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[RC] My 2 cents on awards - Mary HowellTitle: My 2 cents on awards Hello all -In the 10 years I’ve been competing, I’ve gotten so many t-shirts (rarely available in my small size) that unless they’re really nice like the Ntl Champ. shirt I got last fall, I just hand them over to my husband for his work, or use them for chores like housepainting. If a ride manager gave me the option, I’d willingly forgo a completion award to get $10 off the entry fee. I finally managed a ride earlier this year (Old Dominion “No Frills” ride in April). My goal was to maximize profit (since this ride subsidizes our June 100 miler) and introduce an element of choice to the awards. First to finish and BC received gift certificates to a popular tack vendor who comes to most of our rides, so they could pick out exactly what they wanted. For completion awards, I used a “grab bag” approach with a variety of choices and at least 8-10 of each choice. Pre-ride meeting instructions were to “pick just one” after getting your completion since this ride does not have a formal awards ceremony afterwards – it’s usually the Saturday before Easter and everyone just packs up and heads home. Some grab bag items were donated by the same tack vendor I bought the certificates from, other stuff was on sale from a discount horse products supplier, with nothing costing more than $6. This way, front-of-the-pack riders got first dibs but there was plenty of choice for even the last to finish, although we didn’t give out a turtle award. No complaints, hopefully everyone got something they could use, although I felt bad about not having something more special for Top Ten Awards. Top Ten can be a challenge for rides that allow ties. I was in a 3-way tie for 10th at a ride last year and only one of us could take home the feed tub that was the prize for that placing. Mary Howell in VA
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