Tom Van Gelder has ALWAYS been exceptionally wonderful to me...back to
1989. One night, Cindy Collins and I were out there somewhere in the
Badlands on a hundred miler and darn if he wasn't there for us....throughout the
night. And, when I finally found myself just about four miles from
the finish, who was at the fence waiting for me...Tom Van Gelder. He is a
kind man, well-intended.
I understand Tom Van Gelder. I understand the Big Horn
100.
It is a 100 which is certainly doable.
BUT, I also understand that the fabric of the AERC saddle pad has changed,
particularly over the last ten years or so. Riders are different.
Expectations are different.
I don't think Endurance Riding should be Survival Riding, no more than I
think it should be a Carousel Ride in the Park. Somewhere in between would
be fine with me.
Who of us have ever heard Dave Nicholson's "You Could Die Out There" speech
and not understood that he was very serious when he gave it.
Well, I remember my first Tom Van Gelder ride briefing (1989)...very
similar in content. The BH is (for the most part) a primitive point to
pointer.
I love the ride.
If things could have been done better...well, ferreting out the
this-and-that of it all won't be a bad thing. Particularly if it improves
the perception of the doability of the ride and the safety of the ride.
But, face it, Endurance Riding is not inherently safe for the horse or the
rider.
It is a dangerous sport and I don't care if you doing a training ride, a
limited distance ride or going over Cougar Rock with sliding plates on your
horse's back hooves.
If we can improve the safety of it all, I'm all for it.
What makes me sad, Lisa is that RC can get frothy at the mouth over Barbaro
and when we need to discuss rider and horse safety, archaeic and entrenched
attitudes seem to polarize the "camp". Too bad.
