New weight restrictions on college riding team... opinions?

It won't apply to your own horse because you can't ride your own horse at school. You can haul them in and ride in open arena times, but not in lessons, competitions, classes, etc because of IHSA rules.

They probably do have it on the dressage team, but the dressage team does not have a webpage like the hunt seat and western teams so I was not able to acquire the information

I 100% agree with you MIEventer. Becky Holder, while she was a great rider before, is a really great rider now! She's still not a stick, and I respect her for that but she slimmed down for the health of her horse and to be a better rider.

For those who disagree you have to think about it like this.

If a school had a Lacrosse team, and held tryouts for it, you'd have to be physically fit in order to go through all the exercises that they expect you to, to be on their competitive team.

Which is why I hardly think there would be a lawsuit anyone could put against a school and win. Would you sue if you didn't meet the physical demands of the soccer team and therefore didn't get on the team?

Besides most college students wouldn't have the funds necessary to afford a lawsuit against an institution.

I for one have /never/ met a 200pound person who is healthy. I don't think it's possible, even if it was all muscle, it would still be unhealthy. The point of horseback riding is to work together with the horse and rider. So why should the horse have to be physically fit, when the rider isn't?

Now what if you were physically able to do the exercises but the coach said you were too fat to be on the team? Any lawyer would smell blood and take the case for a percentage of the take.

That would mean that my husband, who has not got an ounce of fat on him would not be allowed to ride.

Again, this particular school does not include men at all. It's a private all-women school. They would never be able to do this rule with men. Ever.

Yes but you CAN be on the team and 200lbs but can't compete. And most truly overweight or obese people wouldn't be able to physically do the exercises. Also most schools are Adroit enough to word things probably that you can't pin it on them.

Also I doubt a Pro-bono lawyer would take the case, they like taking cases that are more clear cut, like Employers taking advantage of employees etc etc.

I have a love/hate with American, We're the #1 country with the highest obesity rates. SOMETHING has to change. It's disgusting in my eyes.. sorry for who it will offend. But honestly, if you see nothing wrong with it then I don't know what to tell you.

I just think if people really wanted to ride, then they would change. I take back what I said about muscle, because my fiance weighs roughly 185, he is really tall & muscular. So he is close to being 200. Though, he doesn't ride.

But the US also has a high rate of people doing things like running marathons & triathlons. It's not just as simple as Americans getting fatter, it's almost as though the population is splitting in two.

I remember that when I was a kid (quite some time ago), adults hardly ever exercised. They'd do physical work (I grew up in farm country) and go hunting & fishing, but it was rare to see someone running or riding a bike. (And even for kids, biking to the next town - all of five miles away - was a big deal.) Yet there weren't a lot of really fat people around, and especially not the extreme cases I see riding electric carts in the local WalMart.

But on the other hand, neither were there very many body builders, marathon runners, people who'd commute 20-30 miles on a bike - or for that matter endurance riders - and today there are a lot of people doing such things. So the question is why the difference?

That is my thought also. I am 5'10 and 190 and I am in no way fat. I ride reiners who are all of 14'2 hands and I bet some of my horse so not way anywhere close to 1000lbs. I know a lot of reining trainers and riders who under those rules would never be allow to ride. Some are the best in the business. I would MUCH rather have Shawn or Tim (2 big guys) ride one of my horses then most 90lbs people I now.

There is just so much wrong with that rule.