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    Re: [RC] Tevis 2002 comment - Barbara McCrary


    I think the winner gets to pose with it, have his or her name engraved on it and it is put on display somewhere.  The winner does not get to keep it, I'm fairly certain.  Julie, care to comment on this?
     
    Barbara
    ----- Original Message -----
    Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2002 8:51 PM
    Subject: Re: [RC] Tevis 2002 comment

    Hmmmmm, if this is accurate I guess I won't be growing that handlebar mustache afterall.  I have a feeling Mr. Potato and I wouldn't get along.  Confidence is one thing,  but, don't you think a bit of humility and humbleness surpasses arrogance as we travel down that trail called life?  It's a shame, cause the man takes a nice photo.  I was picturing him in a Quaker Oats Commercial some day on the back of a horse telling everyone that it was the oats that got him and his horse thru Tevis.  Sounds more like it's the man's ego.
     
    Gee, I wonder what he'd call me, with my record of zero 100's and quite a few incomplete  50's?  Probably an incomplete loser.  Tomorrow, I shave off the stache.
     
    Hey, I have a question about the Haggin cup.  Do you get to keep it forever, or do you have to return it the following year?  Darn thing looks almost as big as the Stanley Cup from that photo in the Auburn paper.  I like the idea that it's big enough for the horse do eat from.  Tevis is cool; one day I'll crew for Truman there (we'd better hurry Truman, you ain't getting any younger).
     
    cya,
    Howard  (it's the horse who is the real hero anyway)
     
     
    ----- Original Message -----
    From: Ridecamp Guest
    Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2002 3:46 PM
    To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
    Subject: [RC] Tevis 2002 comment
     
    Steve Powers srjmpowers@xxxxxxx
    I had the pleasure of crewing this past weekend for some friends who rode in the Tevis. The rider we were mainly responsible for got kicked by her horse at the 21 mile point while adjusting a boot and completed the ride on a knee that she could barely walk on. That sort of dedication and focus is what separates endurance riders from the more casual riders that enjoy their horses in a more recreational way. My wife was always the horse person in our family until two years ago when two things changed my mind about the sport and contributed to convincing me to take up horseback riding.
    The first was when we crewed for three friends who rode in and completed the 2000 Tevis. Despite two of them being first time Tevis riders, all three finished with healthy riders and horses and all three are very proud of their accomplishment as they should be. I was so impressed with the magnitude of what they had just done that I decided to challenge myself to someday complete a Tevis. After spending 2001 competing in and finishing 6 limited distance rides on a borrowed horse, I purchased a horse of my own and have successfully completed four 50-mile rides with a target of competing in the Tevis in 2003.
    At the award presentation after this years Tevis, ride management graciously allowed the riders the opportunity to say a few words as they picked up their hard-earned buckles. The first buckle was awarded to this years winner of the Tevis Cup, Mr. Potato Richardson. After accepting his buckle, Mr. Richardson took the opportunity to speak to the hundreds of riders and crew members that had assembled. He began by relating a few anecdotes from previous rides and told of one recent year when he was passed in the darkness of the woods near the end of the ride by two riders. His next statement was the one that I feel someone needs to take exception to. In Mr. Richardsons words, This knocked me from third place to fifth place, or as I call it, fourth loser.
    Apparently somewhere along the way to earning 17 Tevis buckles Mr. Richardson lost track of the intent of the sport. I sat there and wondered how many of the riders who completed the Tevis in the darkness of Saturday night and Sunday morning and the crews who worked so hard to try to ensure a completion were offended by his comment. I certainly was.
    What Mr. Richardson doesnt seem to realize is that, when he accepted that microphone from ride management and stepped to center stage as this years Tevis Cup winner, he became for that period of time a spokesman for the sport of endurance riding and I dont feel the sport was well represented.
    I mentioned earlier that there were two things that convinced me to accept the challenge of endurance riding and crewing was the first. The second was a quote I once heard - To finish is to win. I think someone needs to remind Mr. Richardson that what came across the finish line during the darkness and early dawn this weekend was 94 winners not 1 winner and 93 losers.
    Everyone who competed in the Tevis, even those who failed to finish within the 24 hour limit, should be very proud of what they have accomplished during their involvement in the sport of endurance riding. The hundreds or thousands of hours spent by a horse and rider preparing themselves to finish endurance rides with a healthy rider and sound horse are what the sport is all about.



    Replies
    Re: [RC] Tevis 2002 comment, Howard Bramhall