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Re: [RC] 20 MT and Little Big Man - merryben I don't think the rule is interpreted to mean that there is no ponying. Virl Norton was known to pony some of his riders for a while. I know that Melissa Ribley was ponied by Robert for a while at the start of a race. I once came upon a man and his grandaughter who was riding a large pony at the American River ride at the river crossing and he was concerned about the pony having to swim. He put his junior on the back of his horse, rode double across the river and led the pony. Then off then went, safe on the other side. To me these instances were not a breach of the rules. But I guess all rules are open to interpretation...... -----Original Message----- From: heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To: Truman Prevatt <tprevatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Cc: jlong@xxxxxxxx; ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; Karen Sullivan <greymare56@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tue, 21 Feb 2006 08:03:13 -0700 Subject: RE: [RC] 20 MT and Little Big Man > The AERC rules state > > "...but the competitor is ultimately responsible for self and mount > before, during and after an endurance ride..." > > Would someone please explain how a kid being ponied satisfies this > requirement of the AERC rules? In other words, no, a kid being ponied would not be acceptable. In other words, the kid must be able to ride his/her own horse. > I would also like to ask those proposing that there should not be an > "age rule" is there any age where you have a problem. According the the > current rule - unless the RM imposed a min age rule in accordance to the > methods outlined in the rules there is no min age rule. Therefore > someone could show up with one year old kid. Would that bother anyone? > How about a 6 month old kid? How about a 3 day old kid? Is there a level > of pain out there? See the above. There is no magic number, but clearly a child who cannot ride his/her own horse would not be acceptable. Is there a magic number for that? Not really. But it certainly eliminates toddlers barely able to walk, or unable to communicate independently somehow with the horse, via reins or legs. If one follows the current rules, there is no risk of having babies out there on horses. Only kids who can ride unassisted are "legal." And some kids are certainly at that point by 4 or 5, while others are not there yet even by the 10-year-old NATRC age limit. As is so often the case, the AERC rules already have the basis for disallowing any children who are not ready for the sport. So the ballyhooing about infants on horses is just one more piece of emotional blackmail. Kids will ride when kids are ready. Leave them and their parents the heck alone to determine when that time is, and leave it up to ride managers to enforce the rule about riders being in control of their own horses. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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