Re: RC: Re: Dance Line

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 3/24/00 9:45:40 AM Pacific Standard Time, Tivers@aol.com 
writes:

<< And I'm sure that one of the first race car drivers to get a tach told his 
 crew that he didn't like it because he could already hear what the engine 
was 
 doing. Must be some kind of Capitalist conspiracy that every race car now 
has 
 a tach.  >>

By the same token, the race driver who relies on his tach and never listens 
to his engine is gonna get in trouble, and likely hasn't made it to the big 
time, either.  Most race drivers grew up tinkering on cars since they were 
big enough to walk and already have a good "ear" for an engine before they 
ever crawl behind the wheel of a race car.  When endurance started out, the 
same was true of endurance riders, since most were horsemen coming from 
ranching backgrounds or other disciplines.  The demographics of the sport 
don't even begin to resemble that now.  A large number of endurance riders 
are actually even first time HORSE owners, let alone new to the sport.  They 
need to learn to "drive" before they can even begin to figure out the 
fine-tuning.  If you have never been in a car in your life, it's often all 
you can do just to watch the road, and until you get that mastered, you're 
not ready to graduate to further distractions, no matter HOW many useful 
facts they may give you once you get the hang of it.  I still remember a 
perfectly serious letter to the EN many years ago, from a sincere but 
beginning rider who wanted to know why it was that he could not get his 
horse's pulse over 80 on his HRM going up hills late in rides.  Clearly (he 
went on to state) the horse must NOT be tired, if his pulse was that low.  It 
takes a certain amount of experience to be able to come to the correct 
conclusions, no matter how many "facts" you happen to have at your 
disposal--you could likely give my dog a complete set of blueprints on how to 
put together a race car engine and a complete tool chest, too, but I doubt 
that he would get the job done (and not just because he lacks opposable 
thumbs).

This isn't about whether folks "like" high-tech stuff or not--it's about 
learning to walk before you try to run.

Heidi