Re: Correction to Difficult story PAC

["Karen Steenhof" <steenhof@cyberhighway.net>]

>I simply think the reason nobody has ever done this at an AERC ride is that
>it's an overly severe penalty that is unnecessary.


Actually some regular AERC rides have tried it.  They tried it at a local
ride I attended a few years back.  It seemed unfair to me because the riders
with crews had a great advantage over those that didn't. (The crew could
monitor the pulse continuously--not an issue at FEI rides since everyone has
a crew).  It also seemed to penalize the horses (or at least one horse).
One of the competitive riders got a 10 or 15 minute penalty at every vet
check.  Each time he rode his horse even faster to catch up with the front
runners on each leg.  By the end of the ride, his horse was completely
exhausted.  That was the last time they tried the rule at any of our local
rides.  It simply didn't work.

Karen Steenhof
Boise, Idaho
steenhof@cyberhighway.net



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