Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Jonni/Kathleen,

I haven't had much time to read all the
ridecamp stuff lately but took a moment at lunch today to try and catch
up.  I saw a post with respect to 'why/why not' for LD.

I can only speak from experience in saying
that I FELT AWFULLY FOOLISH when I didn't have a CLUE to show my horse
for BC after my first 100 miler finish.  Guess what?  I've been
in AERC for 4 seasons.  Yes, I started out in 25's.  No, starting
at the LD level didn't keep me from 'moving up to the 100 miler', in fact,
I thought I'd die trying to finish my first 25 miler.  If my only
choice had been a 100 (the old days) or a 50 miler (prior to LD), I'd have
NEVER had the guts to attempt a 100.  Call me a wimp or whatever,
I can only tell you that I didn't think my little 200 lbs. underweight
rescue when I got him, would have a CHANCE to go further than 25 miles!
 So, the good news is I've learned a lot along the way (made a bunch
of mistakes unfortunately that I've learned from), ride with the goal to
be able to still ride my 16 year old horse for a total of 10 years (he
was 12 when I got him) and am looking forward to the next ride. 

Back to the topic though, I almost DIDN'T
show for BC because I'd never done it.  It sure would have been nice
to have 'tried it' before I found myself really tired at 7:00 a.m. after
having finished a tough 100 miler - and having told everyone I was going
to sleep in - trotting my horse out and not knowing that it was more than
just out and back.  Ok, so I have seen the Tevis BC (once) with all
their beautiful chalk lines, etc.  I also have a couple of friends
that due to time commitments and THEIR health (not their horses), can't
do much more than 25 miles.  Do I think that if AERC has a BC for
LD in the Southeast that we should too (here in the west), yes.  Did
I have any idea that this was such a hot topic (in the West) 6 months ago?
 Heck no!  I found myself 'stepping up to the plate' to help
Co-Manage a ride that wouldn't have happened had I not stepped up, thinking
that BC for LD would be a great idea only to find myself being 'boiled'
the Monday before the ride by my own club who hadn't read their monthly
newsletter or attended any meetings or come to the 2 dinners the other
co-RM and I set up. . . enough said.

Did I learn something doing BC?  Absolutely!
 Will I have the guts to do it again - well, if I ever find myself
in Top 10 again - yes.  Do I think it's a good idea to have BC for
LD - start throwing stones now - I definitely do because I do believe LD
is THE TRAINING GROUND for endurance - all aspects!  I've offered
to be a RM again but I think our club needs to figure out whether we as
a group will support a BC for LD.  It kind of helps to 'know whether
we do' before putting out the entry forms.

My 2 cents worth. . . oh, and I really
think that if we're all members of AERC and there's all the point standings,
awards, etc. that we should standardize on the LD BC whatever way that
is - yes or no.
 
I'll go back to being quite now.

Sandy
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