Tom Ivers letter

["Howard Bramhall" <hwb67@msn.com>]

 ----- Original Message -----

From: wsabg@t-online.de

Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2002 5:42 AM

To: Rides 2 Far; ridecamp@endurance.net

Subject: RC: AW: Tom Ivers letter

 

Dear Angie,

you say that you are a subscriber of "Endurance World" and that you read Tom Ivers letter in the first magazin you received. Besides whether Tom is right or not: Why did you choose Ridecamp as your way of answering to that letter? It's published in the "Endurance World" magazin, it was read by subscribers of that magazin - and now you trumpet out loud all over Ridecamp. The correct way to express you feelings and to
discuss your thoughts is to write to "Endurance World". It is also the only way Tom will receive your writings as he isn't subscribed to Ridecamp any more (as you know for sure).

So why the hell do you start again stirring in that pot, swirling up tons of dust? Tom is history on Ridecamp.

By the way, his letter is directed to the endurance racers, to those who share his views, to those whose goals are the worldwide rankings, the World Championship. It is not directed to those who are riding the "local" rides only, where "local" can be one State, one country or whatever. I think of those who are riding just for fun, happy with a Top Ten, even more happy with a win. It doesn't matter in which country they ride - USA, Europe, Asia... All these aren't riders who will ever think about flying with their horse to the UAE to compete, flying to Spain to start at the WCh, flying to Australia to start at the Tom Quilty or to the USA to start at the Tevis.

"Endurance World" is, IMHO, a magazin for those with "higher" goals, with a bit more "professionalism". It's not for the "I am happy to finish"-rider, but if this rider is reading the magazin, he should not wonder about some of the articles, not fume if they aren't fitting his thoughts, not whine if others are racing - we have two different campsites here.

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This is too good to miss out on.  TI, Wolfgang and that woman from North Georgia, all in one post!  And don't forget those Sultans of Swing.  Throw in a friggen war, and I don't think there's much more we can add to take the entertainment level any higher, no matter what your personal aspirations might be.

I realize I'm not worthy to comment on World level endurance riders.  I'm not even worthy to comment on the top level AERC riders, but I must say, I didn't know that our AERC rides were all such a cakewalk.  And that "to finish is to win" is not noble enough of a goal.  Heck, at my level, just to finish that first loop and get to start the second one makes my ride complete.

So, Tevis, Old Dominion and Leatherwood (ya'll gotta show up this year to see the toughness of this ride) are walks in the park compared to going out on a flat out desert, no hills, no mountains, no water, with a 4 wheel drive vehicle loaded with goodies and crew following you every step of the way?  Is this where you need to go to prove yourself a true competitor?  And, to say that Americans no longer know how to compete is to say Americans are no longer appreciative of their freedom.  What a crock of crap!

To see our competitive nature, watch the road to the Super Bowl this week-end.  Those guys certainly aren't in it just to finish the game.  And, watch some basketball or Ice Hockey, while you're at it.  Gee, I wonder if we'll even bother showing up to the Olympics next month.  Don't forget to notice how your kid is doing at school.  You don't think there's competition there?  Then you don't have a kid whose only road to college is a scholarship, based on grades and performance.

Please, show me a group of folks who are more competitive than Americans.  I don't think you can.  And, for me, the bravest, most daring ones will be the American endurance riders who actually get on that jet to fly over the pond to compete overseas with their horses.  At this time in history, with all the dangers involved and the fact that Americans have to feel as if they have a bright red target on their backs when traveling anywhere in the Arab world right now, if this doesn't tell you what kind of competitors we're breeding over here, then you aren't paying attention.

Let's face it folks, TI's rants are biased.  He's anti AERC, anti Ridecamp, and pro Sultans' of Swing.  This is because he's on their payroll.  Duh!  If I were collecting a check from them I'd have to change my words around to keep that money flowing in.  It's too bad that to compete for that cash one must degrade one's own countrymen, but, hey, that's what competition is all about.  Isn't it?  To win, at any cost, and to collect money for doing so.

 

cya,

Howard (sorry Steph, I just can't help myself sometimes)