Showdown at the BMX corral

Man, to say that I am peeved would be putting it mildly. Hayden has done so well at BMX that he is only one race away from the intermediate class. He is currently a novice. The classes are novice, intermediate, expert, and lastly pro. We were feeling confident that tonight would be the night that he advanced. They make a pretty big deal out of it when you advance. They stop the races and do a little ceremony and you get a certificate and everyone cheers. Huge deal for a kid. Tonight though things didn't go according to plan. Hayden looked amazing in practice, and we were all feeling pretty good. He was racing against 2 other kids we've never seen before, both 7 year olds. Since there were only 3 kids total they do 2 motos (a race where the top riders advance, so there would be at least 3 riders in the main event) and a main event. You stay with the same group of children through all of your motos and your main event. His first moto this one little boy, who was taller and way heavier than Hayden was very aggressive, and he and Hayden were handlebar to handlebar until the first turn where he crashed Hayden to the ground. Hayden got up with no problem and finished in 3rd. The second moto Hayden completely spanked aggressive boy and the other rider and easily took 1st. So, for the main event aggressive boy was literally almost out for blood after being beat in the second round. The minute they came off of the gate, he made a straight and deliberate shot almost face to face with Hayden. Hayden crashed so hard that his head banged the dirt and he flipped a few times. Very scary! The other boy took a minor spill, but got up quickly and finished. I have never seen Hayden soo upset and scared. He happened to crash right in front of us, maybe within 15 feet. It was absolutely terrifying. He did manage to get up and finish to thunderous applause. But, he was shaking so bad at the finish line that I was pretty worried. I carried him to the stands where we met up with Jon, who had just finished filing a grievance and cussing out aggressive kid's dad! Our biggest issue is that a 7 year old is more than likely taught to ride and cut people off that way. It is a well known fact in BMX that you need to be in front first to have a good shot at winning. And, it is even taught in clinics and workshops how to cut in front of people. That technique has gotten so out of hand that the rules will change as of January 1st. Anyone caught cutting people off before a certain point on the track will be disqualified. So, tonight the aggressive boy and his dad got a warning. But let me tell you that I have never seen a kid that young that aggressive and downright mean. Hayden is adamant that he will never race that kid again. Unfortunately there aren't many 6 year olds in Hayden's age class so he will almost always race older kids. I know it may sound as if I am an angry mom, and Jon a ticked off dad, but so many people had our backs tonight. They came up to us to inquire about Hayden and express their displeasure at the other little boy's aggression and cheap tactics. I was so grateful for the support of the other people at the track tonight. I don't think I have ever seen Jon so mad. He is not a confrontational person at all and he was seething tonight. Hayden is ok. His head is fine, he does however have a goose-egg on his elbow and one on his shin. We took him to I-Hop for chocolate chip pancakes with bacon, his choice. He is now crashed. I might need a Valium though. This sport is scary. Especially when your baby is out there, one of the littlest kids on the track. He will have 2 more attempts to advance to intermediate before the season ends December 15th, and I am not so sure I can watch. I know he has the skills to be great at this, but I am still scared.