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Re: [RC] Temptations - Maryanne Gabbani

Kim,
This is absolutely the best, most clear and dispassionate post I have seen on this subject ever. You have examined all of the issues and the rationales (rationalizations too) involved in lemonade stand riders (who may make fantastic lemonade) going up against Coca Cola industrial riders. And to judge from Steph's post about Madiya, not all the UAE riders are of the same industrial stamp. It isn't that one choice or another is inherently bad or good, but that they have to be honest and real. And I believe that as much as possible should be done to learn from these rides. Only problem that I see there is that in an industrial setting, learning from the opponent is often seen as being akin to espionage. I would hope that the stables and clinics in the UAE would be more generous with their findings. Inshallah.

Maryanne

On Feb 19, 2005, at 12:05 AM, Ridecamp Guest wrote:

Please Reply to: kim kimfue@xxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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I really don't have a problem with anyone selling their horse or themselves for the big bucks, the glamour, the prestige as long as they are honest about it. It is hard to deny that our horses become a "livestock commodity" when high dollar amounts are offered. But don't tell me you are selling your horse overseas because he will be retired in a green pasture after his racing career. Be honest and say that your beloved endurance horse has become a commodity at the "right price". If you are invited to the President's Cup and are choosing to go because you want the honor of "participating" in such a prestigious event even though you don't have a chance in hell to be "competitive" that is ok also but please explain to me why participation is so important when the hosts do not respect "participants" and close down everything after the first three horses come in and start the "Cup" presentation while several horses are still on the course. Tell me how that shows respect for the participants and participating. If you are going because it is a free trip, for the freebies and gifts, or for the opportunity to sell your horse....be honest about it. No big deal. Just call it like it is.

What I see in this "extreme" end of endurance is more of a racetrack mentality when it comes to the horses. The horses are a commodity. This is big business whether you are selling or leasing horses, consulting for wealthy owners, training for wealthy owners, etc. We keep hearing that the UAE endurance "racing" barns are full of prospects. I would love to know how many horses must be "tried" before one is able to complete a 100 mile race in 7 hours. Sounds allot more like the Thoroughbred race track mentality of buying, trying, selling, racing horses then what we know as endurance riding. If the majority of endurance riders think that this is OK and want to support it in ALL the different ways support can be given that is OK also. BUT do not condemn the race horse or show horse industry and think we are any better then them. There has already been one allegation of illegal substance use that tainted the WEC this year and this is the highest level of the sport....I am sure this is not the only instance of illegal substance charges at the championship level. Perhaps this is just the natural evolution of what happens when "big money" and "big opportunities" become available in any sport. I keep hearing about the "growing pains" endurance is going through and maybe this is just part of that. If the majority of endurance riders are OK with this direction that endurance is growing let's really learn more about it and dissect it just as we have dissected limited distance and multi day venues. Is this good for our horses? How do we judge that this is good for our horses.....longevity, better performance times, better soundness both metabolic & physical?
I want to know what can be gleaned from this "extreme" venue of endurance that will benefit the entire endurance community. Certainly, most endurance riders both here and abroad do not aspire to this level of riding. If we are to accept this as endurance I think all endurance riders should be benefiting from what is learned both successes and failures in this extreme venue. What research will be done or shared with us on taking extremely fit animals to the extremes of the sport? Certainly metabolic, lameness, and even strategies in crewing such as successful or not successful methods of artificial cooling could be learned from these events. Look what we learned from the Atlanta Olympics in recovery strategies. If bloodwork was done on every metabolic pull at the presidents cup there certainly should be a wealth of information to look at. Instead of focusing on the culture, wealth, 5 star hotels and fabulous parties and gifts I for one would like more "horse" information. I would like to see real longevity studies done to see if the same horse can come back year after year and be successful at a sub 8 hour 100 even if that horse races only ONE race a year. As an endurance rider I want to know if these are truly only one race wonders or if by careful management (racing fewer races a year) a horse can perform these incredible times more then once. If this venue is to be accepted and is here to stay by all means let's learn all we can from it.....it's not like there isn't the means to do this.


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Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
miloflamingo.blogspot.com
http://www.alsorat.com


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Replies
[RC] Temptations, Ridecamp Guest