Alright, lets be clear here: ONLY THE TEAM THAT DID MOST DAMAGE CAN LOOT THE DESERT RIDER!
I don't know where this myth comes from, but it's wrong. And I can't stand it if wrong information is being spread. I was in the RI that won damage, and all 12 items were rolled and looted by team members.
The adds (desert leets) also drop loot and I'm not sure how lootrights work for those (I clicked a few but only got "somebody already is looting these remains" and not "You're not allowed to loot these remains" or "there is nothing you can loot inside" (with /team loot leader being on).
The third way to get loot at this encounter is from some torch everybody can click. It's small and despawns fast, so I don't have my jetpack yet :P.
I think the most important thing is to lower the amount of items needed. Other problems hopefully will be solved as things calm down... .