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Re: [RC] Gold Country Awards - Lynne Glazer

Rah, Heidi and Angie. I'll stand up with you guys--

That said, though, at the recent Bar H Boogie ride, we chose *after the ride* to give "participation" awards by giving a shirt to everyone who endured the trail that day--a lot of people pulled RO and/or on the LD went overtime as a way of taking care of their horses in the 90+ degree heat (last year it was 60). We wanted to reward that, but it's not what we would normally do.

Certainly not at check-in. We do like to give new rider awards (optimally) at the ride meeting both as a way of letting others know who the newbies are and to give them something useful. In the past those have been stethoscopes, this year pocket knives.

Lynne


On Jul 13, 2004, at 11:28 AM, <heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

..even in the early days. If you never taste the bitter,
the sweet is not as sweet. Completions get to be pretty boring, until
you get pulled a few times, then they feel GREAT.
<snip> 
I've gone home with nothing a few times, and I've been given t-shirts
for rides I didn't finish. Don't like to wear them, I'd rather forget
those rides.

Angie, this is a real watershed sort of concept. A whole segment of our
society seems to think that if you tried, that is enough. I guess I'm
like you--I'm not one of those. If I fail, I have not earned the reward
that comes with succeeding. And a completion award is just that--a token
of the fact that you not only tried, but you SUCCEEDED. You beat the
mountain that day, and met all the criteria, and came home with a horse
that could go again. To me, that is the essence of this sport.

Participation awards are nice. But they DO NOT take the place of
completion awards! If you want to give me T-shirt for showing up--fine.
I won't say no to it. But that IS NOT the same thing as a T-shirt that
was only given out to the completers.

Furthermore, AERC rules are specific--you MUST give a completion award.
Heck, it can be a piece of paper that says "John Doe completed the ZYX
50." AERC does not say that you CAN'T also give a participation
award--that is entirely up to you. But SOMETHING has to distinguish those
who made it from those who did not. Otherwise, we might as well just all
head out down the trail in the morning, and drop out when we feel like it.

I sure didn't "feel like it" last weekend at the last vet check at Soldier
Mountain last Saturday. My horse was fine--but he is a big guy without
the best recoveries, and when we got down into camp for that last vet
check, it was hot and muggy and I was doing the Chinese fire drill with no
crew--pull the saddle, sponge the almost-ambient-temperature water on,
scrape it off because it took it about 5 seconds to get up to body heat,
etc.--y'all know the drill. I was overly tired starting the ride, and
although I had not really "neglected" my own hydration, I could have stood
to have drunk a bit more myself, too. I felt fine until I got him vetted
through--and then I went over to my rig and just about passed out. Had to
sit, and sponge myself, and it even took a bit before I could drink my
obligatory cold milk. Eventually was able to force some food down as
well. If "participation" was all that mattered, I had certainly already
done that, for several hours, and several miles, and a few thousand feet
of tough climbs and descents. I had seen the great views and admired the
wild flowers. Gee, I could have just quit right there and gotten credit
for "participating." But I had not yet "completed." That is where one
has to reach into one's self and make the extra effort to overcome the
difficulties. That is basic endurance. I got back on my horse after
determining that I had put myself back together as best I could, and I
rode the last 13 miles in the allotted time and to the necessary criteria.
THAT is the difference between "completing" and "participating."

There have been days when I didn't complete. You bet it is disappointing
to go home empty-handed. Jim mentioned kids doing their first rides
needing something to take home with them. No, Jim, I disagree. There is
no time like youth to learn the vast difference between "participating"
and actually accomplishing the task that one set out to do. The world is
full of "participants" who never achieve a thing. We have enough of
those. This sport has always been special in that the accomplishment is
predefined, so that if you complete that accomplishment, you're a winner.
It isn't up to somebody's opinion, and it is not limited to the first 6 or
10 or whatever across the line. If you can complete the prescribed course
in the allotted time and keep your horse in condition that he is fit to
continue, you have cleared the bar and have achieved the goal. THAT is
what a completion award acknowledges.

If you want to give out ride T-shirts or mugs or whatever to participants,
that's certainly your perogative. But please, at least mail me a
certificate that says I completed, if indeed I did. There needs to be
SOME demarcation between having achieved the goal and not having achieved
the goal, or the goal is meaningless.

Heidi



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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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Replies
[RC] Gold Country Awards, rides2far
Re: [RC] Gold Country Awards, heidi