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Well said Barbara! Long live the right to ride our rides with our horse's 
welfare in mind!

Ranelle Rubin
R.Rubin Consulting

raneller@xxxxxxx

916-663-4140 home office
916-718-2427 cellular
916-848-3662 fax




> From: "Barbara McCrary" <bigcreekranch@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "RIDECAMP" <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "Ed Hauser" <ed@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [RC]   BOD and FEI
> Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 11:00:41 -0700
>
> BlankEd, I could not express myself better than you have done.  Some have 
> arguments in favor of maintaining our involvement in international riding, 
> but none of them make any impression on me.
>
> Originally, I thought international events would be fun, especially giving 
> opportunity to meet like-minded folks from other countries.  The first 
> North American Championship here at our place in 1986 seemed to be just 
> that.  From then on, it was a steady trend away from that sense of 
> camaraderie with competition into politics and suspicion and some 
> bitterness on my part.  I was soundly chastised by someone I had considered 
> a friend for not agreeing that AERC should run all its rides under FEI 
> rules, like they do in Europe.  Perhaps gradually, things moved away from 
> the suspicion, but the politics are still there.  I had vowed, when I was 
> on the AERC board, to fight any attempt of FEI taking over AERC and 
> imposing its rules on us.  This appears not to have happened, but it 
> certainly has had some influence on us.  Nevertheless, what appears to 
> appeal to most of our riders is the pleasure of discovering new adventures 
> on our favorite mounts, otherwise would the multi-day rides have risen to 
> such great popularity?
>
> While I think it is doable for a few horses to achieve the new proposed 
> 10:40 qualifying riding time on a 100-miler, I don't see this as desirable. 
>  Just how far do we want to push our horses to achieve notoriety.  It 
> appears to me that some countries are just interested in the prestige 
> and/or prizes and not so interested in the horse as a companion and 
> treasured friend.  The philosophy of throw-away horses in some countries 
> seems apparent.  In other countries, nothing could be farther from their 
> actual philosophy.
>
> There have been occasions in this country where riders have pushed their 
> horses too far, but I have noticed this becoming more rare.  I think this 
> has to be due in great measure to the "fit to continue" standard and 
> ongoing education.
>
> I used to adopt the philosophy that "if some riders want to compete 
> internationally, let them make that choice," but now I think the rules have 
> been pushed too far and I fear that we may be judged too harshly for 
> supporting and competing under those rules.  There are groups in this 
> country that believe more in protecting our animals than our people.  Yet 
> Americans generally are very conscious of the care we give our animals.  We 
> either need to influence FEI away from these rules or just stay home and 
> ride our own way.  I feel very deeply about this.
>
> Barbara
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Sisu West Ranch
>   To: Ride Camp
>   Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 10:09 AM
>   Subject: [RC] BOD and FEI
>
>
>   With todays post I sent the following via USPS first class mail to each 
> member of the AERC BOD:
>   "Dear (name of member)::
>
>   I have been considering writing this letter for some time. The recent 
> action by the FEI in increasing the qualifying speed for the next WEC is 
> the straw that broke the camel's back.
>
>   I believe that the AERC BOD should withdraw all association of the AERC 
> with international competition. This includes dissolving of AERC 
> International. There are a number of reasons why I believe this to be a 
> wise action. I will list them in no particular order of priority.
>
>
> << BlankBkgrd.gif >>



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