On Thu, 18 Sep 1997, Susan Evans Garlinghouse wrote:
> Tons of room. Very nice enclosed area but THEY MEAN IT when they say NO
> dogs allowed!!! I used to board/train there and Eddie the facility
> manager has NO problem with coming and finding you in mid-lesson,
> dragging you off your horse and kicking you off the property because,
> heaven forbid, there's a dog quietly snoozing on the floorboards of your
> truck at the far end of the lot. This is one ride you can't fudge the
> dog rule. Don't be surprised if Eddie is standing at the in-gate with a
> rifle wanting to search your truck for illicit dogs.
It is unfortunate that anybody ever thinks that they can "fudge" any rule;
and there is nothing that bothers me more than seeing a ride entry form
that states after a rule "we really mean it" and being told at pre-ride
meetings that the rules will be enforced. DIMR is NOT an excuse for riding
across the bridge that ride managers have expressly asked riders not ride
across. DIMR is not an excuse for cutting switchbacks...we shouldn't need
to have dire warnings from ride managers stating that they will disqualify
anybody who violates this or that rule, but I cannot count the number of
times that this has happened at rides.
Rules should not be stated as rules unless they are meant. . .and rules
should never be ignored by competitors, managers, etc. If ride managers
don't mean them as rules, they shouldn't state them as rules.
Sorry to climb on a soapbox about this issue. I am not meaning to suggest
that Susan is constantly ignoring rules, but rather to find out if I am
the only one who thinks that rules are rules, and if managers (or anybody
else) is to be given "leeway" in the application of a rule, this "leeway"
should also be stated in the rule.
There is nothing that bothers me more than finding out that the rules only
apply to some people (actually there are things that bother me more, but
if I listed them, I would be griping :) and few of them are endurance
related) even if that means that they only apply to the people who read
them and considered them to be rules.
kat
Orange County, Calif.