Successful ride managers will adjust to changing situations and roll with the punches. As much as we would like to think our ride will run smoothly, more than likely it will not go exactly as planned with everything being perfect.

Ride managers put so much thought into a ride, along with sweat and tears, but stuff just happens. They will need to learn to not let every little thing stress them out, think fast on their feet, and go with the flow. They must always remember that AERC rules must always be observed even as they adjust to situations and never jeopardize the welfare of the horse. The following are a couple of examples that come up at rides where ride managers can do some compromising if they so desire:

Trail troubles. When riders miss a trail, the ride manager can send them out to make up the miles. If the riders do not ride the entire trail in the correct order, you can't give them a placing. You can give them a completion, but you can also disqualify them. This can cause hurt feelings by riders who feel the trail was poorly marked but if under the pressure, the ride manager gives the placing, other riders would also have legitimate complaints.

The ride manager can also direct the riders out to the point where they went wrong and they may continue on the correct trail in order to receive a placing.

Overtime options. If riders come in over the time limit, the ride manager cannot give a completion according to AERC rules, but in order to reward their efforts most ride managers will give them a "ride" completion, with a completion award, just not officially through AERC.

Ride managers should never put themselves in a situation that compromises the rules and possibly place themselves in the middle of a protest. It is of utmost importance that each ride manager know the rules. Be sure to have an AERC rule book handy in case a question comes up. If there is an AERC director at the ride, he or she will be able to assist you in looking for the correct answers.

Most ride managers are very accommodating to the riders and will bend over backward in order to give the riders a great experience. There are many options in most of these situations that arise and successful ride managers will try to do what is most fair to everyone involved without breaking any rules.

Sometimes successful ride managers have learned when the time is right to throw in the towel and cancel the ride or to try to make changes in order to hold the ride.

One ride manager had to make the decision whether to cancel or not when the road to get to the vet check was being worked on and was impassable with a horse trailer. He had to think about the safety of the horse if one of them were to get in trouble and needed transportation out. After trying to think of any changes in the trail he could make with the short notice and coming up with nothing, he made the decision to cancel.

Another ride manager had a bad storm the night before the ride date and the trails were flooded. Instead of canceling, he was able to reroute the entire ride on dirt roads the morning of the ride and held the ride a couple of hours late.

Both these ride managers were quick thinkers and did what they felt were best for the riders and the horses. Seems like most rides will have something unexpectedly come up that will make the ride manager compromise the original plans. These unplanned events don't always mean disaster, as long as the ride manager is able roll with the punches and stay calm, cool and collected.