Calculating Overall High Vet Scores

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

Darlene M. Anderson Nuts4Endurance@cs.com
OK, this question has been bothering me practically all ride season. I'm wondering what everyone else's thoughts are.

I have a problem when the ride managers include all the horses at a ride for their consideration in giving an award for overall high vet score. I love the award, and I think they should be given, HOWEVER...I don't believe that limited distance horses should be included in the consideration for the award.

The reason is that at any given ride we have 25, 50 and 75-100 mile distances offered. I don't think it's fair in any way for a horse that's gone 50+ miles to be judged against a horse that has only gone 25. For the long distance horses, this is only a warm up.

Should we present our long distance horses for a BC type exam at 25 miles so they will be equal to the limited distance horses? My bet is that the long distance horses will SMOKE the LD horses in scores!

Now, don't be thinking that I'm saying there should be no high vet score recognized for limited distance. I absolutely think there should be consideration for the best conditioned horse in every distance...What I am saying is that I don't believe that limited distance horses should be considered for an Overall High Vet Score award along with the horses that have done 50+ miles.

Yes, I realize that horses that ONLY go 50 miles are ONLY doing half the distance of a horse doing 100 miles, but I've seen winning hundred mile horses looking twice as good as the horse who won the 50. I feel it's a fair comparison, in my 2000 some odd miles experience.

Please don't feel like I'm picking on LD riders and their horses. I'm all for doing the distance you and your horse are capable of. Some horses are capable of more miles than their riders, and some riders are capable of more miles then their horses! I just don't think LD horses should be judged for overall high vet score against the longer distance horses.

I also realize that not every ride manager provides an award for overall high vet score. But I've been to more than a couple of rides this year that do, and only one ride recognized a horse that didn't do the LD ride. I can't tell you how shocked I was that a 75 mile horse won high vet score over everyone!

I'm curious to hear what everyone else thinks about this.

Thanks for your time!
Darlene M. Anderson
NW region
AERC # M17945
PNER # 2614