No matter what distance you ride, you will have some one who will
over ride their horse. I saw this happen at a ride not long ago. ( a
50) There will always be those who have to "win", even if they don?t' have
the horse, or the conditioning on their horse to do it. There are more of us,
however, who simply compete against ourselves. As long as my horse is happy, and
I still have the strength to try to hold her back, each ride we try to do a
little better. Experiment on how to improve that nasty B on gut sounds at the
first vet check, how to cool her faster, get her in getter shape, then improve
on the last ride time a little. Slow but steady progress.
No matter if you judge BC or not, you will still have horses over
ridden. I would think those concerned about winning BC would slow down,
especially the last 5 miles to make for a faster and better recovery. I was
introduced to the notion that it is better to finish top ten and win BC than it
is to win. I don't think having a BC or not will cut down on the "racers" or
"ya-hooers" Some of them decide to try a ride that is where they usually train,
and they just "have to show those Arabs somethin'. Usually at their horse's
expense. However, I think those of us concerned with lifetime mileage are
in the majority. You can't legislate away stupidity. No matter how the ride is
held, what distance, BC or not, you will still occasionally have horses that are
over ridden. Sadly, to some, having a top ten on their horse's record is more
important than the horse.
Also, I know at the larger rides, it would take extra time at the
awards ceremony to announce the horse's name also, BUT since she did carry me on
that ride, she should at least get half the recognition.
Okay, Peggy. I guess I'm not done with the LD
thing yet. I have, until now, let slide the comments about "ghost horses",
which insinuates that there are no horses really being overridden in LD
rides. T'aint so. In over 22 years and 7000 miles I have personally
witnessed many overridden horses in LD rides, as well as the other
distances. A common scenario that I have experienced many times is to be
passed by fast-moving LD riders on the same trail I'm riding on the 50
miler, with a 30-60 minute lead, and well before the first vet check. The
horses are often drenched in sweat, and the riders often travel in groups
, not wanting to let each other out of their sight. This is a common
sight, not a rarity, in my experience. At the Californios ride
last year, a couple of real cowboys entered the LD ride and they galloped
much of the ride, passed us near the finish at a blistering pace,
and at the finish line one of the horses promptly slammed himself to the
ground, harder than I have ever witnessed a horse go down in my not so
limited career. Dr Fred Beason then ordered the saddle be removed while
the horse was down and proceeded to save that horse's life. Call Fred and
ask him about that experience. I'm sure he'll recall it. Dave
Nicholson, who has 14 Tevis buckles, is in the AERC Hall of Fame, and is
probably the most prolific ride manager in the country in terms of the
number of rides he puts on, refuses to put on LD rides. I have heard him
say on more than one occasion that it is much easier to kill a horse on a
25 than a 50. And that's why he won't put one on. Finally, AERC
currently has 8 protests posted on their website. Two of the protests
assert cruelty to horses due to the speed they were being ridden in LD
rides. They were both upheld. Now, I'm the first to admit that
by far the riders in LD's are knowledgable responsible horsepeople. And
that things usually go well for most horses. But to assert that things
CAN'T go wrong because things AREN'T going wrong in LD's is not
representative of reality. Let's make sure we have a clear view of
the facts as we form our opinions regarding LD/BC or any other policy that
affects our sport, and our horses, for that matter.
Respectfully, Bruce
Weary
