Home Current News News Archive Shop/Advertise Ridecamp Classified Events Learn/AERC
Endurance.Net Home Ridecamp Archives
ridecamp@endurance.net
[Archives Index]   [Date Index]   [Thread Index]   [Author Index]   [Subject Index]

Re: Fwd: [RC] AERC changing to FEI like rules?? - Truman Prevatt


Richard I think the rub is simple - in most countries the national organization is the national federation that is responsible for international equestrian sports. In the US that is not the case - the AERC is not a national federation for anything. Add to that we have many regional organization that promote endurance that are removed from the AERC. The AERC is simply an organization that grew to monitor and promote a sport that started in the mountains of California. From what I have heard the rule book was literally written on a napkin or if that is a bit romantic it was written on a sheet of paper no larger than a napkin.

Most AERC riders like it that way. The rule is simple, one must present the horse to the vet within 30 minutes of arrival to the check (on hour at the end). There is no rule that you have to go straight to the vet after you pulse down. You can go to the vet any time you want within the hold. In fact some experienced US vets would prefer to see the horse before they go back out rather than after the meet pulse. Most people like it that way. Even in the SE where the check flow is similar to the FEI - if you want to leave after you pulse down and come back later no problem.

If folks in other countries want to ride under FEI rules - that cool and that's none of our business. I would also contend if AERC members want to ride under AERC rules and don't want encroachment of FEI rules that is their business and that should be respected and as such they might get a bit upset at the appearance of encroachment. There is room for everyone. After all in the US we just celebrated the culmination of the season of a uniquely US sport both on the college and professional level. The estimates were about 1/2 of the televisions tuned into the college championship game (dominated by the Gator Nation) a few weeks ago about about 2/3 tuned into the professional championship last Sunday. No it was not soccer - it was real football ;-) !

There is room for everyone in the world without encroachment from any.

Truman


Richard ALLEN wrote:


Begin forwarded message:

*From: *Richard ALLEN <teamnellie@xxxxxxx <mailto:teamnellie@xxxxxxx>>
*Date: *5 February 2009 22:46:06 GMT+01:00
*To: *Diane Trefethen <tref@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:tref@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
*Subject: **Re: [RC] AERC changing to FEI like rules??*

Hello Diane,

I agree with you that the aims of AERC - about which, I should say, I know nothing - are probably different from those of the FEI - for whom I am by no means a spokesman but of whom I have some experience. I bet that, around the world, there's a similar perceived discrepancy between national organisations and the FEI . Almost by definition a national organisation will do its utmost to be "inclusive", and quite right, too; but similarly an organisation that exists to regulate international competition is not going to be 'inclusive' in the same way. If you're at an FEI ride, you're doing something different. But you don't get to an FEI ride unless you've been baked in the oven (prententious - moi??) of your national organisation. FEI doesn't exist in order to 'pull people into the sport'; it's assumed they're already in it.

It's difficult for you guys in the States to get experience of FEI rides as they actually are (although that doesn't stop some of y'all from shouting the odds...) but in my experience the "finish is to win" ethos is just as strong. I won't ever forget being at the Junior Championships in Rome some years back when the Bahraini team, Sheikhs and all, who had done well, spent some hours sitting under a tree in order to cheer home, in the dark, the last finisher. The ethos doesn't belong to the organisation, whichever it may be. It lives in the rider.

The rubbing rule? Come on, Diane. It's there to enable the vets to determine whether or not the horse is fit to continue. What's wrong with that?

Oh, and if - if - they bring in a rule that stops the race once x horses have finished, I'll understand fully that it's in order to prevent further useless exertion on the part of the following pack. I'll also think that it not only sucks but stinks.

Peace

xxr








=


--

"The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all." H. L. Mencken


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

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!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Replies
Fwd: [RC] AERC changing to FEI like rules??, Richard ALLEN