Great weekend at River Glen

[trubandloki]

@subk

Your sport may need you, but they treat you like you are a stupid moron. And you let them. Sheep.

You think if you just follow the rules, whatever those rules may be, that they’ll let you continue to show. They could tell you the rule is to drop your pants and sing a song and you’d do it even though it won’t change transmission rates and then when there is transmission (the acceptable threshold is zero so there will be too many transmissions) they’ll shut you down anyway…and then probably blame you for not singing loud enough. Having stupid requirements that aren’t based on science aren’t going protect anyone from either the virus or lawsuits. Nor is following them going to keep events running.

Um. Wow. I am sorry for you that you are so angry.

I just want to clarify something. I am not volunteering so I can show. The likeliness of me showing anytime in the near future (years) is none. I can promise that Covid is not stopping me or changing my ability to show. What I like to do with my horse is just enjoy riding and try some new things. If I ever event it will be the lowest intro level possible.
My willingness to volunteer is because horse sports, even those I do not personally participate in, require lots of volunteers. I appreciate the volunteers in life that make things I want to do happen, so volunteering myself seems like the right thing to do.

Do I think the rule that mask always is over kill? Most certainly.
But a black and white rule makes things much easier for everyone to follow, so that part makes total sense to me.

Thankfully no one is requiring you to show or volunteer so none of this horrible mask wearing requirement will cause you any discomfort.

[baywithwhite]

@subk

Your sport may need you, but they treat you like you are a stupid moron. And you let them. Sheep.

You think if you just follow the rules, whatever those rules may be, that they’ll let you continue to show. They could tell you the rule is to drop your pants and sing a song and you’d do it even though it won’t change transmission rates and then when there is transmission (the acceptable threshold is zero so there will be too many transmissions) they’ll shut you down anyway…and then probably blame you for not singing loud enough. Having stupid requirements that aren’t based on science aren’t going protect anyone from either the virus or lawsuits. Nor is following them going to keep events running.

There is a lot of anger in this post. The virus is out of control in the United States. Most other first world countries have it under control, it has been shown that mask wearing is a big part of that. I think wearing a mask is a stupid hill to die on. If it lets us get back to a semblance of normal and be able to hold shows and events, I just don’t see a mask being worth the level of angst and anger you have written in your post. Quite frankly I find wearing a bra more uncomfortable at times. YMMV.

[Marigold]

@subk

Just remember that every time you throw your leg over a saddle you are accepting risk. The average eventer–young, healthy, fit–doesn’t die from this thing any more than they die from the flu. (More flu deaths in the under 40 crowd in my state this year than from covid.) There’s a jump somewhere out on course that is a greater potential risk to your wellbeing than covid.

Most of your post I am going to leave alone. But I will address this. Every time I throw my leg over my saddle I am accepting risk - for myself and my horse. Yes, there are people who love me and who may be sad if I was gone, but I have no dependents (other than the horse, and there are provisions for her should that be required), so when I choose to undertake a riskier behaviour for myself, I’m not putting another person on the line and it’s my choice to make. (Again, leaving aside my position on things I’ve talked about here before, like making a genuinely irresponsible choice on horseback that exposes the horse/sport/organizers/course designer/whatever to more harm/heartache/lawsuits than they deserved, etc).

Conversely, I live with someone who had a liver transplant last year. My riding coach is in his eighties. My parents have chronic health conditions. I’m lucky enough to still have grandparents. I am highly unlikely to die from this thing. But I am not the person I am worried about. It is unacceptable to me that one day the answer to “What happened to that person you love?” could be “Me. I brought some COVID over to visit and I happened to them.” I’m not going to be responsible for someone’s death if I can absolutely help it. And I recognize that this is new, which means the science is far from conclusive on it, and what could help stop it or cure it is uncertain and frankly likely to change as we learn more. So yes, if someone asks me to do a trivial thing in the hopes that it may help people not to die, I’m going to do it. And if that means wearing a mask, or singing a song, or hopping on one leg, fine. My ego isn’t so big that I must avoid every personal inconvenience unless the Nobel Committee themselves will prove it’s worth my time.

As for my mental health, I’ve got no complaints, largely because I don’t let things like a piece of fabric on my face get my blood pressure up.

@baywithwhite

Quite frankly I find wearing a bra more uncomfortable at times. YMMV.

^^^ Best and most accurate post I’ve read in weeks. 10/10.

[RainWeasley]

@subk

Your sport may need you, but they treat you like you are a stupid moron. And you let them. Sheep.

You think if you just follow the rules, whatever those rules may be, that they’ll let you continue to show. They could tell you the rule is to drop your pants and sing a song and you’d do it even though it won’t change transmission rates and then when there is transmission (the acceptable threshold is zero so there will be too many transmissions) they’ll shut you down anyway…and then probably blame you for not singing loud enough. Having stupid requirements that aren’t based on science aren’t going protect anyone from either the virus or lawsuits. Nor is following them going to keep events running.

A little science and common sense from our over lords sure would go a long way, about now. There is no substantial science that even looks at masks (or social distancing) as it pertains to suppressing viral transmissions while outside. Why? One reason is because the smart people who study these things see so few transmissions that likely happen outside that nobody has even thought it beneficial to study. Why do these smart people see so few transmissions? First there is UV light. The biggest source of UV light is sunshine and we have known that sunlight is a very effective disinfectant for over a hundred years. Yes, it kills coronavirus–in one study in the virus survived less than 3 minutes when exposed to UV light. Even without the benefits of UV light from the sun, studies are showing that heat kills it too. A few hours once you get to 70 and much faster as you increase the heat and/or humidity. That effects of sunlight, heat and humidity are so significant in killing virus (75 degrees, 80% humidity plus sunlight and virus died in under 2 minutes in one study) is another reason no one has done an outdoor study on masks–they can’t actually keep the virus alive long enough and control all the different variable that kill it to do a study outdoors. But sure, if the USEF wants you to hop on one leg to fight the virus, ya’ll go right ahead. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Just remember that every time you throw your leg over a saddle you are accepting risk. The average eventer–young, healthy, fit–doesn’t die from this thing any more than they die from the flu. (More flu deaths in the under 40 crowd in my state this year than from covid.) There’s a jump somewhere out on course that is a greater potential risk to your wellbeing than covid. People need to get a grip, reject the hysteria, move on from the fear and accept some risk. And if it’s a level of risk you can’t accept then isolate and hope the mental health demons don’t get you. (They may already have.) The USEF needs to get back to the business rule oversight and let us manage our own tolerance of risk.

And no, you guys don’t have to worry about me ruining it for the rest of your because I’m not interested running their gauntlet. I won’t be there. I’m a rules follower by nature and won’t go if the rules are too stupid for people with a functioning front lobe to follow. And when enough of us won’t be there because we refuse to let the USEF treat us like morons then there really won’t be any more events. I did think the desperate follow up email from the USEA today encouraging people to keep their entries at other events was telling and ominous.

The second you called people “sheep”, you lost all credibility. You sound like a conspiracy theorist loony tune.

[enjoytheride]

Wow. Just. Wow.

[jumpsnake]

@baywithwhite

There is a lot of anger in this post. The virus is out of control in the United States. Most other first world countries have it under control, it has been shown that mask wearing is a big part of that. I think wearing a mask is a stupid hill to die on. If it lets us get back to a semblance of normal and be able to hold shows and events, I just don’t see a mask being worth the level of angst and anger you have written in your post. Quite frankly I find wearing a bra more uncomfortable at times. YMMV.

100%
i ALWAYS find wearing a bra more uncomfortable than wearing a mask. I hate bras with a passion, and hate that I have to wear one to avoid being too nipple- forward. I hardly even notice the mask anymore.

[OTTBs]

@enjoytheride

The Arabian people are having to do in hand classes with masks on, so it probably wasn’t them. I’m not interested in reading a conservative opinion. It doesn’t change the current rules and I am volunteering because my sport needs me now more than ever, masks or not.

Try reading again for comprehension.

Subk, I <3 you!

It was awesome to get my USEA magazine in the mail yesterday. As much as I read, there were THREE times where it said “wear a mask when unable to maintain 6 feet of distance.”