First I want to clarify something. When I said, "It makes me sick" when I
see them limit the number of holds. I meant to say, "It makes me *feel*
sick." Not foot stomping mad sick... queasy, nervous sick.
responsible for pacing his horse perperly on a long loop and
taking care of it himself and GASP!!! actually stopping to let
the horse eat GASP!!! on the clock..
Maybe on a rugged AERC ride...but do you actually believe that these
horses are going to be GRAZING and doing the times these horses are
doing? I'm picturing them trying to hook up a camel back with a tube of
Carbo-Charge going in the corner of the horse's mouth. >g< Big difference
in going out there for a completion and going for the World Championship.
You know how it is. If you're going for the WIN you take chances. If
you're conservative you have a better chance of finishing, but if 4
people take the risk and only 2 of them make it, they both beat you.
Here's some results from recent CEI rides listed in Endurance World
(remember Vermont had a 66% completion rate):
Passchendaele CEI 120 KM Masters Series (4 checks but this is just about
75 miles?)
55 started 32 finished. 23 pulled for high heart rates 9 lame
Summer Solstice (UK)
160 km CEI (100 miles) 23 starters 5 finishers
160 km open 14 starters 3 finishers
Spirit of Lindum 100 km
CEI 20 starters 7 finishers
CEI of Calais 134 km
81 starters 33 finishers
Le Bugue CEI (France)
It's in the Masters Series but never tells the distance
176 starters 57 finishers
(there's a nice story about the winner of this one who comes from behind
and wins on her home bred horse "Gesper"...very refreshing until the last
paragraph
snip<
"Gesper has since joined Sheik Mohammed's stables and he will be leaving
his quarters in Provence for Spain." (He bought the 2nd place horse
too.)
I'm convinced the strategy is not that they want so many horses...it's
that they want to make sure the competition has none. Much safer to have
all those good horses locked up in your own barn!
Looks like it's finally affecting the French team. Rather than their
usually strong line up their article on their team states:
"French Chef d'Equipe Pierre Cazes had a difficult task at hand in
building a team for the WEG, as many of his choices had either been sold
or were lame." .... "Cazes said with black humor that he would have to
decide between lame, ageing, unprepared and minion horses, as it has
become the prevailing trend in France that the winner of a CEI is
subsequently sold."
snip<
I'd like to say a personal "thanks!" To our USA riders who have turned
down offers to present a strong team!
One more tid bit. (can you tell I have WEG fever?)
It seems the Australians announce their riders, and horses...but then
state: "With the exception of Peppersfield Nabucco, who is owned (and)
will be ridden by Terry Wood, the decision on which horse the riders will
ride on the day will not be made until the day before the event."
So...they choose riders...and they choose horses, but not "horse rider
teams"? Who owns the horses I wonder? If they chose your horse and not
you...would you allow someone else to compete on him? (Apparently Terry
Wood won't >g<) Maybe their best riders had already sold their horses
and they had to borrow someone else's (only half kidding here). The
French governing body has actually tried purchasing promising young
horses to try to keep them in the country...it's not working out very
well. I think we need to teach them to "Just say NO". :-)
Angie
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