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Re: [RC] ATHLETE defined - Jim HollandSusan... Hmmmm...depends on your perspective....might be true for the International rides...but... There are those of us who ride Endurance that prefer to compete at rides that require a rider to be an "athlete" to some extent. If you go out of your way to attend the HARD rides that require you do more than sit there as a passenger, you soon learn that: It requires a skilled athlete and lots of training to "trail run" beside your horse in mud, sand, rocks, hills, etc. It requires the smarts to learn to pace yourself and your horse physically and to "plan your ride" and "ride your plan". It takes mental and physical discipline to "ride what the trail gives you on that day on that horse" and not be influenced any goals that compromise the welfare of your horse. It requires lots of physical training and skill on your part to train your horse to tail, run on your shoulder, take care of himself, and for you to "read" him as to his physical condition. It requires many hours of training to be able spend hours and hours in the saddle and still have the physical stamina and muscle strength to mount and dismount many times as well as ride balanced to help your horse. (I can tell you from personal experience, that "get off, run, get on...get off run, get on", if you do enough of it, will MAKE you become an athlete) :) And that's just the "athlete part: It can require years of study to learn how to feed and care for your horse to give him the best chance of being successful, again without jeopardizing his welfare. Athletes do that for themselves...you have to do it FOR the horse. There is the love of the trail, the bonding from the many, many hours of training together, and I forget the exact quote, with apologies to Julie Suhr, the accomplishments that make you "feel so humble for what he has given to you, but yet still feel Ten Feet Tall". It's all in your perspective....one of the wonderful things about this sport...it can be different things to different people. IMHO, this flat track stuff ain't Endurance to me.....if that's all there was, I would have never been attracted to this sport. True Endurance is not just the horse...Sunny and I are a TEAM...we take care of each other. You can make an average horse look pretty damn good if you pull your weight as part of the team. As to being a "hunter", depends on the quarry. Ask a Marine if being a "hunter" in war requires you to be an athlete. <grin> Hmmm...or try tracking those pigs up here in the mountains of the Cohutta Wilderness. Jim, (Not as "athletic" as he used to be), Sun of Dimanche, and Mahada Magic Susan Young Casey wrote: Perhaps Mr. Webster can better say what I'm trying pathetically to describe. Athlete: n. A person trained or skilled in acts or games requiring physical strength, agility, speed, etc, This describes the horse in any event very well. It does NOT describe the rider...nor does it describe a shooter. I'm a gun hunter (pretty good shot too) and would not describe myself as an athlete because of that fact. But, I respect the fact that others don't agree. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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