I absolutely agree with Julie on almost
everything she has written! And especially the last two paragraphs,
except I wouldn't even recommend two weight divisions. Open competition
only, with a separate division for Juniors. Period.
The whole weight issue really makes no sense at all
when it is permissible to get off and run with your horse and he is only
carrying the weight of the saddle. It just seems as though everybody
should go into a ride with whatever liabilities or assets they personally have
and if they find the sport unfulfillng because they do not excel, find another
sport. If they can get off and run—great. If they can't—too
bad. And if they "can't," go find some way to compensate. It
has also been proved repeatedly that the heavy weight riders can win over the
lightweights. They just make up for it in other ways—by being better
riders, by finding the right horse, by paying more attention to training.
To me, the greatest asset you can have if you want to do well, far
more important than weight, is to be riding a trail that your horse
knows. Just look at the Tevis Cup and Haggin Cup winners and you will
see that the odds of winning are enhanced greatly if you live on or near that
trail. Your horse is always going home. And if you are a veterinarian,
your odds are even greater.
As the system is now, we have so many
national champions that we can't remember any of them. If my life depended on
it, I could not tell you who even one of our multiple national champions for
2003 is. And that is a shame. I do not mean this with any
disrespect to them. Each of them went as high as they could go in the
category open to them.
Before weight divisions we had one
National Champion and we all knew who that was and I can still name most of
them. We have diluted the program so that now the term National Champion has
no real meaning. The attendance at the recent National Champion 50 and 100
mile rides in Southern California proves that most people have lost interest
in the present setup.
So maybe it is time for a change. At least
reducing it to two weight categories would help some and give the title
National Champion more meaning. But ideally, in my eyes, a national champion
is one person only. Julie Suhr
