Heidi is right. And is there anyone out there who thinks that rider did not learn their lesson from this incident, and might come back to repeat it? It sounds like an unusual situation whereby a rider brought in another rider to the competition who was both the wrong kind of rider, on the wrong kind of horse with the wrong kind of training, and was given the wrong kind of instruction (or none at all). This does not happen very often, and whoever it was that brought that rider to the competition that day must have also learned a lesson. But this is exactly the reason that "cowboy" type rider was looked at askance at the GSFHR!
What is wrong with requiring some kind of qualifying criteria such as the Australians have? Terry "May the Horse be with you"
> Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2007 11:31:03 -0700 > From: heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: RE: [RC] Abuse > To: tprevatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx > CC: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; bweary@xxxxxxxxxxxx > > > The problem is it is NOT just an LD issue - don't try that dodge. The > > issue is bigger than this one incident. All the incidents I have seen > > that would fall under horse abuse were in 50's. Most were riders that > > had ridden before - some quite a few miles. > > Dang, this is a rare thing to say <g> but TRUMAN IS RIGHT. For gosh sakes, the other really bad abuse case this year that not-so-long-ago got air time on Ridecamp occurred on a 100! It is easy to cop out and try to blame "the system"--but it isn't "the system" that is broken here. It is IMPOSSIBLE to legislate morality through rules and laws--there will always be those (whether through intent or ignorance) that err. > > So what are the rules for? In part, so that we can outline what IS acceptable, for those who DO follow rules and who do their homework. In part, so that we can STOP abuse when we see it occurring. In part, so that we can try to keep those who offend from doing so again. > > There has been a lot of discussion here about punitive measures--both for the horse abuser and for the person who abused the abuser. Folks, punishment isn't everything. The point is to keep it from happening again. In this case, from what I understand, the second situation (the person who abused the abuser) had intervention then and there, and the "fight" was broken up. Hopefully all parties got a little bit "educated." > > With regard to the first situation (the abuser of the horse), Truman, you need to read the above paragraph, but in a different context. You talked in an earlier post about the HWC "growing fangs." We need to get OFF of that punitive kick, and ON to how to ensure that those who err don't do it again. It may make US "feel good" to mete out punishment to such people--but only in some cases is that an effective deterrent. The job of the HWC is to investigate (something that Laura does very well, and is directing her committee to do very well) and then and only then to determine the most effective way of making change. For many (particularly for those who do egregious things out of ignorance), often the consequence of their action (seeing the blatant suffering of the horse) is sufficient "punishment," particularly when accompanied by knowledgeable people gently guiding toward a better way to do things. When it is clear that that is not a workable solution, then clearly steps need to be taken to ensure that such people don't compet > e in our sport. But there is a heckuva lot of ground between the former and the latter--and that is the area that the HWC covers. Investigation and accurate assessment are areas where "fangs" often prove to be counterproductive. > > This was a terrible incident, no two ways about it. That said, there was valuable intervention by a director at the scene, the horse was cared for, the rider learned a lot, and I hope the one who attacked the rider also learned that two wrongs don't make a right. We can analyze this to death and shout about what sort of punitive measures might have provided us all with vindication, but in the final analysis, that isn't what it is all about. > > 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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