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[RC] Not necessarily (was: LD's etc.) - k s swigartSandy said: First, LD rides DO INDEED pay for the events in many cases, As a business management professional both by training and job experience, I think it important to set the record straight about this particular question, since I am willing to bet that more often than not holding an LD ride in conjunction with an endurance ride is more trouble and expense than it is worth. Please note that I am NOT saying that the AERC should not sanction LD rides, nor am I saying that I think ride managers should not hold LD rides (although I do think that LD rides should be formatted more along the lines of a CTR with minimum time requirements, and greater emphasis on judging horses on their condition during the ride; however, this is a separate topic). What I am saying, that the "LD rides make the ride more profitable" (or less unprofitable as the case may be), is oft times a fallacy. If ride managers are hosting an LD in conjuction with their ride because they want to provide a venue for people who don't want to ride 50+ miles, then this is a good thing. If ride managers are hosting an LD in conjunction with their ride because they think it is a way to get more entrants and therefore help pay for the ride, they need to take a good hard look at the numbers and assure themselves that this is really true. It may make for more entrants, but more entrants require more resources and because of their very nature (they are half as long so they take half the time to finish), they impose organizational stresses with respect to time management that can really put a spanner in the works. I am not telling ride managers, "Don't do it." I am just saying, "Don't count on it improving your bottom line because it probably won't." More people at your ride may not be what you want in order to make it more profitable. Sometimes smaller IS better. Smaller and single focused OFTEN is better. kat Orange County, Calif. :) "Le meilleur que je sais les hommes le plus que j'aime mon cheval."--Catherine the Great =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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