Re: LD Rules

[Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>]

>As to LD riders controlling AERC......Now if I have this right--first of
>all, 800+ former AERC members "forgot" to renew their memberships, then you
>state in EN that most of the "growth" is in LD, with little increase in
>Endurance numbers, and then you replied to a post of Heidi's that
>membership is at an all time high.  Logic leads me to conclude that many of
>these members are LD, no?  Additionally, we now have (I agree!) a really
>great sponsorship program from Sundowner subsidizing NEW memberships--and
>there will predicably be more new LD riders starting each year than new
>Endurance riders. 

I'd like to interject an opinion here as one of those "new" members (joined
mid-way this year) and an LD rider (currently.)  

I've gotten interested in endurance riding in the last year.  Prior to that
I was involved in 4H (with my son) as a parent and a leader and dressage as
a competitor and a manager.  I discovered along the way that I hated
showing but I loved teaching and I was a firm believer in classical
dressage as a foundation of all horse disciplines.  I have belonged to many
horse organizations along the way and subscribe to a varied collection of
horse magazines.  I am also blessed with some of the greatest (and
challenging) terrain around where I live -- starting at my own property
edge.  I tend to be drawn towards activities that are more "scientific" in
nature (because of my professional background) and those that are suited to
the A-rated anal retentives. ;-)  Endurance was a logical avenue for me to
pursue...accentuated by the fact that the sports activities that I have
taken part in during my 50 years have been those that required stamina
(distance events) and not short bursts of speed.  

I joined the AERC to give my support since, no matter how many people
volunteer for an agency, it still requires capital...and good support helps
to keep the agency current and well thought out.  I have several friends
that have recently developed an interest in endurance but have yet to
join...I'm encouraging them to do so to support it, but it's up to them to
decided.  I suspect that they will join this next year...so there will be
MORE LD riders joining.  In no way do I see this as the LD riders taking
over the agency. (?)  I see this as a group of us that have a new interest
and are willing to support the governing body.  It's like any sport...there
are an enormous number of ground level entrants...a good example is
dressage -- the numbers in Intro and Training Level are astronomical.  It,
in no way, reflects on those riders as "permanent" Training Level (altho
some will be at that level forever) but shows more an interest in the
discipline...and we all have to start at the bottom.  We may not enter a
competition until skills have passed that mark, but the START is still in
the lower levels.

You need to encourage LD riders to join the national organization...and,
for those that DO join, the organization will keep track of their points
and send them a magazine that is educational and informative relative to
that particular sport and the governing agency.  If they DO NOT choose to
join but choose to partake in the "fruits" of the organizations labor,
particularly the local managers and volunteers that are hosting a
sanctioned ride, then they should be willing to pay a non-member fee...or
else stick to training rides that are not marked, not educational in the
veterinary sense, and have no participation "goodies".  This is how it is
handled in other disciplines...you pay for the privilege of riding in a
sanctioned show, don't get your points counted towards any year-end award,
but are eligible for the class awards for the day.  What the awards are is
determined by the local organization hosting the show.  If you ride a lot
of events this way, pretty soon you end up paying more than the
organization charges for a yearly membership...consequently you get a LOT
of entry level riders.  They're not taking over -- it's the same old
pyramid everywhere...the higher you get in the sport, the less company you
have.

Sue


sbrown@wamedes.com
Tyee Farm
Marysville, Wa.