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Re: [RC] [RC] President's Cup - Barbara McCrary

What a brilliant and thoughtful reply!!

Barbara

----- Original Message -----
From: "Nik Isahak Abdullah" <drnikisahak@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>;
Subject: Re: [RC] [RC] President's Cup


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/

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

_________________________________________________________________
Are you in love? Find a date on MSN Personals http://match.msn.com.my/

============================================================
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/

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



============================================================
Arabians were bred for years primarily as a war horse and those
requirements are similar to what we do today with endurance riding. 
~  Homer Saferwiffle

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

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

Replies
Re: [RC] [RC] President's Cup, Nik Isahak Abdullah