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FW: [RC] Maryanne & Mongol Derby - Mike SherrellWhy not make your own arrangements to ride across Africa? Alone, or maybe with one other person or a group small enough not to hamper you? An organized endurance ride is sort of like Club Med, not so much a bubble as a tube. If I had the time and a little money, India would be my choice. A GPS, a money belt and a change of clothing in some kind of quick-dry fabric would about do it. Regards, Mike Sherrell Grizzly Analytical (USA) www.grizzlyanalytical.com 707 887 2919; fax = 707 887 9834 -----Original Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Melissa Margetts Sent: Saturday, September 05, 2009 10:46 AM To: ridecamp Subject: [RC] Maryanne & Mongol Derby Maryanne, I agree with you that all of the pressure that was put on this company by the LongRiders, horse welfare groups, and individuals like us from around the world definitely made a difference in creating "possible" better results of this race. I say "possible", because even the riders will probably never know what happened to the horses that they had left behind at the urtuus then grabbed another one and were immediately off again. I don't believe for a second that the Adventurists will voluntarily admit to any horse fatalities or even injuries or lameness. The company leaves a general bad taste in my mouth too. They were dishonest about this event from the beginning when they stated on their site and to their benefactors that the American NGO, VetNet, were currently working with them to choose, give preliminary vet exams, and would be supplying all the vet care for the horses before, throughout and after the ride. They were caught in the flat out LIE when VetNet was contacted by the LongRiders and the NGO gave a public statement that they didn't even KNOW about this race and were not in ANY way associated with it nor were supplying ANY vet care for it. Talk about sending up a "red flag"! If it had not been for the pressure put on the Adventurists by all the opposition about providing qualified and adequate vet care for the horses, the vets that they were then forced to pull out of their butts and hire from other countries, would not have even been there. I'm GLAD I spoke up and added my voice to the others who put pressure on this group if by doing so helped even ONE horse of the 700 in this race, receive better care and oversite than if we had not spoken up and forced the veterinary care issue at all. There is a difference between just wanting to "stir the pot" to cause trouble and actually intending to create positive change and compassion for the innocent and sentient beings we profess to love and care about so much. It should be implicit that it is our responsibility to protect any being that has the ability to perceive pain that we may inflict on it due to our own agenda. By keeping the whole ride route, urtuu locations and GPS coordinates shrouded in secrecy to everyone except their own media team, it was clearly intended to keep outside media from capturing any stories, film footage or pictures of any terrible mishaps that might have happened on the trail or document the outcome of the horses. Any organization promoting an event intended to raise funds for charity would NORMALLY try and DRAW as much attention and media coverage to the event as possible so they could raise more funds, NOT keep all media away. The ride location, distance and unique challenges certainly are a draw for me as an adrenaline junkie and distance rider myself. It is a ride that I still think could be tweaked and made into an incredible international endurance ride for those of us who have been brought into this sport with the focus of the welfare of the horse being priority. I am still waiting for the endurance ride from coast to coast across Africa to come to fruition before I am too old to ride it. I can't help but feel that the criteria that the top equine veterinarians in the world have researched and decided are in the best interest of the horse are worth adhering to. That includes conditioning, hoof care and protection, parasite control, nutrition, soundness and regular vet checks whether it is in a "race" or a two year mosey across the country. No, the Mongol Derby was NOT a sanctioned endurance ride of any kind and the Adventurists really didn't HAVE to supply ANY vet care at all by any International nor Mongolian law. How they ran a PRIVATE race was not anyones business other than the Mongolians seeing as how it was their country and their horses. I still believe that we need to think globally and act morally when it comes to the beings that we share this planet with. Whenever we can speak up and ACT to prevent abuse or neglect of any being, then we should. Melissa Margetts =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. 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