Since Wulfric already put the attachment in the full email, I'm just forwarding this to our list.  (No need to reinvent the wheel!) <g>
Alicia

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From: "Andrew Lang" <ajlang@...>
Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2007 4:37 AM
To: meridianCavalry@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [MeridianCavalry] From the KEO

I've included the notes below Yaasamiin's letter as I know most yahoo groups strip off attachments.
Regards,
Wulfric




Greetings All,

First I'd like to say, it was a great pleasure to finally meet at Gulf
Wars the people I've known for years on the SCAeq-elist. Many thanks to
those who took time to show me around and make sure of my comforts. I
had a wonderful time and can't believe I have to wait until next year to
see you all again. The equestrian activities were abundant and that
really impressed me. Mistress Ellawyn, the Equestrian Steward, reported
86 riders and 34 horses... wow!

The Society Eq. Meeting took place after the Mounted Combat Melee on
Friday morning with 27 attending. Good attendance, good questions asked,
good ideas shared and a good connection made with our equestrian family
and friends. The attached meeting notes were supplied by Duchess
Angharad from AnTir with only a few edits by myself. Here I elaborate on
my closing statement about The Age of Cooperation.

I live in the West and my horses are boarded on the Oregon Trail in
Boise, Idaho. The Lewis and Clark Expedition is well remembered here
through reenactments and celebrations. I like to think that Lewis and
Clark brought the West to the rest of the world just like we are
bringing equestrian activities to the SCA. The Age of Cooperation is a
phrase used by Lewis and Clark to describe the community spirit
experienced during their arduous journey in the early 1800s to the
Pacific Ocean and back. The Corps of Discovery encountered many native
civilizations who assisted them on their journey. They could not have
accomplished this great task without them and each other, not to mention
their interpreter, Sacajawea. It’s a story of continental sweep and
eventually of global significance. I see our SCA equestrian program in
the same light. Like the voyagers who made up the Corps of Discovery, we
started our journey in the SCA with some understanding of where we
wanted to be and what we needed in order to accomplish our desires for
historical reenactment of pre-17th century mounted activities. We could
not have come as far as we have without the help of some, and the rest
of us make up the extended family that we are. As I see it in our Lewis
and Clark journey, we have made it to the West Coast and we are now on
our way back. We know the course and as we make our way toward our
future, it will take even more cooperation and physical fitness, because
the future holds even more adventure than what we experienced before. By
raising the bar on the level of authenticity in our reenactment, we
create an even more romantic dream not just for ourselves, but for those
who come to watch and dream they could do the same as we. We cannot do
this without devout co-operation from everyone already in the program. I
know you all want to see a freer SCA when it concerns equine activities.
We cannot do it with haphazard marshaling nor with careless concerns for
the populace, but we can do it with training and education. Remember
that we must work in co-operation in order to make our goals become
real. All of these words were not spoken at the meeting, however, this
is the message I wanted to get across. I hope these words strike a
reckoning of harmony in your core and that it is felt across the knowne
world.

Upon closing this post, I’ll add that we equestrians are a minority in
the SCA and our presence is appreciated by many. We add to the Dream not
just for ourselves but for those who participate in watching what we do.
However, there are a few kingdoms who experience factions among their
equestrians creating many hard feelings among our family and those who
run their kingdoms. Let’s remember to leave our differences at home and
bring to the field a community of accomplished training.

Please feel free to post any or all of the above letter as well as the
notes from the Gulf Wars equestrian meeting.

In Service to the Equestrian Dream for the SCA,
Yaasamiin

(((*)))
--

Mu’allemah Yaasamiin al-Raqqasa al-'Alaa'iiyiyya OL, OP
Society Equestrian Officer
www.sca.org/officers/equestrian/welcome.html
equestrian@...
Yaasamiina@...













Notes:

Society Equestrian Meeting held at Gulf Wars, March 16, 2007



The meeting was opened by the Society Equestrian Marshal, Mu'allemah Yaasamiin al-Raqqasa al-'Alaa'iiyiyya. She started out by telling everyone present that we need to all work together. We need to learn to agree to disagree. We need to be one happy family. Friends do not hurt each other.



Gleann Abhann, the 19th Kingdom of the Society, now has a KEO, all the Kingdoms of the Knowne World now have horse programs.



The Society equestrian program has Equestrian (EQ) Marshals out there who should not be Marshals. This needs to be cleaned up without hurting anyone.



The Society Equestrian Book is in the process of being re-written to make it easier to understand and to mainly address safety issues. It has received the blessing of the Society Earl Marshal. It will be going before the BOD at their next meeting. After the Handbook is made Official – go ahead and start making changes to your own Kingdom’s Handbooks if you want to do so. You can add the cultural items for your Kingdoms.



Per the Kingdom’s Domesday reports there are over 1,000 authorized riders in the SCA and 160 EQ Marshals.



Train hard and have Fun. People need to not come to the EQ field unless they’ve been properly trained to do what they’re doing. Don’t just throw people on horses and qualify them. Stop doing authorizations on maid/push button horses – this does not usually reflect people’s abilities. Make new riders train well before they get authorized – they need to earn the right to be an authorized rider. Be careful about training people because of the liability issues. Authorized riders – we will trust your judgment – what you’re able to do. Someone who’s not an authorized rider will have to have lots of supervision. Realize that not all EQ Marshals are good trainers – not all of them are good with people.



Encourage Knights and others to come out and play – don’t keep your program too closed off. Don’t guard the flame – share the fun.



Liability issues – riders need to inspect their own equipment – do their own safety check. The EQ Marshals should not be doing this because of the liability issues.



You are a safety officer for the SCA – we need to protect our insurance coverage. If we mess up, we could lose the fact that we only pay $35 a year to be covered and play in this organization.



If you have a problem with an EMIC at an event, don’t cause a scene, report it after the event. Treat people like adults not children.



Leave ego out of things. Leave personal issues at home. Keep your butt in the saddle – be respectful. Past conflicts have affected relations with the Crowns and their EQ programs.



There are no “unofficial” practices. – anywhere that SCA court business, authorizations, etc. happen, it’s an event and therefore “official”. You can have an “unofficial” practice in your backyard, but don’t do authorizations there. You are liable if you doing things by SCA conventions, i.e. authorizations. It becomes “official” if there are SCA EQ Marshals present and running things.



You must have insurance coverage for any SCA workshops, practices, etc. One $50.00 fee can cover the one site if you send in the dates for the whole year. One date change and you’ll have to get a new certificate for the new date.

If you ride in a parade – register as a re-enactment group, not as the SCA if you haven’t got the SCA insurance certificate for it.



VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE!!!!! To comply with State Laws and the SCA policies -SCA EQ Signage must be posted at every event where there are horses present! See the SCA Marshal’s page on the SCA website for the correct signage. Do not change a word on it – that is illegal! Each State has its own verbiage. If your Kingdom covers more than one state, make sure you have signs for each state where EQ activities occur and used the correct signage. If you do not have the correct signage posted at every SCA event where horses are present – your program will be suspended! Follow the signage size rules. There is no minimum number of signs required – do whatever is reasonable for the site.



Also, EQ rosters and waivers need to be in use! We must follow these rules. No exceptions!



There is some work being done to see if there can be a waiver at the gate that covers EQ activities.



Our legal counsel is not seeing much hope for minor waivers. Florida and Georgia have passed State Laws that there are no such thing as minor waivers. Many States say that parents cannot waive their children’s rights - Act accordingly.



Minors should ride their own horses, with their own tack. This creates less potential liability issues. Don’t do anything for them, that you might be potentially blamed for if there is a problem. No loaner horses, no loaner gear or weapons, don’t give them any training. They need to provide anything that might fail. Ground crew can hand them up their own equipment, but it would be better to have the parent be the ground crew.



There are no prescribed areas for barriers – i.e. for processions, in an open field. People holding lead ropes can be considered a barrier. It can be EQ Marshals stationed every 100’, out-walkers, hand-walkers, a truck blocking the road, signage, bells on horses for mounted patrol, etc.



KEOs have been put on a roster system – they will get a signed warrant – just like Heavy Marshals.



Grow your EQ program – with training – all EQ Marshals should be trained enough to be KEO – they are in essence deputies to the KEO. They must be a people person, make reports. Be trained before you become an authorized rider and marshal. KEOs need to be more thorough at warranting their marshals. KEOs should be the only person making EQ Marshals. Create efficient safety officers for the program.



The Society Equestrian Marshal has a say in who the KEO is in each Kingdom.



This is the Age of Cooperation (Lewis & Clark). Help people in the SCA understand what we’re doing – they already think we’re cool.



There was a discussion about whether an EQ Marshal needs to be a rider or not. In some instances someone has an extensive equestrian background and due to age, disability or whatever, can no longer ride. They can still be an asset to an EQ program.



Guidelines and conventions will be set to help us when changing the rules.



Trust is important –earn it—you’ve earned the trust of your horse because you’ve been respectful of his/her needs. Same for each other. Let’s treat each other as adults.



The group was thanked for the heavy combat melee that happened before the meeting on the battlefield. People were really impressed. We were invited to do it again next year.



There was a discussion about stallions being at SCA events. There was talk about how some can be fine, some not so much. Mark them? Regardless, an EQ Marshal has the right to refuse any horse on a site if they are a problem.











Notes Taken by Duchess Angharad Banadaspus Drakenhefd and edited by Mu’allemah Yaasamiin al-Raqqasa al-‘Alaa’iiyiyya, Society Equestrian Officer.





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