RADIOS AND PROMPTING

["Robert Morris" <bobmorris@rmci.net>]

Guess I am the only one on the Rules Committee willing to address this
subject. I was also one of  the original group that codified the rules as
you now see them. 

The intent of the subject rule regarding prompting (rule 6 (k) was to
afford all entered in an endurance event equal unbiased opportunity. 

Now this is certainly NOT what many competitors want. They want the EDGE to
afford themselves a win over the others!  

First we had spotters going out and observing the competition and reporting
to their riders at the vet stops. This was not enough. We next had these
spotters meeting their riders on the trail to assist with food and water
(for their riders only) and pass on information. ( I have even seen the
support crews (???) ride along side the horse doing so) Then with the
advent of e the electronics age we got the radios. Guess this means if you
got the bucks you got the EDGE.

None of this is in the spirit of endurance riding as conceived at the
beginning of our sport. It was to be a sport that any one could compete in
on an equal basis and succeed. It was not the sport to search for the extra
advantage of mechanics or electronics.

To go into the rule a bit more, it is stated "This does not preclude the
ordinary support services of attendants or pit crews." The key here is
"ordinary support services" 

The cry for lessening the rules is always heard, but the trend is for
riders to find a way to circumvent those rules that inhibit their
overwhelming desire to better their competitors, in an easier manner. 

Seems like the fun is not in the riding of endurance rides but in the
planning on how to do it easier, faster and more advantageously than the
other riders.

Bob Morris
Morris Endurance Enterprises
Boise, ID