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Re: [RC] [RC] Pros & Cons of Wild Horses - Chris Paus

There is a key ingredient in the horse and rider team
that we keep forgetting in all the talk about the
horse. Ummm... the RIDER....

If you look up my horses' records, they don't look
like much. Mostly LDs mostly mid to back of pack
finishes.

But I can tell you that Star has the heart of a top 10
horse. Many other riders who ARE top 10 riders have
told me he wants to be a top tenner and he has what it
takes.

But alas, a potential champion is stuck with a
mediocre rider with health issues. I'm good at
finishing with a horse safe and sound, but I'm just
not  a fast rider and probably never will be.

A horse's record doesn't tell the full story.

In another example, my stallion had 45 career flat
track starts, 11 wins, 5  2nds, 8 3rds. When I looked
at a race tape where he came in third and looked at
his race record, it was clear his best distance was a
mile or better. When he raced less than 8 furlongs, he
often came in the money, but not in the winner's
circle. He liked to start slow and finish strong, he
needed a mile to pass the others. So had his trainers
only entered him in mile or better races it's likely
he would have had more wins to his record.

There's SO MANY variables involved in every horse's
accomplishments. Yes, it takes heart. And being a
breeder, I also think good breeding for the game you
want to do is important, but there's the human factor
involved too. WE make the decisions on a horse's
career. WE decide what rides they enter, what
distances they go. Often the rider's physical and
emotional state plays a huge role in how well the ride
goes and where the horse places.

chris


---> There are horses with impeccable endurance
pedigrees
running at the front
of the pack, and also horses with impeccable
endurance pedigrees running
at the back of the pack.  Likewise, there are horses
of unknown and
obscure origin running at the front of the pack and
at the back too. But no quantity of
money can ever buy magic
because magic comes from the heart.


Tom Noll
SW Idaho






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=====
"A good horse makes short miles," George Eliot

Chris and Star

BayRab Acres
http://pages.prodigy.net/paus

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Replies
[RC] [RC] Pros & Cons of Wild Horses, tomnoll