NOW, there are plenty of protests out there already...from getting lost on
trail for a million various reasons and losing a win or a placing or even a
finish because of it!!! There are protests over someone having pointed
someone in the wrong direction, for timers making an honest error...too many
already.
ADD MONEY.
Not only are we already underpaying our vets and NOT paying our volunteers,
we are asking them to be perfect, make judgement calls based on their
VOLUNTEERED skills. Many a good vet has politely had to deal with a
concerned or irate rider with a "marginal" horse at a vet check or the finish
line. ADD MONEY and you have vets who either pull everything marginal
without conference (concerned because the rider is and wants to stay "in the
money" and a horse may drop dead and THEY will be held responsible) BTW, how
much do vets pay now for mal-practice insurance?? Will be have to pay them
more to compensate them for the greater responsibility? Will this set a
precedence for our other rides already having a hard time financially??? Will
this mean increased entry fees??? Where will we stop..at the point where
fewer of us can participate as either riders or volunteers? Will we need to
begin to compensate our volunteers with money instead of just food and maybe
a place to sleep and some gas money? Now how about the volunteer who comes to
a ride for the love of it, for the thrill of being part of it, for being a
contributor in what ever manner is needed?? The protest over the error a
timer makes, the protest over being sent in the wrong direction, the protest
over mis-marked, unmarked or vandalized trails? The people responsible, IF
THEY ARE BEING PAID, could very likely be be held liable!! See the
difference money makes???
Comments welcome. I was suggested this scenario by several phone calls..a
view I hadn't really considered before and thought it worthy of sharing.
Please share your thought, comments, ideas. For those who are
attorneys..GIVE US THE LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS!!!
Teddy
JU$T $AY NEIGH!