Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

> Chicken or egg. In general demand drives supply. If the demand isn't
> there - the supply won't.. That is pretty much what the numbers are
> saying.
Truman, if we operated endurance by the laws of economics, we would a) not
ride, because there is a very poor return on our investment, and b) not
manage rides, because we can make more money doing something else.

Rides like Tevis didn't just start up because 250 people wanted to sign up
to go ride over the Sierras.  Tevis started because a very small group of
friends (5, I think) wanted to see if they could do it.  They made it an
annual thing.  ONLY BECAUSE IT WAS THERE did there become a demand for a
few other friends to join in, and it gradually became an organized event
with a format somewhat akin to what we know today as endurance riding.

You have people in your region hauling all the way across the country to
do Tevis.  You have 100s like Biltmore just up the road.  No, you won't
have people "fill" the Podunk 100 that is the riding version of doing
chores.  But if RMs put in the time and effort, the rides will gradually
gain a reputation and will make it.

The "success curve" of a 100-mile ride is a lot longer than one year. 
(Heck, as a long-time manager with the advantage of being a "known"
manager, I still figured that a new ride had a success curve of at least
three years, and I figured to support it during that time frame--there are
start-up costs to rides in laying out trail, etc. that really zap you the
first time, even when you have the rest of the "management package" down
to a routine.)  To quit putting one on because one does it for one year
and it doesn't "fill" is somewhat akin to giving up on your child's
education because he didn't get a high school diploma after the first
grade.

Heidi


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...but then, I do ride my horses a lot more than most people 
~  Karen Chaton

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