Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

> Come on, Lynne, I don't think I said anywhere that 25 was the same as
> 50.   Of course it isn't.  Even I know that.
So, therein lies the answer to your question, Howard.  It isn't the same.

> But, if done correctly I really do think there's some merits to doing
> those  lower distances that are rarely mentioned here on Ridecamp.  For
> one, it's  definitely the distance for non Arabian horses whose owners
> find out that 50  is just a bit much for them to endure.  For another
> thing, the heavier  riders who find that the longer distances do take
> more of a toll on their  horse than what the tiny hineys experience;
> they might find that they do far  better in the 25, 30, or 35 milers
> where weight classes aren't even a part  of the sport at all.
Of course.  That's why we have LD.  LD is a wonderful thing.  Nobody's
knocking it.  But see your first sentence above.  (And speak for your own
horses with regard to packing a tubby butty around--I speak from personal
experience that it is the tubby butty that suffers, not the fit horse, so
if one can get one's tubby butty tough enough, one CAN do 50s, and <gasp!>
even 100s!  Usually it IS the tubby butty that is the limiting factor
here, not the horse, given that the horse is fit.  And my own tubby butty
is workin' on it--it conquered 50s last year, overcoming the adjustment
from having been a tiny heiny in its previous riding incarnation...)


> Wouldn't it be nice to get some kind of credit for the lower distance
> miles  at a ride?
We do!  They're called LD miles.  And they're published right up there in
our ride records with our other miles.

> We really could encorporate it all into one sport
> with different  levels.  Endurance, Level One (25 to 49 miles);
> Endurance, Level Two (50  miles to 99) and Endurance, Level Three (100
> miles).  Just by doing this  alone we might get more folks to move up to
> the 100 miler.  Everyone wants  to shoot for the top level.
Oh, really?  Just by changing the name?  I doubt it.  The "encouragement"
is already there--some of us are just still working on our tubby
butties...

> We could count the points similar to the way we do 50 miles and 100
> miles.   The 25 would be far less, similar to how completing a 50 is so
> much less  than a 100 using our point system as it is now.
Uh, Howard, that is what caused the problems in the first place.  It was
by taking the points OUT of it that we fixed the problem.  No matter how
you slice it, there just aren't enough miles in a 25 to get enough vet
checks in to really evaluate the horses.  But by taking OUT the incentive
of points, we conquered that problem--and left the LD distance available
for those who want/need/enjoy/prefer it.

> But, it
> would count as  something.  Not be a completely separate sport, with
> separate statistics and  separate mileage, no points, with the weight of
> the rider not even listed,  that sort of thing.  It's limited because
> that's what we've done to it.   Absorb it by making it part of the
> endurance world and it no longer will be.
<sigh>  OK, you come up with a catchy new name, and see if you can sell it
to AERC.  But a rose by any other name...  and all that.  It will still be
exactly what it is.  And it will still command the same attitudes from
people--folks who respect other riders will respect it, and folks who are
rude will sneer at it.  You will not change that--there WILL be
holier-than-thou folks out there, no matter WHAT you call it.  But that
isn't most folks.  Most folks already respect it.

> There are so many reasons (and, I bet there's some out there who would
> call  them excuses) why a rider would want to do a lesser distance and
> still be  considered part of the same crowd.  I've listed a few of them
> but there's  many more.  Physical limitations of the rider comes to
> mind.  Bringing a  warm blood to a ride is another reason.  Wouldn't it
> be nice to see more of  those other breeds out there at our rides?
> Absorb the lower distances into  the sport called endurance and it might
> happen.
Gee, Howard, where have you been?  That's what most of us have been doing
on LDs for years.  And according to Truman, your LDs in the SE are already
bigger than your 50s.  Doesn't sound like too many folks are staying home
because of the name...  (And apparently, along with missing the history of
LDs the umpteen other times I've posted it, you've also missed that I and
several others have also harped on those very same reasons as to why LDs
are important.  Heck, Howard, I've even taken my tubby butty out and
ridden a few--and you know what??  There were <gasp!> even some tiny
heinies out there on Arabs!!  Imagine that!  They didn't even need the
"excuses" of old age, gout, beer bellies, tubby butties, or Warmbloods to
go enjoy the fun of LD! WHAT a concept!)

> There are different distances in Track and Field.  A 100 meter dash is
> not  the same as a marathon run, but, they all make up the sport of
> Track and  Field.
Yeah, well, you don't call the 100-meter dash a marathon, either, to try
to entice participants.  It is a 100-meter dash.  You called it what it
is.  And the folks who want to dash 100 meters don't get all bent out of
shape because it isn't called a marathon.  In fact, they probably are just
as happy that it is called what it is.  The job here should be making
folks feel good about LD, not trying to change the name.

> Those events are all, equally, incorporated into the
> same sport.   NOt too many talk about the difference between 50 miles
> and a 100 but, let's  face it; they're two completely different worlds
> that are as closely related  as a 25 is to a 50.
Well, Howard, yes and no.  Have you done a 100 yet?  Sure, it is
different.  But trust me--once you've crossed the bridge to 50s, the rest
is doable.  The two BIG hurdles are from zero to LD and from LD to 50. 
Actually, some folks jump right to 50 just fine.  But LD is an important
stepping stone for most.  Good thing it's there, huh.  But once you've
gotten the drill down on 50, you figured out what you have to eat, drink,
wear, etc.  You've figured out what your horse has to eat, drink, and
wear.  And the rest is a matter of pacing.

> I'm really not trying to reset a previous lit fire here.  I'm just
> talking  about it because, for some reason, I never knew that it used to
> be  considered endurance at all.  That's how much I've been brainwashed
> with the  term Limited Distance.
Well, gee, I'm sorry I brought it up then.  The reason it isn't endurance
anymore is because it HURT HORSES when it became a points race.  Where's
that old "Horse Welfare Howard"???  Don't try to reinvent the wheel. 
Learn from history.

> For the human, 25 miles is still a marathon.  Even for the horse, I
> would  like to see us do more with this distance than just call it a
> training ride.
Uh, Howard, that isn't what we call it.  Training rides happen at home. 
Some people USE LD as training, just as some people use 50 as training. 
Heck, it's ALL training, if it comes to that, depending on your ultimate
goal.  Nothing the matter with that.  But I don't see anybody chalking up
my training miles and posting them on the AERC site.  LD means that I got
my horse through the course, passed all the vet checks, and met all the
criteria.  That isn't exactly nuthin'--at least not in my book.  I'm sorry
you find it such a cheap honor.

Heidi


============================================================
You don't have to be a 100-mile rider or a multi-day rider to be an
endurance rider, but if you want to experience the finest challenges our
sport has to offer, you need to do both of those.
~ Joe Long

ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/

============================================================