Trail Courtesy (was Another LD idea)

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

k s swigart katswig@earthlink.net

While it would behoove ride management to be aware of the
differing paces of different riders at different distances and
lay out the course and adjust the start times in such a manner
as to minimize congestion on the trail, it is totally erroneous
for any rider to assume (whether they be a racer or a tail ender)
to assume that they will have the trail to themselves (or will
only have to share the trail with their chosen riding partners).

It is not only other riders going different paces at different
distances in the endurance ride that one might encounter out on
the trail...and bikers, hikers, birdwatchers, or weekend trail
riders don't like being mown down by racing endurance riders (no
matter what the distance) any more than tail end endurance riders
on green horses do (in fact, they probably are less willing to
be understanding or accommodating--and will complain to the Park
Ranger rather than just blowing off steam at the Ride Manager or
on RideCamp :)).

So, I offer a few suggestions about how to properly control
one's mount on a shared trail:

1)  Make sure the steering and the brakes work properly before
going out on the road.

2)  Don't go around blind curves faster than you can stop the
horse if there is an obstacle in the trail (be it another rider,
a pedestrian...or a tree stump) (I.e. "My horse was going too
for me to stop when I came galloping over the rise and realized
that there were riders ahead going slow" is not an excuse for
trampling the people in front of you.

3)  Slow down for overtaking, and overtake with caution.  Warn
people that you are coming before you are upon them so they can
take any necessary evasive action or warn you back to approach
with extreme caution.

4)  Allow hikers and bikers to get out of the way before going
by AND go by at the walk, you can pick up the pace after you are
safely past.  People on foot don't like horses charging by them,
it makes them uncomfortable.

5)  Recognize that lots of horses (or even just one) travelling
at high speeds raise dust, the faster you go, the more dust you
raise and making the other trail users "eat your dust" is rude
(and invites complaints).

6)  Don't ride abreast across the whole trail, especially around
blind turns.

7)  Don't stop in the middle of the trail (unless, of course, it
is an emergency, and there is no other choice).

8)  Don't trample people are already lying on the ground just because
they were flattened by the rider in front of you that you have
been racing with all day assuming that they won't mind being
flattened again.

If ride managers want to lay out their rides in such a way as to
minimize the trail sharing that riders going different speeds (or
different directions) must do, that would be smart.  But just the
same, riders shouldn't assume that ride managers have done this.
And riders should be prepared to politely share the trail with
ANYBODY who is out there (yep, even those dirt bike riders).
This doesn't mean that people can't ride at their own speeds.  It
just means that those going slow need to be prepared to get out
of the way of those going faster.  And those going fast need to
be prepared to slow down and give people time to get out of their
way without trampling them.

If this sounds suspiciously like the way you were taught to drive
a car...well, there is a reason for that.  Same concept, objects
with large (and varying) masses travelling at high speeds on
shared throughfares.

kat
Orange County, Calif.


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