Re: COSEQUIN CHALLENGE - VALERIE KANAVY'S RESPONSE
Diane Nelson (safehavn@fast.net)
Thu, 5 Dec 96 17:27 EST
>Date: Thu, 05 Dec 1996 07:54:58
>To: RUN4BEAR@aol.com
>From: Diane Nelson <safehavn@fast.net>
>Subject: Re: COSEQUIN CHALLENGE - VALERIE KANAVY'S RESPONSE
>Cc: ridecamp@aol.com
>
>I have yet to jump into the fray...but let me say at the outset that I am
opposed to large cash awards, not awards in general although even here I
have reservations about where the sport has been, and is now headed.
>
>Yes, Valerie has been an excellent spokesperson, Maggie Price is an
outstanding ambassador, and all the other "top riders" have been and
continue to be a credit to the sport and to our national reputation.
However, I agree with Teddy that there appears to be a disconnection with
the "grass-roots" as evidenced by the almost unanimous outcry when this
situation was made public.
>
>What we are dealing with is a philosophical issue...what we need is a
mission statement for AERC (or any other equine governing body) that defines
the present and addresses the future needs of its membership. The
membership in its turn must exercise individual responsibility to see that
policies/initiatives are carried out in the spirit of that mission.
>
>We need only look at the history and direction of other equine sports with
their humble beginnings as truly amateur events, where each in its turn has
assumed the mantle of professionalism, each in its turn has suffered from
the abuses chronicled here and elsewhere, each in its turn has resulted in
the alienation of no small numbers of its members/participants.
>
>To say that high dollar value awards are already present, to say that the
Europeans already rely on sponsorship, to say that controls are in place for
this one event, at this one moment, begs the question. We seem to be at
that point in history where the line in the sand is drawn...this far but no
further.
>
>The question is...just how far have we come? Have we already stepped over
that line in the sand? Has the phrase, the motto, "To Finish is to Win"
become simply lip-service to assauge those who aren't quite "good enough" to
make the top ranks?
>
>How can we safeguard the rank and file horse/rider teams from excessive
professionalization and commercialization? We do it at the governing body
level, we write to the BoD, we vote--in elections, on issues, with our feet
if need be by not supporting events whose purposes violate the spirit of a
group's mission. We also encourage, solicit and support old and new ride
managers to put on events that reflect the "one horse, one rider, one
distance" philosophy that provides the cameraderie and personal-best
challenges that have defined this sport.
>
>I can appreciate, and applaud, the sentiments and efforts reflected in
Valerie Kanavy's letter. I trust in her, and her management team's
experience to put on a high quality event. But....
>
>I just do not know if I like, or accept, the new direction that this sport
is obviously headed. It isn't about money, not really. It's about losing
something almost ephemeral, a spirit if you will, that has made this sport
unique.
>
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>Diane @ Safe Haven
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