AERC National Championship

["John Proudman GGPL B-262" <johnp@lpsi.barc.usda.gov>]

>If you want excitement and attention, think of what the Triple Crown means 
>in TB racing.  Each of the 3 races is prestigious, but combining the three 
>means that the winning horse isn't a fluke.  I could really get behind the 
>idea of a Triple Crown.  How about Tevis, OD and a final NC race that moves 
>every year?  Lif

This is true, but then racehorses of this caliber have won a lot of 
money.  Their owners can afford to transport them cross-country to 
compete, and the riders and supporters are professionals who are not 
taking time off from work.  Between expense and travel time, few 
endurance riders could afford to compete in the Tevis, OD and one other 
common ride.  The problem with having several designated 100-milers 
throughout the country is that you never have ANY head-to-head 
competition, and points earned at one ride are not necessarily equivalent 
to points earned at another.  But perhaps such points could be used as a 
qualifier for entry in a single, head-to-head ride late in the season.  
You have lots of options of how to do this so as to get fair 
representation from the weight divisions and geographical regions, but at 
least all of the competitors would then have done a substantial number of 
100-mile rides during the season and placed well in at least some of 
those rides.  The winning horse could not be a fluke.  It would be a LOT 
more difficult to qualify than finishing in the top 5 in your weight 
division at one ride.  A tougher qualification would add to the prestige 
of the ride, and of winning.  It might reduce the entries, but then it 
might have the opposite effect- riders would be more willing to invest 
the time and expense if they had worked hard throughout the year to 
qualify.

As for the weight-division question, you could award a National 
Championship for each division (Divisional Champion?), but *THE National 
Champion* would be the horse and rider that finish first in this 
head-to-head ride.

John