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Re: [RC] WEIGHT DIVISIONS - Joe LongOn Mon, 1 Nov 2004 18:01:58 -0600, "Rae Callaway" <tallcarabians@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: But the saddle weight DOES matter, regardless of whether someone chooses a heavy saddle, light saddle or no saddle - the horse is still carrying the weight. What are we judging here - the what the horse is carrying or how fat or thin the rider is? I feel it's what the horse is carrying that's important because he's (she's) the one that's lugging everything, saddle, bottles, hardware store & rider, over the course, so it's ALL that weight that wears on the horse, not just the rider's weight. Rae Tall C Arabians - Central Region This is true, but the problem with weighing "everything" is that "everything" isn't consistent through a ride. Even not counting "consumables" like the water in bottles, gear gets added and removed during the course of a ride. Sometimes riders change to a different saddle at a vet check. Which one "counts?" The other problem, as we're seeing in this discussion, is that it isn't clear what is the acceptable way to "make your weight" at the weigh-in. Can you refill that water bottle, or not? Can you dunk your pad in the water trough (it's been done)? So we can write some more rules to clarify what is allowed and what is not, or we can simply our lives. When I'm hiking up a "fourteener" one of the things that I count on is that the higher I go, the lighter my Camelback gets, because I'm drinking the water out of it. Sure, it goes into my body and I'm still actually carrying it at that moment, but I drink it because I'm sweating water out ... so I still get lighter as I climb. If I were to refill after reaching my destination, I haven't simply "replaced what I started with," I've added weight that I never carried. On matters like this I believe in the KISS principle -- "Keep it simple." The one parameter that most riders cannot change much is their body weight, so place people in weight divisions based on that, and then they can choose their tack and gear and fill their bottles (or not) without any concern about how it affects their division. There are some riders whose weight fluctuates, all they have to do is begin the year in the division that they anticipate they will always make. -- Joe Long jlong@xxxxxxxx http://www.rnbw.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. 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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