Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

> I think numbers are sometimes only that.  The experience that one brings
> to the sport is sometimes brought by a different degree of expertise
> than just riding.   As for writing books, as with many authors, it is
> not just their personal experience, but research garnered from multiple
> resources to produce the finished book.  Dr. Loving, and other top vets,
> who have limited ride experience in competition., have been involved
> with endurance for many years in a capacity that many of us will never
> experience and that is as people who have vetted more top level rides
> than many of us will ever see ourselves, much less participate in.
> Having worked closely with these events, both as  ride vets and as a
> treatment vets, they have seen more about what can happen and is going
> wrong and see things that sometimes are lost to riders in the heat of
> the competition.  They have had to deal with the metabolic  crashes, the
> lameness issues and deaths  in ways that some of us will only imagine (
> thank god).   Their knowledge and insight is brought to our sport from a
> different angle.  I think we have to be careful about how we qualify
> people who can give advice other than just miles ridden. I have
> personally seen a few riders who have the miles and still no clue. Thank
> goodness that is not usually the case.
I have probably vetted more 100 mile rides than all but a small handful of
other vets, but I still think Susan K has a point here.  Much as I feel
that I know from having vetted, there is STILL something that one learns
from riding them that CANNOT be learned from vetting, no matter HOW
knowledgeable one is about the latter.  I have the utmost respect for my
colleagues who have vetted and not ridden, and I would trust my horses to
their care in a heartbeat for evaluation or treatment, should the need
arise.  I further would take their advice about a great many things
regarding the condition of my horse, etc.  But they cannot tell you a
thing first-hand about seeing white elephants on the trail at 2 in the
morning, or about what to do to prevent having your underwear rub, or
about what sort of mental toughness or mental tricks that one needs/uses
to get through, or about what sorts of foods make them feel better (or
worse), or any of that stuff.

I think it is a matter of common sense here what sorts of advice you can
rely on from those who have not done 100s but have other aspects of
experience with them, and what sorts you cannot.  As Susan K pointed out,
the professionals on the list who have not ridden 100s also are not trying
to hand out advice about it.  SuG for instance hasn't posted about how to
ride them--she has posted about body scores and weight loss and lameness
data (which she darn sure has), and nutritional information--all stuff
that she DOES know about.  And yep, I'd durn sure listen to her about how
to FEED for a 100, even though she hasn't ridden one.  Different thing
than how to RIDE one.

As to the coaches who aren't necessarily good players--as Susan K pointed
out, they have still at least played the game.  I'll listen to a lot of
folks who can finish 100s on the subject of how to ride 100s even if they
don't have FEI medals to suggest that they are at the "top of the game" so
to speak--they still at least know how it's done.

Heidi


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The very essence of our sport is doing the trail as quickly as practicable,
while keeping one's horse fit to continue.  Taking the clock out of the
equation makes it another sport altogether.  The challenge is how to keep
the sport what it is while honing our skills (both as riders and as those
in control roles) in detecting where "the edge" is for each horse so that
we don't cross it. 
~  Heidi Smith
ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/

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