Re: Ride Meals, Entry Fees and LD BC

["Maggie Mieske" <mmieske@netonecom.net>]

Lynne,
Not being in your neck of the woods, I can't speak for everybody and every
area but I can tell you that I don't believe that a BC is necessarily won
by racing at any distance, 25 or 50 or 100.  I have won 2 BC awards at a 25
LD....at one my horse pulsed down 3rd and most recently he pulsed down 1st.
 Though 3 of us rode in a group in the lead at this last LD, I never felt
that we were racing...the horses all settled into a comfortable trot/lope
(well, the one gal rode a standardbred so she TROTTED the whole way).  It
was Malik's first "endurance" (format anyway) ride.  He performed to
perfection...eating, drinking and going down that trail like a trooper. 
The standardbred was a mare and he was a perfect gentleman.  We rode into
the finish at an easy lope, he announced his arrival and pulsed down in 2
minutes.  It was a cool day but we did some electrolyting anyway a couple
of times so he knows the routine.  I was surprised at our ride time...it
was a lot faster than I thought we were going.  It was not an easy trail,
certainly not flat with lots of sand and hills and some rocky areas.  He
had a ball and won a BC to boot.  This weekend he does his first
50...pretty flat, some sandy areas if I remember correctly and may be hot
and humid (depends on the weatherman's whims).  Malik will probably do some
more 25s this year mixed in with some 50s...of course, all this depends on
him.  I would like to think that the BC is more important than first across
the line with LDs...we do still have the rule about order of finish is
order of pulsing down, right?  I know that's how we did it last month.  Had
to pulse down to 60.  Anyway, I LOVE the award we received...sort of a
stadium blanket with the name of the ride (Little Manistee Memorial Ride)
and Best Condition embroidered on it.  A wonderful start to what I hope
will be a long and glorious career for Malik. My score sheets are important
to me because I use them as tools to improve what we do for our
horses....what can we do next time to have a better score in such and such
an area or whatever.  I wish we could all keep copies of our vet cards,
too!!   Anyway, keep an open mind...I know it may seem like you shouldn't
fuss over LD that much to discourage the "bad eggs" who are going to race
anyway but know what?  There are bad eggs out there racing their horses
into the ground on 50s!  Or 100s!  There's always going to be some at any
distance!  I think the LD rides contribute financially to the success of
some rides and may draw riders that might not come otherwise.  Again, what
the heck do I know?  But thought I'd share my thoughts with you.  BTW, I
thought LD only stood the first 6 finishers for BC?  Did that change, too? 



Maggie Mieske
Mieske's Silver Lining
10601 S. Richards Rd.
McBain, Michigan 49657
http://www.netonecom.net/~mmieske
mmieske@netonecom.net