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Re: [RC] sad story maybe this list serve - Laney HumphreyHi Keith,First of all, may I extend a hearty and sincere welcome to the sport of endurance! I personally hope you will stay subscribed to Ridecamp long enough to decide for yourself whether what we have to say interests you. We do talk about a very wide variety of topics, which are (usually) related in some way to our sport. I would be the first to admit that, like any group of enthusiastic people getting together to talk, opinions can be strong and strongly expressed. I'm very glad that you took the time to describe yourself and tell your side of the story here! You certainly seem like a reasonable person who has a lot of experience in other very demanding sports. And you and your family are obviously not newbies to horse ownership. My reading of Amber's post is that she, like lots of us who have been in the sport for a while, knows how easy it is to overestimate a horse's ability. Many of us sheepishly admit to seriously overriding at least one horse in our careers. As we've matured in the sport and in our relationship with our horses, we've come to realize that finishing first is not really what winning in endurance is all about. I assume that part of her anguish was over her inability to convince you to start slow. You are very right that she only told her side of the story but I think she was trying to make the point that the sport and AERC needs to continue to emphasize education and mentoring so that newbies and their horses get good, safe starts in the sport. Historically, one of the great appeals of endurance as a sport was its lack of rules compared to other competitive horse activities. As the sport has matured, people are now becoming concerned that the number of horses that get in trouble at rides has stayed pretty much the same over the years. The AERC Welfare of the Horse committee is one outgrowth of that concern. Some increase in educational efforts is another. As you probably already know, horse people tend to be very individualistic and opinionated. Endurance people are so in spades! But... we also care deeply for our horses and recognize that our sport demands far more of them than any other sport, and we also recognize that they don't get a choice. So those of us who care, and I know Amber is one of those & I hope you are too, take our responsibility to our horses very seriously and bend over backwards to do the best by them. Which means putting our egos and past accomplishments, horseback or anywhere else, away and doing only what will be the best for the horse between our legs. As Amber probably recommended, poke around the AERC and endurance.net websites. There is a wealth of information both places, including lists of mentors - people who have volunteered to help newbies learn the ropes. There is a yahoo group, gaitedenduranceriders, for people riding gaited horses in endurance. I'm a member of that group and I can tell you, the folks there, many of whom live in your neck of the woods, would be very glad to answer questions or help get you through a ride or two. I know it sounds big, but if you can, come to the AERC convention next month in San Antonio, TX. You will learn lots and see more things to spend your money on that you can imagine!!! Again, welcome to the sport! Laney Keith Kibler wrote: I am the "sad story" that is being "outed" here. I must say that of all the internet activety I am involved with horse related or not. This list serve, if this present activety is common place, certainly takes the cake. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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