RCS CD-NEW – [NR] Require groom for cones 16-032

RCS # 16-032
Article – New
Summary – Require groom for cones
Proponent – Katie Whaley
Date Posted – 16July15
Change Date – 2016
Status –  Open for comments. Not recommended by CDC

Current wording – none

Suggested wording – All competitors must carry a groom/passenger in the cones 

Reason for change – Safety. We have seen too many accidents with people who have a marathon carriage in cones with no one on the back. Marathon carriages are designed to have someone on the back . Additionally presentation carriages with a basket on the back have the same effect the carriages are designed for the added weight of a groom.

I do not understand why the advanced levels has had a groom required for years for safety and not the lower levels, it seems the rule is backwards, although I do not advocate no groom for advanced

 

2 Response(s)

  1. wgallen says :

    August 6, 2015

    This is a bad idea. I agree that there’s a problem with safety, but adding a groom won’t help. The problem is that ADS and FEI have increased the speeds and the course designers aren’t taking that into account and are still designing courses that are dangerous. Plus, dressage vehicles aren’t suited to going that fast. Adding a groom only increases the cost of competing, without adding a commensurate degree of safety. I disagree with this proposal.

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  2. Bus Hamilton says :

    August 10, 2015

    I fully understand the safety concern here. At the lower levels training and preliminary I think the speeds are such that the groom is not needed. At intermediate level and above the groom I believe is necessary for safety. If a competitor is using a marathon vehicle the groom should be allowed to stand in the center motionless. If the groom is required to sit on one side of a marathon vehicle I think that is extremely dangerous. Obviously on some turns he or she will be on the wrong side. When we competed at the lower levels with my daughter who is a junior driver at the time, we encountered this same situation. We would simply asked the TD if the groom could stand in the middle of the marathon vehicle. We most always got a yes.

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