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Re: [RC] LD and Placings now awards & expenses? Joe Long - Joe LongDon Huston wrote:Well Joe, I suppose I shouldn't have yanked your chain by saying your analogy was lame, even tho it was, because it sent you into a post-ripping-frenzy where you missed the whole point.....it's not the theater or the airlines or the fuel or any other lame analogy that's important....IMHO it's keeping and protecting our rides that is important. Well, I agree that keeping and protecting our rides is important. Without rides and ride managers we have no sport. But, I have a thing about fairness. It sometimes promotes me to somewhat impassioned discourse on this list. As I only ride about one LD ride every three or four years, the fees don't actually have much impact on me personally. But I've seen the LD riders carrying many of the 50-mile rides for years, and I don't like to see them having to carry them even more by paying the same fee while receiving less for their money. The inconvenient fact is, if the LD riders stopped coming many rides would go out of existence. Instead of trying to beat up on the RM's to get lower ride fees for the select LD riders You see it as me beating up on RM's, that is not my intention. I have managed many rides myself, although I don't any more (in part due to the non-member fee, another sensitive issue with me). I never charged the same for my LD rides as the 50's, wouldn't have considered it. I believe in charging fairly for value received. I also believe that the RM's who charge the same for an LD as a 50 are hurting themselves in the long run, and that's not good for the sport either. why don't you try beating up on the gas station attendants and get lower fuel fees so ALL of us can save some money on rides? Hey, I would if I could. :) AND I did quote you accurately. 5:10pm PDT 7/7/08 last line "I won't attend one that charges the same, or nearly the same, as the 50." You might have written something different while ripping up someone else's post. The complete sentence reads, "Myself, I like to use LD rides to start new horses, but I won't attend one that charges the same, or nearly the same, as the 50." I think that's clear that "one" refers to an LD ride. I certainly hope that your whinning does not discourage any RM's on this list. As for me, when I find a ride in my area that I can attend I pay the fee set by the RM without any whinning and hope like hell they make a profit so I can go again the next year. As I've said before, I think the LD riders are our entry-level riders, many of whom will go on to the longer distances and be AERC members and riders for years to come. Having exorbitant fees that discourage them is "eating our seed corn." If my "whining" convinces even one ride manager to reconsider raising LD fees to equal 50-mile fees, or persuades one RM to lower LD fees, the benefit to our sport will be well worth it. As some have pointed out, it is every ride manager's right to set his fees as he sees fit. I don't dispute that one bit. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't express our opinions on ride fees, and the fairness or lack of fairness of them. And one last time: I've "paid my dues" as a ride manager, including 100-mile rides and multi-day rides.
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