RE: Hw vs Fw

[Mike Sofen <miksof7@gte.net>]

Turn the whole equation around.  FW's are being penalized for being FW's, in the BC judging.  That they can sometimes ride faster than HW's is immaterial.  What the current system encourages is FW's to ride as fast as they possibly can, and maybe overriding their horse sometimes, in order to come in far enough ahead to counteract the weight advantage used in the BC judging.  If everyone rode by the same BC standard, i.e., no 1/2 point advantage to HW's, then everyone would be implicitly encouraged to ride their own race, and the competitions would become MORE fair, not less.
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I do believe that speed is an issue and that on tougher rides - where speed
is held down by the conditions then HW riders have a better chance at top
10 and a better chance at BC.

Is 1/2 point per pound a good compensation for the weight carried.
Probably not and the true effect is probably not linear.  Namely a pound
over 200 probably has a different effect than a pound over 165.  But until
additional data are available tinkering doesn't make too much sense.

Truman