Re: Accident at ride this weekend in Montana...???

["Thomas, Barb" <thomas@amgen.com>]

My heartfelt feelings and prayers go out to Jim.  Both Jim and his brother
Bob are really nice people and I had the pleasure of Bob's hospitality in
the use of his farm for an overnight stay on the way to ROC a few years
back.  I hope Jim's recovery is quick and uneventful.

I could not begin to know how bad these two girls felt about the accident
and don't dare pass any judgements.  A racing finish is a common practice in
endurance riding, and they were doing just that.  The unfortunate thing is
the truck pulling into the road.  I've raced into finishes before, and my
biggest fear is that something or someone will get in the way.  It is not
easy to stop a racing horse and I'm sure the girls had to make a
split-second decision, not even knowing Jim's presence.  

Unfortunately, hindsight is always 20/20, and what happened can't be undone.
It's really important to do everything that can be done to prevent the
finish from being blocked.  I don't know if the truck was on a public or
private road.  If it was a public road, there's may not have been a lot that
could have been done.  If it was on a private road at/near the finish, why
wasn't there someone there to keep vehicles off the road?  Three times at
Norco this year, I had to have people pull their rigs off the raceway at the
finish.  They were pulling up to get a better look or get into their camp,
just as we were expecting finishers, including the first three racing in.
Two years ago at the Old Dominion, we were making trucks move from the
"pull-up" area behind the finish line.  Debbie Gordon's husband was
insisting they move even further back because Debbie went over a vehicle at
a finish before.  As part of ride management, one of my biggest fears is
just what happened at Posse.  Many rides come down to a race at the finish
line and even if you're not first to finish, it's an accepted part of the
game to gallop across the line with your buddies.  Keeping that finish line
as clear as possible is crucial.

Barb


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