In a message dated 7/2/02 2:38:28 PM Mountain Daylight Time, Magnumsmom@xxxxxxx writes:
How about a 4 yo racing a sub 2 hour LD? Do you want to
wait for statistics on this? How about if such horses just
never come back and thus we don't see any "statistics"?
This is my concern with the AERC supporting LD race mentality
and the current minimum age.
Kathy,
What you say in your post is VERY important.
I remember the ONE LD I did. It was a flat 25 miles. I rode a very hot mare for whom a long time to do 25 miles was just the thing; it was her first time at an endurance ride. She was a 7 year old. At the end of the ride the ride manager made some remarks to me as to why I had taken so long to go just 25 miles (I had been doing 100's and 50's all year on my experienced gelding). She might have thought she was being "cute", (I personally didn't care what she had to say), but other LD'ers standing around, knowing no better, chimed in saying, "Yeah, it was such an easy trail, we just flew..."
That ride was probably, eleven years ago, or so, and I have not done another LD ride.
I'd rather face 50 or 100 miles and find my place in the stream where my horse and I can get down the trail in the manner we choose.
I hope the AERC is NOT promoting racing on LD's.
I hope the BOD jumps on this thing.
Statistics or no statistics, we all know what is right and fair in the treatment of our horses. If we don't, we are lost.
Frank.
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