Truman says, "So the dilemma whose horns we AERC
members find ourselves between is the following: Do we support selecting and
sending a team that embodies the best of the AERC - that when all is said and
done it is the welfare of the horse that is the most important - that probably
doesn't have much a chance because they won't push envelope to the breaking
point or do we support sending a team that will ride on the edge, ride to win
with the potential result of sending one season wonders?"
Well, that is a dilemma, Truman. Because it appears
that those who ride on the edge on the home turf, get reamed but good. But you
are saying that those would be the best riders to send and represent the US?? Or
do they really represent us??? I don't think that was ever clarified. It seems
like if riders are breaking horses down winning or losing, they don't
embody the spirit of endurance riding as we like. But if they are winning "over
there" it's exactly what we want the world to see. WINNERS! (again, being a
smarty)
When I re-read past posts it appears (no, it's a
fact) that we boo and shun those who ride on the edge on home
turf. But we would be happy to send them to the "real" races so that we
could win? We are not really racing over here? The real race is only ever in the
desert?
Don't get me wrong, I fully understand the
logistics of getting to that level. That hard work, training, nutrition, a great
family support and crew are the things that make it happen. Yes, it is a whole
different ball game. But you are still riding a horse. The horse doesn't care if
it is an AERC ride or an FEI ride. He still needs to be taken care of to the
best of the riders, the crew and the vet's ability. Riding on the edge can make
that very difficult for all involved. If the US hasn't done so well, maybe it is
because the riders felt it wasn't in the best interest of thier horses to push
to the edge. Is that a bad thing? I can think of worse senerios as a reason for
horses not winning.
I shutter to think that anyone would believe that
our horses should be treated any different on foreign soil than at home. If the
team trained together, rode together and had a strategy to stay together and
realized that this race just wasn't going to be theirs, then they probably did
the right thing. You are still riding a living creature whether riding AERC in
the US or FEI at the WEC.
So Truman, to suggest that we need to look for
people who are willing to ride on the edge and ignore all that we practice here
including putting the horse first, is suggesting that our sport at home isn't
good enough to set an example to the rest of the world.
I have a hard time keeping up with you folks. I
want to live in Frank's world. ;)
