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Re: [RC] LD's and 50's garbage - heidiThe issue of the "Holy 50 Mile Endurance Rider" and that they are above all other riders and mean to EXCLUDE the LD's as "endurance riders.... is making me sick! How can a group of "caring" horse people - step on the back of LD's to make themselves look "better"? Like I said I am going to be bad here because common sense seems to escape this "elite" group of endurance riders. I had intended to not reply to this post, since I replied to Bruce's response to this post, but this part of it does need some comment. Jason, "caring" horse people did not remove shorter distances from the endurance definition in the late 70s because of their egos, or to step on the backs of those who rode shorter distances, or to make themselves or anyone else "look better." They did it BECAUSE they cared! They cared about the HORSES! When shorter distances were defined as "endurance" they were death traps for horses, pure and simple. And the response to that was to do away with ALL distances shorter than 50 miles, period! At the 50-mile level, the trail began to slow the horses down, and the vets had sufficient opportunities to get hands on the horses to do exams BEFORE the finish line to be able to stop a significant amount of the abuse. No egos involved in this move--simply a consideration for the equine partners out there on the trail, and the foresight to realize that if we did NOT care about those equine partners, we would soon not have a sport, either. Although many rides continued to have non-sanctioned shorter rides, the very fact that they were NOT sanctioned decreased the push from those with big egos to ride them at speed and trash their horses. Additionally, some regions (the NW was the leader in this, I think, but others also adopted this system) began to make it mandatory to have a pulse-down before the clock stopped, as a further protection to the horses. AERC adopted this system as well, and the current LD system was born. The bottom line here is that it is the very fact that the rules ARE different for the LD rides that makes it possible to offer them AT ALL! Those who you have labeled as elitists and snobs have gone far out of their way in several instances to ensure that there IS an opportunity to ride shorter distances without jeopardizing either the horses or the sport. I for one am grateful to the efforts of those who have worked out such a compromise, since the presence of LD rides enabled me to get back into the sport. When I have ridden LDs, I've been treated fairly by ride managers and vets and have been made to feel entirely welcome. When I have vetted or managed rides, I have bent over backward to ensure that the LD riders feel welcome and wanted. And in my observation, that is far and above the norm in the sport, not the sort of scenario that you depict. It is real shame that you feel the need to try to drive wedges where there should be harmony. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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