>>>> However, I think Will Covert DID have some success (as a FEIF International Judge) in getting them to listen - at least the Peruvian spade bit has been banned. All kudos to him, and especially to Sali Peterson who first made a noise to the USIHC about the use of the bit and got Will to go to FEIF with it.
All the stuff I read from Americans gave me the impression they (the writers of the posts) gave me was that they were almost more concerned about the "cultural invasion" of using a Spanish-associated bit. Maybe I'm wrong, but I didn't get the feeling that the rage was so much directed towards the harshness of the bit. I really think there was a "there goes the neighborhood" attitude at work, compromising the exclusive culture of Iceland. And I think the wording of the FEIF rules on bits is ludicrous. I hate the phrasing of disallowing bits "from other cultures." In this day and age, most bits are used internationally - good bits and bad bits. "Culture" has nothing to do with it - in fact, they have recently embraced the horrible leveler noseband, and that most certainly isn't an old Icelandic custom - neither are the nasty Pessoa bitting rigs they sell on astund.is. It's perfectly possible to define bits by their mechanics, their dimensions, etc., and to ban bits that don't meet certain minimal standards. Other breeds and disciplines do it all the time. Come to think of it, dropped nosebands aren't part of "Icelandic culture" - any more than Peruvian bits are... But, by gawd, we see dropped nosebands with long-shanked bits all the time. Nasty... FEIF and all its members could cut to the chase and drop all the "cultural" smoke and mirrors and make rules that aren't so easy for the loophole-lookers to find. "Culture" is a word that has no place in any show standards - it's a human word. Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.17.12/1203 - Release Date: 12/30/2007 11:27 AM IceHorses Community for Photos and Videos: http://kickapps.com/icehorses "The greatest enemy of the truth very often is not the lie- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive and unrealistic." "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer [] Lee Ziegler http://leeziegler.com [] Liz Graves http://lizgraves.com [] Lee's Book Easy Gaited Horses http://tinyurl.com/7vyjo [] IceHorses Map http://www.frappr.com/IceHorses Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
