confused about how to not override a horse 
yourself? How to feed it or keep it hydrated? What speed to ride it 
under current trail and temperature conditions? How to recognize the 
signs of illness? Exactly what void in your horsemanship skills would be 
filled? A newbie to our sport might be taken aback to learn that horses 
can actually die doing this and other sports, but the bulk of their 
education and indoctrination into endurance riding ought not come from 
the details of a horse's death, however unfortuate or avoidable. If it 
does, we have all certainly failed.
 If the need to know is primarily fueled by a desire to armchair 
quarterback after the fact, then I would suggest that type of curiosity 
is misdirected. Better to let those charged with the responsibility of 
conducting the process get on with the job. Or, work to change that 
process through proper channels, not misusing a public forum to magnify 
the opinions of a few.
  Respectfully Submitted, Bruce Weary #4160 Member HWC


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