Re: LD - New Members -- Cancelled Rides

[Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>]

Reading the debate on member/non-member fees has been very interesting.  I
am new to the sport of endurance but I come from a background of lower
level dressage.  I've ridden tests in a few A and B circuit shows and
several schooling shows.  I also managed the dressage division of a very
large riding club in our area for a couple of years...which meant managing
the shows and determining the fees.  In almost every instance, when someone
signed up to ride a class (no matter what level), they paid for the class
PLUS an additional fee if they did not belong to the organization that was
putting on the show (the local club in the schooling shows) or sanctioning
it (in the A or B shows...ie, the state or national organization.)  The fee
wasn't huge but was big enough to encourage people to join the organization
if they planned on attending several shows.  This system works well and
everyone expects to pay the fee if they aren't a member. 

I recently rode the fun run distance in the Bully Wully -- it was my first
time involved with an endurance ride and I went primarily to find out how
it all fit together...purely for educational reasons...sort of a dress
rehearsal.  I also joined AERC this year with the knowledge that I wouldn't
be entering an "endurance" distance or possibly not even making it to one
ride.  I joined because I wanted to support the organization and I wanted
the magazine (more of the "educational" part. <g>) 

This brings up another point -- I now find out that half of the rides in my
area are being cancelled because of a decision by the organization.  Since
I didn't read the original post regarding the details, I can't voice any
opinion on that aspect...I did, however, gather that it had to do with an
individual horse at a certain ride -- followed by cancellations under
protest from other rides.  Something is very, very wrong here...and it's a
bit disheartening to someone new to the organization.  If this were the
AHSA and there was an infraction of the code of conduct, the horse and the
owner or rider would be banned from further sanctioned shows until a fine
(usually huge) was paid.  In some cases, depending on the nature of the
infraction, the horse and/or owner or rider were banned permanently.  There
is no point in punishing the whole group because of alleged conduct of one
horse or their human involved.

Sue



sbrown@wamedes.com
Tyee Farm
Marysville, Wa.