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I don't know about real endurance or unreal endurance, but the issue of 
trails seems to me to be more important than the issue of distance.  As 
a non-starter in the endurance field, but someone who's done a lot of 
drooling over ride stories, I have to say that I was attracted to 
endurance by the idea of going difficult places with my horse for a 
while....not by the idea of seeing how fast I could cover 80 to 160 km 
of flat trail.  When we tried to start endurance here with the help of 
the UAE/FEI in 2000, even our tiniest hills were tossed out of the 
course.  If they had taken the trail that we wanted to set, it would 
have wound through bulldozed gravel pits, along ridge tops, and up and 
down some fairly steep hills in the desert.  But, no, the powers that 
were didn't like the trails and they were set to flat sand....at least 
it wasn't leveled before the race, unless you count all the 4X4's that 
preceded the front runners in the 120 km in May.

Fast forward to October 2003.  "Endurance" is now firmly in the control 
of the national federation and the races are set among a small select 
group of riders.  Most of us who ride distance for fun were never even 
told of the event that occurred last week, but we weren't too sorry not 
to have been there when we heard how it went.  There was an 80 km race 
that was held in the usual flat area of desert near the Sakkara Country 
Club.  Approximately 20 horses started.  3 finished.  6 died within 
about 48 hours of the race.  5 were injured so badly that they will not 
be competing again.

Was there a public announcement of this? No.  I've spoken to someone 
who went to take a look and reported that the federation horses that 
were looking pretty good last spring had been overtrained to the point 
of gauntness.  Most of the damage was done in the first loop when the 
idiots were trying to keep up with the one horse that had the 
capability of moving fast for the distance.  By the later stages, the 
horses that had been pulled weren't even on site....how to kill a sick 
horse, lesson one.  The figures that I've gotten on the outcome are 
thanks to people who were there in the stables in Giza afterwards and 
keeping track of the results for the horses.

If our riders had a chance to try endurance that involved the use of 
their brains and their horses' brains to pick through difficult and 
technical terrain, they might have learned to ride slower. 
Unfortunately, they had other role models.  Oh Well. Gee Whiz.  Good 
Thing That Arabian Horses Are Cheap In Egypt.

Maybe the concern shouldn't be so much about how long you ride but 
where and how you have to do it.  Tossing brickbats at each other over 
the meaning of endurance and whether 40 km is enduring or 80 km is 
enduring may have some value, but don't lose sight of other issues.  
For me, right now, 40 km is definitely enduring...but 40 flat vs 40 
technical is a very important distinction. I don't do "endurance" here 
because I don't think that simply riding around on flat tracks when 
there is something else to be done is any kind of test of horsemanship.

Don't get distracted by trivial issues.  Pay attention to some of the 
real issues.  Are your trails dumbing down?  Is this really how you 
want things to go?  If it continues, what will endurance be then?

Maryanne
in Cairo, where she never wants to see the FEI again.




On Sunday, November 2, 2003, at 10:05 PM, RDCARRIE@xxxxxxx wrote:

> In a message dated 11/2/2003 12:08:50 PM Central Standard Time, 
> Lyoness@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
>
> Endurance was not just a distance, it was also a trail!? Have you 
> heard of the number of ride managers who have cut out a difficult part 
> of the 50 mile course because 50 milers were "whining" about it and 
> would not come back if that part of the course was in the ride.
>
>
>
> Beautifully said!!!? This is exactly what killed my favorite ride in 
> Texas - Montell Cliff Hanger.? It was rugged, challenging, tough, and 
> beautiful.? And the people used to winning or completing 50s in around 
> 4-5 hours in Texas (yes, we have fair number of rides that are mostly 
> flat racing) complained each year till trail sections were dropped, 
> etc.? They just couldn't handle having to slow down and work with 
> their horse to negotiate tough, tricky trails sections and complete in 
> 7+ hours. (gasp!)?? I personally see nothing wrong with dismounting 
> and leading one's horse up a 150 yard long steep slope full of loose 
> rocks...or slowing down to pick one's way over sheets of flat slick 
> rock.? That's endurance riding.? Participation was low the last year 
> of the ride (which I attended as crew, since I was 10 days 
> post-surgery for rotator cuff repair).? Now the ride is gone.? Don't 
> get me wrong, we have some really fun rides in Texas, but I loved 
> Montell for its technical trail and beauty.
>
> Dawn in East Texas...I'll stop *my* whining now.? ;)

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