Editorial
As I have stated previously, some 11 years ago,
I met Bernie Schreiber at the International Robregordo two-day trial near Madrid. I am pleased to say that we chatted for a while and discovered we had some mutual friends and acquaintances in the trials world. He was polite and took a genuine interest in the matters that we discussed. Never did I imagine that some years later, he would be sitting in my lounge chatting openly about such diverse subjects as machine control and American politics!
Bernie had accepted our club’s invitation to be Guest of Honour at our now very popular and internationally recognised Highland Classic Two-day event in June.
Rather than put him up in a hotel, I decided to invite him to my home. It provided ease of transportation to and from the event and allowed him to experience Scottish hospitality that a hotel could not offer. More than that Bernie had arranged, with my assistance, the first of his innovative ZEROBS Experience days which was eagerly awaited and has now expanded over to Canada, the USA and Spain with all three events fully subscribed. Bernie is not only back into trials, but also back to basics. He believes that his Schreiber Experience is exactly that; it is memorable and gets riders to think about what they want to achieve and, most importantly, how they are going to do it? The comment from my house guest that stuck in my mind is “John, an idea without a plan is merely a dream”. How true.
Bernie was so taken with his first visit to Scotland since his win at the six days on the SWM in 1982 that he has plans to attend the Leven Valley Two Day at Kinlochleven in September. I briefed him about this event before he headed south to take in more meetings during his week-long visit to the UK.
Bernie is a shrewd operator; he is no fool, don’t underestimate his knowledge and ability; he did not become a World Trials Champion in very competitive times by accident. Just because he has been absent from the trials paddock for many years does not mean he doesn’t understand the problems that face our sport in 2019. The sport of Observed Trials has fragmented over the last 20 years; maybe it needs a Bernie Schreiber plan to steer it through troubled times?