Re: WEG Selection process

[Truman Prevatt <truman.prevatt@netsrq.com>]

Liz makes some very good points.  Since sometimes one needs a target to shoot
at, I'll throw out  an outline of a system that I feel would serve the purpose
a) being fair and b) providing a good solid team.  If you want to take shots at
the concept - have at it.  If you want to nit-pick, go bother someone else.

Liz Carpenter wrote:

>
>
> Whilst I agree that performance in one selection
> ride is inadequate as it doesn't tell the
> selectors who is *consistent*, there is a case
> for having selection rides.

This is very true and if it were my choice, I would get together all the people
that have been involved and come up with a formula that identifies each
"important" aspect a rider/horse team needs and derive a weighting for each item
into the final score.  Only items that can be numerically scored would be
considered.  "Intangables" are worthless, in my opinion.

Consistency in finishing and placing over the past two years is important and
can be numerically scored.  If this is the most important factor then the
weights would relfect it.

Then a number of selection rides with conditions that will be similar to the
course where the championship ride will be held would be indentified.  I believe
that all horses must do a common ride and that course should be a close to
possible to the type of course and climate conditions to be used and experienced
for the championship.  How can you judge how well a horse from the rocky
mountains will do on a sandy course in the heat unless they are tested on such a
course, or how well can one judge how well a FL horse used to sand and humidity
will do in the mountains unless tested under those conditions?  I don't believe
it too mush to ask for that every rider wanting to go be required to do one
specific ride.

How can you tell how a team will act and how well they will perform against the
best competition in the world if they don't run against the best in this
country?

Then the performance in a subset of these rides will be weighted and calculated
into the final score.   The weights allociated to the selection rides would be
determined before hand.  The entire list of factors to be considered and the
associated weights would be pulbished before the process stared so that all
riders would know where they stood.

The top six scores are it.  The coach at ride site can pick top four that are
the best ready to go for the team medal.  I also think I would make the
selection of year X in year X-1 so the selected team can take some time to rest,
ride together and peak their horses without the pressures of overriding to make
the team impacting the team's performance.

> Keeping the selection process entirely secret and
> having no qualifying rides seems like a recipe
> for disaster in this respect. At least in the UK
> people know what they *should* be doing to be
> considered for the team, so if they fail then it
> is their own hard luck.

That is absolutely ture and that seems to be the norm in the US.  I feel at the
least the selection committee meeting should be recorded and transcriptions of
these meeting released.  There is nothing wrong with a little bit of sunshine.

Truman

>

--
Truman Prevatt
Brooksville, FL

Mystic "The Horse from Hell" Storm with one on the way
Rocket a.k.a. Mr. Misty
Jordy a.k.a. Bridger (when he is good)
Danson Flame - Hot Dog I'm healed and ready to go.