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Re: [RC] LD/Endurance/BC - Joe LongOn Fri, 14 May 2004 09:55:52 -0400, Truman Prevatt <tprevatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: But it wouldn't take a by-laws change to say roll the LD miles into lifetime miles for either horse and/or rider. Of course it would. As it should. The Bylaws specifically defined endurance rides because a fundamental purpose of the AERC is to keep the historical records of endurance rides. The AERC is growing and I suspect the demographics of the membership is changing. The only constant in the universe is change. How many people say, "I'm going to the Bo Diddly Memorial ride and doing the LD," I'm going to the Bo Diddly Memorial ride and doing the 25." I've heard the latter - don't remember hearing the former unless it was a scarastic response to a comment. I've said it that way many times: "I went to Kenlyn last week and rode the LD ride." Nothing sarcastic about it, just stating the fact. How many people "just do 50's or 100's?" - vs. "how many might ride a 25 one weekend and a 50 the next? All tells me that for the average rank and file member that does only a ride or two a year - which is the majority - the 25 is considered an "endurance" ride. I doubt that very much. IMO only a small minority (mainly people who don't want to do 50 and up but want to be called "endurance riders") are insisting that LD rides are endurance rides. Sorry, Truman, but they are NOT endurance rides. They are distance rides, specifically "Limited Distance" rides. Nothing wrong with that, they are a perfectly fine kind of ride. There are subtle signs out there - for example number of starters in LD is growing fast and the number of starters in 100 mile rides is declining just as fast - to indicate the every present forces of change are having their impact. There has been a tremendious change in the sport over the past 10 years and I expect there will be just as much over the next 10. Someday there most likely won't be enough LD bashers around - so this subject won't rear its head on a periodic basis. Change is inevitable, much change is good, and we must change or die in this universe. That does not mean that all change is good, or that maintaining standards is bad. Defending the integrity of some of the sports included in distance riding is not "LD bashing." If someone wants to be an endurance rider, all they have to do is ride an endurance ride. I happen to think that's a better approach than redefining an endurance ride as 25 miles. -- Joe Long jlong@xxxxxxxx http://www.rnbw.com ============================================================ Just because someone tells you that your horse isn't "fit" for endurance...doesn't mean it isn't, it just means your horse isn't fit to be "their" endurance horse! Go for it, you never know what you'll accomplish with that "saddle horse" or "trail horse" of YOURS! ~ Darlene Anderson - DPD Endurance ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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