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I agree that it is not necessarily money that ruins
a sport. We have our own rides right here in the U.S. where we can't even get a
50% completion rate and all that is at the end of the trail is a belt buckle. So
what is our excuse? Our motive?
I have seen disposable endurance horses right here
in my little piece of the world. The elite may be able to buy their way into the
show world every year but endurance people do it as well. How many times do you
see "Endurance prospect. Arabian 4 years old, green. $800". And so, If I am not
doing well on one horse, I can get rid of it and get another. Endurance riders
do it all the time.
Ya know Howard, you are always talking about how
the sheiks have and spend all this money (does that make them evil?), and let me
tell you Mr. Potter, it is the same way here at home. You don't think we through
money into this sport? One truck $40,000, one trailer $40,000, 2-4 racing horses
$10-20,000, tack (never enough, no limit), you get the picture. Only a handful
you say? If there are 5 or 6 riders that fit into this category at each ride,
that is a lot of dough. Do you think people are going to spend money for
nothing? Not a chance.
So there already is money in this sport. And
when people start to spend lots of money, they want something in return.
Fame is just as addictive and motivational as money. That is human nature.
So we do have the disposable horses at all income
levels as well as the disposable income. We have green riders on
experienced horses and experienced riders on green horses, no money
prizes and we still have poor completion rates. Why? I have seen many
riders who will "win at any cost" and still, there is no money at the end. There
are even more riders who won't win, but will ride as hard as they can just
to be top ten, top half, or at least not last. Still, no money at the end.
Don't misunderstand me. It is a competition. There
is nothing wrong with riding hard, riding to win, or just riding to finish.
There is nothing wrong with riding for money or T-shirts. What is wrong,
is riding with no thought process. It is senseless and cruel at any level,
to ride a horse that is not prepared. It shouldn't matter if the
terrain is rocky, sandy, hilly, mountains or mud. If you think that your horse
is not prepared, slow down or don't ride. It doesn't matter what is at the
finish line, money or T-shirts. If your horse isn't prepared, you won't get
either.
Howard, you asked me at Leatherwood, why didn't I
go faster, when Lance looked like he hadn't done anything? Ok, so he didn't
work that hard but that is not the point. He was not prepared for that
terrain. I don't like seeing my horse the night after a ride not being able
to move, pee, drink or eat. I know there will be elements of soreness
and the stares for most horses. But I also realize that you can't race at
every ride. Adjust to fit the situation. I don't care how much
money you spent to get there. You have to be able to change your strategy or
throw it out the window at any given time during a ride. Whatever it takes to
keep your horse healthy and able to compete next month.
I hear so many times, "To finish is to Win". Yet
whenever there is a very poor completion rate, all I hear is excuses. The
trail, the weather, the management, the vets, whatever. It is never,
ever the riders poor preparation. How is it, that when a single horse
goes down at a ride, the owner is all but strung up in a tree? But when a ride
has a poor completion rate with many horses that didn't finish, that is
acceptable because there is always an excuse. What happened to "Fit to
Continue"?
One horse out of ten not finishing is a hard lesson
learned for that one rider. Six horses not finishing out of ten is not
something to ignore or make excuses for. (Not including accidents)
I think sometimes we need to quit worrying about
what other countries are doing wrong, and worry about what we can do to make it
right, here in our own backyard. WEC had a very poor completion, but Tevis
doesn't do much better. One ride was flat, one was mountains. What's the deal? Please don't miss the point, I am not bashing
any one ride. It is the end results of the ride that count, not the ride itself.
We are so worried about how the world will perceive our sport if there is money
involved, yet we don't bat on eye when less than one third of the riders at a
ride finish. We just make up excuses.
I do agree with you Howard on your point to Karl
about riding 100 miles in our saddles. Or maybe Karl doesn't have to ride,
just come to the campsite the night after the ride. To see what quite a few
horses look like who were ridden not for money, just for fame, and a T-shirt.
(Karl, ignore the passed out drunk drooling in his chair at the brown trailer.
He really doesn't ride THAT hard. It's all that thinking that wears him
out;)
Will money make it worse? Will education make it
better?
I don't know. Can't we have both?
Lisa Salas, The Odd fArm
What you need to know first, is the last thing you
learn. Confidence is knowing you are prepared for the unthinkable. Ray
Hunt
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