Re: Tevis (long)

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

Completed Tevis as a novice on a novice horse ajack2many
I have been reading the ridecamp archives on the Tevis for the past few days and cannot keep quiet any longer.  Why is it that there is always a small number of members in any group that believe that more restrictions on participants will resolve an undesirable situation.  I am referring to the notion of having to qualify for the Tevis Cup.  One of the most refreshing aspects of the Western States Ride is that it IS open to anyone!  You do not have to be an endurance rider to participate.  I know that many competitive trail riders have completed with success and so have other equestrians that do NOT have a "competitive" distance backround.  In my opinion, it takes an equestrian with "good horse sense" which includes good judgement and good horsemanship plus a little luck to complete the ride.  There are several "pleasure" riders that may never attend an endurance ride that fit this description.  Think of the riders who may "pack" with their animals on trails very similar to the Western States...their experience with a pack string may be much more useful on a ride like this than the typical endurance rider.  There are trail riders I know that have animals that are more than capable of handling the trail and the distance and yet they have never competed in an endurance event.  I would love to know if all the horses treated this year how many belonged to experienced endurance riders and how many were novice or non endurance riders.  Unfortunately, there will always be horses whose riders get them into trouble (whether intentional or not) - In events as demanding as this horses will be treated - Qualifying at a previous ride will NOT prevent this - I have read on more than one occasion about the number of horses treated at International FEI events - all of those horses and riders have probably qualified at several rides before being chosen/invited to compete. I think that the Western States Trail Foundation gives a great description of the demands and difficulties of the event in its handbook - I bet most entrants ta
ery seriously...if not there wouldn't be so many people pulling their entries at the last minute. The vets at the ride do a great job on trying to weed out horses with potential problems early in the ride.  In my opinion riders/competitors need to accept full responsibility for the condition of their animal (I get so tired of hearing about the elusive stone bruise that caused the lameness or the lame excuses for metabolic problems)and admit that they over rode or did not read their animal correctly and take steps so the problem does not occur again.  Observers, non riders and other competitiors should not jump to the conclusion that "more rules and restrictions" will keep horses from being treated.  In my opinion, it will only cause some riders to try to hide their animal's problem from the vet until it becomes too serious to hide.  How many times have we walked by a horse being treated and made the snide comment or thought "So & so thrashed their horse"  This type of attitude is not any more beneficial to the sport than the person who overrode the animal.  Thanks for letting me vent and I'll go back to "lurking"