Re: LD fee--Check the math!

[LazyJArabs@aol.com]

well said mike.

i have no truck, no trailer, and one horse. it took me a year to get the right
saddle. i am able to share trailer rides with my teammates. otherwise, i would
not be able to go to rides. i make a decent living, but when vet bills come
out of the blue, then the budget/savings for the truck and trailer go out the
window.

endurance is not the main thing in my life, so it's one of the first things in
my budget to get eliminated. that $10 non member fee may at some point mean
the difference to me not particpating in a ride, especially if the rides i do
get cancelled anyway. no sense in paying a $60 member fee if there are only 2
or 3 rides that i can go to (i can do without EN if necessary).

anyway, i think you get the idea.

liz johanson
cascade ridge runners team captain
lazy j arabians
maple valley/hobart, washington, usa
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Subj:	 Re: LD fee--Check the math!
Date:	9/15/98 9:31:29 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From:	miksof7@gte.net (Mike Sofen)
To:	Petdoc6@aol.com, ridecamp@endurance.net (Ride Camp)

Check this math - someone keeps their horse on property that they rent for
living quarters, saved for a year and bought a sweet horse for $800, has
purchased used tack at auctions, has a friend with a truck and trailer that
gives them rides, they split expenses, watch what they buy for food, and
only do rides within a certain radius of where they live.  They can spend
less than $40 each if they do it right, and that's putting a crimp in their
budget.  NOW does an extra $10 add up?

Just because I make a decent living, I don't assume that other people do, or
can afford to spend anything anytime they want to.  I don't want to see
endurance become another sport of haves and havenots.  There will always be
people with more stuff, and that's irrelevant - we want to encourage, not
discourage.

I got hooked on endurance because of ONE LD ride.  It allowed me to decide
if I liked it, could do it, etc.  I didn't race, didn't try to top ten.
Just went out and had a grand time with my horse.  And became an AERC member
because of it.


However, I'm about to become a non-member over this and the loss of
sanctioned rides in our state (WA).

Finally, I totally agree with Karen Chaton that times shouldn't be kept for
LD, as this
would discourage racing.

Mike Sofen
Seattle, WA

-----Original Message-----
From: Petdoc6@aol.com <Petdoc6@aol.com>
To: ridecamp@endurance.net <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Date: Tuesday, September 15, 1998 5:16 AM
Subject: LD fee--Check the math!


I have been listening to the debates about the LD fee increase.  No doubt it
will cause ride managers to do more paperwork.  I ride LD and have a current
AERC membership.  If I didn't, I would expect to pay a fee for having my
rides
sanctioned by the organization.  I don't expect services for free!

Look at the money side.  An average horse owner has these baseline expenses
before attending a ride:

Truck $25000
Trailer     $700-40000
Horse $1500-5000
Saddle $.200-2100
Gas ?
Work Time Lost variable but it adds up!
Horse maintenance per year--vets, shoeing, food,  supplements, magazine
subscriptions, riding clothes, and tack that we
"must have."
Farm Fees Cost of a 10 acre  place to keep a horse vs a house in town
with a small yard and no barn or fencing to keep up!

My point is that if  a rider has spent all this money to have a horse  and
move it along the road, then the additional fee of $10 per ride shouldn't
really make a difference.

Carol Wingate