RE: Protest

[Beverly540@aol.com]

Steph,
          Thank you for the detailed  explanation of what happened in the
Henslee case. However, I am still unclear on one point. Please help me (and
others??) understand, for future reference, the process of protest regarding
dangerous equines. 
        The wording of the rule says that "entry cannot be denied without
cause."  Please explain how this process would  ideally work in the presence
of a cause such as a horse striking, kicking or biting a person or another
horse prior to the start of  a ride. 
            I'm not sure...does a horse have to misbehave on the grounds of
the ride and prior to the start of a specific ride to be denied entry to that
ride and only that ride? Suppose my mare kicks a neighboring horse at camp the
night before a ride and injures that horse or rider so badly that they cannot
do the ride. I would expect my horse to banned from that specific ride. Can
she then also be banned from any and all future rides? If so, how does this
process work itself out?  Does my dangerous horse who has been banned from one
ride now have a "criminal record file" somewhere in AERC headquarters that can
be used to keep her out of future events? Or, does someone have to petition
each ride to keep the unsafe horse at home. 
           Please don't get the wrong idea about my mount...this is just a
hypothetical question! I just want to know how the AERC due process would work
to protect ride participants  in the unlikely event that my horse suddenly
became  a mean and vicious animal and I was too stubborn to quit bringing her
to rides. 
DISCLAIMER
This question is not meant to insult any of the parties involved in the recent
difficult situation in the NW. As a very new member of AERC I want to
understand the rules of the organization I have chosen to support and  to
which I pay dues.  I simply do not understand the procedure AERC  employs to
enforce the rules designed to  protect riders and horses from dangerous, mean,
or vicious horses. 
Beverly and Flower
Blue Ridge Mts. of SWVA