Re: [RC] AERC Survey question on age requirements to ride - Ibiteraaarr
Regarding this post, I have some questions of my own. I
haven't been keeping up with Ridecamp so if this has been hashed and rehashed
and has since died, I apologize. But as an AERC member, here's what sparks my
interest.
I agree that the survey does not *accurately* reflect
the collective's most prominent mentality if not all of the members take it. I
don't use the word biased though, insinuating that the results have somehow been
intentionally slanted to one favor or the other. If 18% of the membership took
the survey and most of that 18% voted to impose an age limited, that's really a
game of odds in my opinion. The majority of individuals polled happened to be in
agreement that a law should be instated mandating certain age requirements.
Making a comment that those results only reflect the opinions of the majority of
that 18% is fine. Pitching a fit that it's not fair...well...that's something
else. Not saying that anyone is pitching a fit. If you are, I don't know about
it because I haven't been keeping up. (<--my disclaimer) To me, that's
like voting. If you don't bother to vote (or in this case, take a survey), then
how can you possibly have a right to speak out when the outcome differs from
what you wanted??
To address the issue of whether or not we *should*
adopt age restrictions....I'd like some more information before I cast a vote.
Are 5 year olds doing LD/endurance rides creating problems on a regular basis?
How many incidents have occurred involving 5 year olds (or 6 or 7 year olds) and
with what frequency? I'm afraid I can't make any sort of intelligent
decision on that at this point until I acquire more data on whether or not there
is a *need* for this rule. However, If you ask me to pass different legislation
regarding juniors required to wear helmets....abso-freakin'-lutely. Why mandate
that for juniors? Because they're juniors. That's why. Legally, adults are still
responsible for them. If I'm responsible for someone else, I want to minimize as
much risk as possible. Even if I, personally, am not the mentor. Here's what
goes through my mind when evaluating whether or not I think juniors should have
to wear helmets. This is my line of thinking. In the event of a bad incident
involving a child who was not wearing a helmet, let the media catch wind of it
and see what happens. Suddenly, as a group, endurance riders become a
bright beacon on everybody's radar. Imagine the activist groups that will flock
when they find out we let small children ride 25+ miles, ride horses 25+ miles,
etc etc etc. The ACLU and various child protection organizations show up raise
hell that we allow small children to do this. PETA raises hell that we're
abusive to equines. Green Peace and other trail/environmentalist groups raise
hell because we're destroying the environment by eroding trails and leaving
dirty horse droppings all over. You think this is a bit of stretch? Turn on
the news. Imagine the various bits of media coverage, which as we all know,
can easily be swayed and thus detrimental. Pessimistic? Maybe. I prefer to call
it keeping an eye out for a very potential reality in this day and age. My
personal opinion is that everyone *should* wear a helmet, at least at a ride. To
me, that's an unnecessary liability risk on the ride management, AERC and
the property owners where the ride is held. Despite what I believe, I won't vote
to force adults to wear helmets. But juniors..you bet.
