The choice of having the vet checks back at camp are partly due to the limited
mileage in the park, but also for those riders who cannot get crew,
and therefore benefit from the base camp arrangement.
Though it is difficult for some horses to leave the comfort of the trailer,
many rides do have multiple vet checks in camp, and is probably something your
horse should be able to do without a fight (a learning experience?),
not something *I* would term an excruciating cruel situation. However,
I agree, if you only attend a few rides a year you might want to pick those
with all vet checks away from camp (better scenery?).
As to most of the rides not looping into base camp 5 times, I agree, though
many in the area come back to base camp 2 or more times (for example
Shine or Shine, Koch Kobe, big Creek 70, I could go on...). One of the additional
points you have to consider when putting on a ride is communication between remote
vet checks, additional vets, additional P&R staff etc. These realities
become much more clear when you put on a ride then when you ride them.
The last point I would like to make is that though ride turnout might have
been somewhat less because of the erroneous information about looping into
camp, the general opinion is that turnout was less than anticipated because of the
Quicksilver endurance fall ride being sanctioned the week after. Alot
of our entries are culled from this area as well as from the Santa Rosa area.
Rides in either region prior to or immediately following are bound to pull entries
from rides. This is an issue that needs to be addressed in the west region, or
I think you will find less and less rides on the schedule. Just my humble
opinion.
In closing, low turnout will really not dull our ambition to put on this ride next
year. The trails are beautiful and the scenery impressive. I would hope that
sanctioning for ride season 96 will bear in mind some of the points discussed above,
and hope to see you all at the ride next year,
Dom
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Dominique Freeman | "Life is short, science is long" |
fadjurs@sadandy.hpl.hp.com | |
Hewlett Packard Laboratories, | |
Palo Alto, CA USA | |
Phone: (415) 857-8596 | |
FAX: (415) 852-8576 | |
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