03/02/2019
Yes, this definitely needs to be amended.
Dear Fellow Cutters & ACHA Members. While the NCHA is promoting our sport with this photo encouraging us to introduce our youth to the experience of being horseback. The ACHA chose to amend Rule 38M last year by adding No unsafe activities, such as riding double (INCLUDING SMALL CHILDREN) lead lining, ponying, or unruly horses or riders will be tolerated. Those of us who make our living in the cutting horse industry have raised our children in the arenas where we compete riding them double till they are big enough to ride solo. Most all of these kids raised in this environment have grown up to be pillars of the communities where they live and still have interest in horses, ie. the future of our sport. For Mary and I personally this has cost us precious time with our grandson Renner and son Tennessee for the reasons they would have made most of the shows we attended but since we were forbidden to ride Renner around or sat horseback while watching cattle to entertain the youngster, they chose to play Soccer instead of participating at the cuttings. This situation also cost the ACHA the entries missed by Tennessee not showing! I believe our kids develop a love for horses with this experience at this young age, there is a big difference in sitting on a horse or sitting in the stands, I prefer the horse for my grandsons! If we don’t work to interest these kids in horses at the earliest of age there will be no future Cutters’s! I’m asking for your support of my wishes that the ACHA revoke the amendment to rule 38M disallowing us to ride our children around in the arena. Please contact our President Mike Combs, Vice President John Dublin our board members Camille Abbott, Troy Buchanan, Mike Crumpler, Cletus Hulling Jr , Alvin Turner, Steven Kahla, Billy Bob Moore, Billy Owens and or Chris Woods! Tell them we want to ride our kids around if they want to ride , our sport has no future Without Em!!! PLEASE JOIN ME IN MAKING MY WISH HEARD ASAP! Thanks Gary Walker