Happy 4th of July ya'll! I'm posting a day early, but I promise not to come out of the closet except for the major holidays and those times I get the urge to try and write a tale (endurance related, of course). I'll try and keep this one clean, since we do have juniors on here. I don't want to have anyone get up and leave the table just because I brought along my blow-up doll to sit next to me for dinner. I'll make sure she's dressed. Speaking of blow up dolls, there was a very funny story someone from here (ridecamp) emailed me last Thanksgiving, telling about a family gathering over the holidays, and one of the younger men bought along his blow up doll, just for fun, to see how the other family members would react. Well, turns out ole Grandpa though she was real and alive (just sort of quiet and on the shy side), so he started talking to her, carrying on a conversation, much to the dismay of Grandma....... haha, sorry, just kidding, although that particular story was hysterical. Hey, I've been doing my own trimming lately. Man, what a trip that is! Talk about hard work and back pain. My hat is off to all farriers; I could never do it for a living. It sure ain't easy, but I'm convinced my horses can go barefoot down here most of the year. It's only rides like GERA, Biltmore, or Leatherwood, where I need shoes or boots or something to protect them from those rocks. Anyway, if you're interested and think you might want to try doing something like this check out the site that got me started: http://www.barefoothorse.com/ This is not the Stasser method by the way. It's something a bit different. I find that if you do your horses once a week or so, you can really get that mustang shape the site is talking about. I really like the arching idea along the quarters, since they seem to be the part that chips away pretty early after a trim. I'm pretty much convinced that it's been the steel shoes, and, yes, maybe my farrier, that has caused some of the minor lameness problems I have had during the trot out portion of an endurance vet check. We'll see. I should have a good answer for ya by Labor Day (my next posting). I was at the ride when Roger Rittenhouse got injured. Thanks, Roger, for not letting your insurance company sue those folks. That has to be one of the Ride Manager's biggest fears. I do believe Roger came about as close as one would want to finding out the answer as to whose religion is really the right one, and I'm glad he only came close and didn't complete the mission. I plan on talking to him quite a bit at the GERA ride, but, I probably shouldn't tip him off to that one or he might not show up. I think Roger has something to say, and I'm going to try and beg him to remain part of the AERC board. He asks questions and brings up subjects that others might not want to discuss because of the heat they generate. I think we need that. I find it ironic that some of the folks who comment the most on LD's don't do them. That would be like me trying to explain what a 100 mile ride feels like, or how you should try and manage a distance like that. I can't talk about it because I have no idea what it all entails. And, I think those who don't do LD's should leave it alone. It's not your forte, why on earth do you think you should be telling those who do do them how they should be done? There's nothing wrong with how they are now; the folks who do them only want the mileage, they don't want the BC or National awards; they know how ya'll feel about LD's when compared to the real endurance distances. This is why nobody came to pick up their LD National Awards. They know how you feel cause ya'll keep telling them without ever really knowing why they choose this distance. We need the riders who do this distance, and yes, I feel like I'm one of them (since I hardly ever complete a 50), and we should be embracing them instead of pushing them away. Big mistake! June's Endurance News was exceptional. I am so glad to read that the Board members are not entirely keen on the Sultans of Swing interpretation of what endurance riding is to become. Read the President's discussion of the $60,000 dollar award money for BC (could you imagine being the vet who makes that decision?) and the 1.5 million dollar prize money that they (Emirates Endurance World Masters) are awarding, and you might agree with me that money is not what our sport needs. And, Dane Frazier's piece discussing his participation as a member of the FEI Endurance Committee is worth reading, even though I had to do it several times; this man is so over my head when it comes to endurance. I am in such awe of those riders going over to Spain to participate in the WEG, and Dane's article gives one a good idea of what obstacles these riders and their horses will have to deal with. Can you imagine what courage it takes for an American to go overseas after 9/11? Finally, I am not Scott. I've been getting emails asking me this, and I have no idea who Scott is, but he is not me. If I come back to Ridecamp as another person, it will be as a young female, with small breasts and a tiny hiney. They make better endurance riders because they have less baggage. Probably, as a beginner, since I can pose as one of them better than I could pretend to be an expert. I have considered disguising myself to be my gal, Val. I bet that would generate more personal emails than I have ever received before, but I knew I couldn't fool too many of ya with that one. Ya'll are just too darn sharp for me to get away with that silly idea. lol. Happy 4th, don't forget to email USAF Capt. Debbie Parsons, a fellow endurance rider (and, yea, she has done 50's) if you haven't already. Take it from someone who knows, it gets damn lonely overseas during holidays like the 4th of July. No matter how hard you try, it's just not the same as being back home. She's over there for you and for me, and I know she would rather be out riding her horse than doing what she's doing over there in the land of Stan. She has told me the heat is unbearable. And, yes, they do run generators 24/7. cya, Howard (let me know if you find any terrorists out and about tomorrow night)
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