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Re: [RC] [RC] President's Cup - Howard Bramhall

Your not being cynical at all. Sometimes, reality sucks.

This is the problem in a nutshell. The Sultans of Swing do need riders from other countries to compete against; to be annoited the title of International winner you must beat someone from outside your barn. And, those who do compete against them, at that fast and furious pace, have come against the wall finding out that a horse really can die in this sport; even a horse who has been trained to compete at that level.

I would like to hear more of the changes the vets made during this year's President's Cup. If a horse competes at that level the only answer is to make darn sure we protect them from the personal goals of the rider, which may conflict with the horse's goals. Too much money is not always a good thing. Riding endurance for monetary rewards kind of makes me ill just thinking about it.

Try as we may, we will never be able to separate ourselves from this version of endurance. They are us, we are they. When a horse dies at an FEI ride, it puts a label on all endurnace riders all over the world. The same thing when a horse dies at an AERC ride. It's an unpleasant label for all of us.

Distance, combined with speed, is everything. The playing field is not level when an American travels half way across the world to compete over there. The same thing would happen if the Sultans started doing Tevis. Make Tevis FEI and that just might happen. I wouldn't mind seeing the Sheiks in action, first hand. I'd even approach their tent and attempt a dialogue.

I have a few questions.

cya,
Howard


From: Maryanne Stroud Gabbani <msgabbani@xxxxxxx>
To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
CC: steph@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [RC]   President's Cup
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 21:23:38 +0200

Mmm. I'm impressed by the horses' ability to cope with the extreme demands placed on them by the UAE version of endurance, but less than impressed by the logic that dictates such demands. If horses were motorcycles and it were just a matter of tinkering with this setting or that, or changing this part, or taking them apart when they break down and putting them back together better, I'd be happier with the Gulf scenario.

But they aren't motorcycles and I see the bottom side of this food chain. The UAE have fantastic resources to be able to buy and train vast numbers of endurance horses...so what happens in places without these resources? Like Egypt? The answer isn't pretty. I see people running through horse after horse even during a single season trying to emulate the light speeds racked up by the UAE stables, where no single horse is ever going to bear the brunt of the intensive training to achieve these speeds.

I have Steph, Jackie Bumgardner, Tracy Bilaud, and Merri Mielde arriving in Cairo on the 24th to help run a 40 km (25 mile) ride to Dahshur for a bunch of local riders who need to be shown that endurance isn't just turning sand into glass from the heat of your horses' passing feet. I wish that they were coming in a couple of days earlier because I just found out that there is an FEI/EEF 110 km race on the 23rd. The only rider that I know here to have ridden the same horse for four years, a stubborn Canadian, Cindy, will take part in that and then join us for the 40 km a few days later. It's pretty hard to believe what goes on if you don't see it.

And I don't think that Egypt is the exception in the developing endurance world. I'm sure that Syria isn't much different, nor is Tunisia, nor is Poland. Riders who are aiming at the UAE heights from the ground floor are going to be climbing a lot of horse bones to hit the top floor.

Cynically as ever,
Maryanne

On Thursday, Feb 19, 2004, at 20:23 Africa/Cairo, John Teeter wrote:

Keep in mind that my exposure to all that was pretty limited. Just like I've never been to your place and seen your set-up (but hopefully this year!!) :-)

So take it all with a grain of salt (and always get Maryanne's opinion!!:)

Just a thought, why don't you invite a few of the top riders over to do the BH? It would be an adventure for them I'm sure. I think Robert Ribley rode a few guys through Tevis a few years ago. It might be nice to do a bit of x-cultural adventurism in these trying times.

I'd invite them to Oreana, but I don't think there's room in the pasture for their tent!! ;-)

johnt

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