 |
Re: [RC] [RC] Q4. Penalties - Truman - Jay RandleHi TrumanThank you for your queries. I'll try to answer to the best of my knowledge. There are other Aussies on this list who may also be inclined to give their opinions on the matter. 1. I don't really believe that there is much (if any) involvement of the government these days in the sport in Australia. (Apart from some Sports Grants that some states get, the government seems to ignore us!!!!) However, in the early days of the sport in Australia, there was huge concern from groups like the RSPCA about possible or potential horse welfare issues, and that is where the original pulse parameters first came from. Additionally, our Veterinary care levels would have to be among the highest, most careful, and most diligent in the world. I would guess that most of our rules relating to horse welfare and penalties have come from the Veterinary side of things. 2. It is true that the individual States in Australia manage and control their riders through State Management Committees. The basic rules, however, are determined on a nation-wide basis, with every member of each State division having the opportunity to vote on potential rule changes. Each State then tallies their members' votes, and takes them to the AERA (national governing body) in order to determine whether a new rule will be implemented or not. The process from the first "motion for discussion" of a new rule, through to the eventual implementation of a new rule is rather long and convoluted, however it does give all members the opportunity to discuss and then vote on the rule. As our entire system of governance comes from the English, you can imagine the formal aspects of meeting procedure and fair-play that come into it all.... it's a bit of a laugh sometimes!!! The advantages of such a system of rules include the fact that no matter where you are in Australia it is very clear to all riders what the rules are... and it is very clear when someone is breaking those rules. On of the disadvantages is that individual ride committees are unable to 'bend' the rules to suit their own location and/or experiences. For example, if a ride committee wants to adjust the lengths of the phases of a ride, they can't because there is a rule that states exactly what is and is not allowed with regard to lengths of legs. I don't know if this happens in Nth America. 3. The penalty system has evolved over the years, and I'm not sure when it was first introduced... well before my time, anyway! Up until 2005, the penalty for a lameness vet out was just 6 points, however that was then changed to the consecutive penalties being increased to 12 for the 2nd vet out lame and 18 for the 3rd vet out lame. From personal observation, these increased penalties in the last couple of years have certainly raised the awareness and concern levels of some riders who had previously had pretty bad lameness vet out rates! Now if your horse vets out lame in three consecutive rides it accumulates 36 penalty points (instead of the old 18 points). At 36 points you are in danger of being suspended from competition... so that is a big deterrant for some people!!! As to the implementation cost.... I wouldn't imagine that the cost factor is very large at all. This is because our States have reasonably good record keeping databases, and these penalty points are calculated through them. However there would be a time and money consideration in the 'chasing up' of those people who have reached the limits of the penalty system... through writing letters, notifying ride organising committees of offenders, etc. Quite frankly, I believe that most riders here now are a bit scared of accruing penalty points, and take more care than ever before with their horses. Those riders who don't care soon get 'taken care of' by the State Management Committee.... their riding privleges are suspended, and/or their horse is suspended from competition. Hope this helps..... Best regards Jay Randle SPLENDACREST ENDURANCE TRAINING www.freewebs.com/splendacrest From: Truman Prevatt <tprevatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: ridecamp <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, splendacrest@xxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [RC] Q4. Penalties Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 09:22:35 -0500 Thanks Jay for sharing this. I do have a few questions. 1. First I am under the impression that some of the rules the AERA has is because of pressure from the Government over the perception that endurance is a potentially "abusive" sport that if not well managed could have negative impact on the horse. Is that true or a rumor and if true what portion of the rules were to satisfy the Government? 2. From looking at the AERA website it appears that endurance riding in Australia is somewhat decentralized - and the "state" organizations are an integral part of the overall structure. This is compared to the US where the regional and organizations where they exist are pretty much outside of the AERC. Is this observation valid and if so what are the pros and cons? 3. How difficult was it to implement your penalty system and what was the added cost? Thanks for your input. Truman Jay Randle wrote: Hi All -- ?He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.? Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil _________________________________________________________________ Advertisement: 50% off on Xbox 360, PS and Nintendo Wii titles! http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-4lab-71-bn-49-en-84-k-40-extended.html =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|