GREAT POST, Sandy!!!! I'm going to tip-toe into the Sport Horse arena soon with Hal's son Riverdance, but I am going to keep a VERY watchful eye. The classes are becoming more and more popular, though, and you know where that can lead :-( So far they have been VERY strict with conformation rules and have been reportedly fair with judging athletic ability--- they use a strict point system. I'm told that it is not corrupted YET and we plan to eventually show in OPEN classes (not just restricted to Arabians) as soon as we can after testing the waters. Although there is a general prejudice against Arabians, we aim to show Warmblood people that Arabians can be just as calm, well behaved, and athletic as their prized Warmbloods (who BTW have Arabian blood in their veins as a foundation) and to erase some of the impressions of the "crazed" Arabian halter horses. Bette
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > ....Don't, let's DON'T - follow in the footsteps of t he show > ring or else we are doomed to degrade our sport to a political machine. > s [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Aside from the now well known scandals - which by the way are just the > tip of a nasty iceberg, Arabian A shows are expensive in the extreme, > profoundly political, and offensively snooty. Before one pays for a > single CLASS< the other fees easily add up to about $195 for ONE HORSE! > At $20-$40 per class, well you get the picture. For this, one is > subjected to THEE MOST SUBJECTIVE form of adjudication possible still > functioning. I have always thought that the riders should wear bags over > their heads so as not to unduly sway the judges/trainers. Where else can > you see the adjudicators having an ongoing, vested interest in who wins > or loses? Baseball? Basketball? Track and Field? Judges showing under > each other is ludicrous. Of course it is open to huge abuse and scandal > because the system invites and encourages it. > > Put bags over their heads and let them compete on numbers only. Take the > judge/trainer combination OUT and hire suitably trained judges who have > no vested interest. It is an insult to people of reasonable intelligence > to state that no one could possibly adjudicate fairly or well if they > were not trainers/breeders, owners, etc. Right. And this system is > better? Clearly it is not. Boggs/Midwest, the Treetop Scandal, and many, > MANY others are simply the result of greed, exceptionally selfish and > unfeeling individuals who think their you-know-what doesn't stink - > taking FULL advantage of a horribly structured system that by its own > design takes fair and level competition right out of the show ring. > Clearly, after over 20 years showing in both breed and open, it is > incumbent upon US to retain the integrity of our sport by NOT letting > the power or control or decision-making over to an entity (FEI??) who > has more vested interest in personal involvement of trainers, etc - than > AERC has now. Don't, let's DON'T - follow in the footsteps of t he show > ring or else we are doomed to degrade our sport to a political machine. > s -- Bette Lamore Whispering Oaks Arabians Home of 16.2h TLA Halynov who lives on through his legacy Hal's Riverdance! http://www.arabiansporthorse.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
