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Re: [RC] re: President's Cup - Barbara McCraryAt the risk of speaking on a subject with which I have no experience, my opinion is that we are comparing apples to oranges. Both are fruits, but they neither look alike nor taste alike. I feel the same way about the flat-track races in the UAE (which I have never seen) and our rides/races in the USA. They are both endurance rides but neither taste alike nor look alike. I guess if flat-track races are important to the rider, so be it. It's not something I would be willing to risk my horse for. Having a whole stable of horses and having someone train them for you is certainly a different viewpoint than that most of us are used to. I guess my issue is that I'm not that competitive.....I just go for the fun of it, and the adventure, and unfortunately, due to assorted circumstances, it's been three years since I last competed. I hope to end that trend this year, if possible. Barbara ----- Original Message ----- From: <heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <potato@xxxxxxx> Cc: <ccollins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2004 6:22 PM Subject: RE: [RC] re: President's Cup Cindy,.. Believe me, from someone who has seen these rides as well as participated! This is still endurance! A lot different but still endurance!Certainly it is "still endurance," but it sure lacks one of the most essential criteria that makes the sport so wholesome in our country. My hat is off to the top-notch horses who maintain that blistering pace, and it is likely exciting to see enough of them in one place to make a race out of it. But the pull rate is once again astonishing. Kudos to the veterinary staff who makes the calls to do so, but the essential element that is missing is the depth of having so many different goals within the same sport. We've always had our celebrities that could race at that sort of pace, but the backbone of the sport of endurance is still surviving 100 miles. That is what is lacking in these 100-mile dashes. Yes, the horses who can do what these horses did are truly endurance horses. But so are horses who can endure mile after mile, completing time and time again, turning in four-figure seasons, and five-figure careers. With the emphasis on speed, that element of the sport, so essential to the sport as we know it, goes by the wayside. I'm not dissing these horses in any way. They are fabulous. But there is a balance that is lost the way these races are run, and I find that sad. I think Potato is likely right--these super horses could probably take on Tevis or OD or Big Horn just fine. But what I don't think they'll do (and I'll be happy if they prove me wrong) is rack up 10,000 mile careers. Or even anywhere close to that. And when we lose that part of the mix, no, it isn't the endurance that is near and dear to many of us. I think the Aussies are a lot like us in this way, too--they want to ride their buddy for a long time, IN THE SPORT--not just a quick flash-in-the-pan and then retirement to something else when he's not quite on the cutting edge of his game any more. That longevity has always been something special to our sport, and I'm sorry to see the emphasis being put so heavily on the run for the front with no concern about consistency and longevity. In this sort of a scheme, there is no place for the likes of a DR Thunder Bask, or a Rushcreek Ladd, or a Zapped, or.... well, the list goes on and on, of names that will be remembered long after we forget who won the President's Cup..... Heidi ============================================================ There is no better way to see the world than from the back of a horse. ~ Teddy Roosevelt ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================ ============================================================ One would think that logic would prevail. But then, if logic did prevail, men would ride sidesaddle. ~ Bob Morris ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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