Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Heidi,Truman,and all
Enjoyed reading your collective feelings on the President's Cup.Right from 
WEC 1998 onward up till now ,to be fair,and statistics do not lie,we all 
have to credit to where it deservedly belong.The guys in UAE have got it 
right as far as endurance at international level is concerned.You have to 
accept that US of A and the rest have been comphrehensively beaten in all 
major international meet except the WEC 1998 when Valerie Kanavy saved
the day for the rest.
Granted that UAE has got unlimited resources in acquiring the best horses 
with the best gene pool in the world.But nothing beat having thousands of 
riders and talented horses and multifaceted terrains and many hundreds of 
rides per year to choose a team from as what is happening in the States or 
for that matter France.
At the end of the day if America wants to be a world power in endurance you 
have got to get back to the drawing board!And stop talking about the terrain 
or the weather.
When Carl Lewis keep winning in successive olympics the rest of the world 
did not grudge the very "vulgar" sponsorship he obtained that spurred him to 
the very pinnacle of success,the number of hours he can devote to training 
,the bevy of hangers on  and advisers that attend to his every need and 
fancies.The rest of the world just marvel at Carl Lewis fullstop.
During the cold war you Americans used the olympics as a vehicle to 
"browbeat" the ugly Russians and the East Germans every 4 years or 
so.Sports,in whatever fields at the international level,are the the 
battleground of diplomacy and national supremacy,and the Americans are fine 
exponents of these.So in this very monolithic world ,when small nations can 
be smashed to smithereens when they they dare think differently,we must give 
give credit to where it belong when tiny UAEcomphrehensively beat the rest 
of the world in a sport alien to their culture and lifestyle.You have got to 
get back to the drawing board!Or change the goalposts!


Yours Truly,
Dr Nik Isahak Wan Abdullah


> From: <heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <rides2far@xxxxxxxx>
> CC: <johnt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: [RC]   President's Cup
> Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 21:59:33 -0700 (MST)
>
> >>From the statements made by the USA reps & the Australian's reps about
> > the non interest in FEI rides, I can't help but think that more and more
> > people are saying, "That's pretty amazing...but you go your way and
> > we'll go ours". They want endurance to be an Olympic Sport, yet they may
> > be raising the bar so high that the very height of it will limit the
> > countries who will compete...and who is interested in an Olympic
> > competition with limited participation and total dominence by such a
> > well financed, non inspiring machine?
>
> I think what the USA and Australian reps are saying is that "we have
> something more all-encompassing in the sport we have at home."
>
> I have nothing against the FEI program--and in fact, I think it has often
> given us valuable food for thought.  But it is shallow and one-faceted,
> and as such, can never replace the sport as we know it in countries where
> it has developed the different aspects and the rich tradition that we have
> here, and that the Aussies likewise seem to have.
>
> I had meant to chime in on the comment where Valerie was quoted as being
> concerned that we didn't have more FEI rides here.  I don't see that as a
> concern at all.  We will have enough to get those who want to participate
> in international rides qualified to do so.  Supply tends to meet demand.
> And more power to those riders who can and who desire it.  Meanwhile, what
> we have enables far more people to meet far more goals than FEI possibly
> can.  And because so many more people have so many more diversified goals
> that can be met riding just "plain old AERC rides," those will continue to
> prosper, FEI or no.
>
> Like Truman, if I were younger, I might enjoy taking my shot at the brass
> ring.  But thank heavens the sport means more than that to me--because it
> does, I CAN keep riding in my slower older years, with goals such as
> amassing career miles, riding for regional awards, riding for awards that
> require persistence and consistency, etc.  If the brass ring was the only
> thing the sport had to offer, a great many of us would have no place in
> it.
>
> Heidi
>
>
> ============================================================
> Riding alone is when you teach a horse all the "tools" and "cues" he needs
> to handle the trail, to hold a speed, deal with hills, etc. It's also where
> you develop the "bond" that causes him to "defer" to you before losing his
> cool.
> ~ Jim Holland
>
> ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/
>
> ============================================================

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Riding alone is when you teach a horse all the "tools" and "cues" he needs
to handle the trail, to hold a speed, deal with hills, etc. It's also where
you develop the "bond" that causes him to "defer" to you before losing his
cool.
~ Jim Holland

ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/

============================================================