Ridecamp: Re: [RC] [PNER] Fw:"New LD riders"

On Tue, 24 Dec 2002 13:02:08 -0500, "Howard Bramhall"
<howard9732@xxxxxxx> wrote:

>The thing is, whatever rules or thoughts were formed concerning LD riders
>twenty or thirty years ago no longer apply.  Endurance has changed since
>then, especially when it comes to Limited Distance.  Down here, we do have
>some LD "professionals," and to treat them like pre-teenage school children
>is a big mistake.  You will (and already have, for some) alienate those who
>don't appreciate being talked down to.

Fortunately, the current LD rules do not do that.

>What I'm noticing is some of the folks who are making the decisions about
>LD's for AERC do not even do LD's themselves or haven't done one for quite
>some time.  Things have changed and we need to take notice.  Make the LD
>exactly, and I mean exactly like the 50 miler.  The heart rate parameter for
>the finish line is confusing and unnecessary.  Those days have come and
>gone.

As I explained before, using recovery to determine finishing position
is not because LD riders can't be trusted to take care of their horse,
it is not because they are "children," it is not to put them down.  It
is due to the fundmental physiology of horses and the distances
involved (and they have not changed in 20 years).

It is also not in the least confusing, that claim is a red herring.
Going by recovery time is, in fact, exactly the same as everyone (LD
and endurance) does at each vet check.

As someone pointed out, in its current format an LD ride is exactly
the same as the first half of a 50, including timing into the 25 mile
vet check (LD finish) based on the time your horse recovers.

But no matter how much you wish it to be so, a 25 mile ride is not the
same as a 50 mile ride.  That double-distance does more than just make
it twice as long; experience (yes, from those 20 and 30 years) has
shown that 25 miles is a more dangerous distance for racing for
position than 50 or more miles, due to the physiology involved (not
any immaturity or lack of judgement on the part of LD riders).  So
rides in that distance range require more stringent controls.

It's the DISTANCE, not the PEOPLE.

>The idea that you can't have a finish line for an LD because things went
>wrong 20 or 30 years ago when you first tried that is ludicrous.  

Then you should be happy to hear that no one has that idea.

>Things went wrong back then because you used 76BPM as a 
>"fit to continue" barometer and didn't have vet checks.  

Where do you get THAT idea?  Now there is something truly ludicrous.
All AERC LD rides have always had vet checks and I don't know of any
ride that ever used a 76 pulse rate to continue.

>Come on, let's quit living in the past and face
>the future.  Let the LD riders decide by letting them choose their own
>spokesperson.  I recommend anyone who is on the LD Committee of AERC, not a
>seasoned hundred miler or someone on the board who has never done an LD or
>hasn't done one in over ten years.

Why should one person make this decision?  I believe nearly every
Director, certainly most of them, have done LD rides, and not just 20
years ago.  I've done two in the last two years myself.

You know, I'm by nature a competitive person.  Even when I ride an LD
ride for training, I find myself wanting to finish as well as we can,
and I find myself competing with some of the other riders.  But guess
what?  I find that racing to a position determined by my horse's
recovery is every bit as challenging and satisfying as running like
hell for a finish line -- in fact, at 25 miles, more so, because if
it's just "run like hell" then rider strategy and pacing has little to
do with it.  I like being able to "ride smarter" and beat a
faster-sprinting horse.  

On 50's and up, you have two or more vet checks to use pacing savvy
for fast recovery, most LD rides have only one vet check.  Having the
finish position determined by recovery, IMO, adds a meaningful
challenge to the competition, and helps the better rider.

-- 

Joe Long
jlong@xxxxxxxx
http://www.rnbw.com




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