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Re: [RC] 2006 Big Horn 100 - Laney HumphreyThank you, Ramy, for posting your experiences at the Big Horn ride. The only way for a sport to grow and flourish is through the free and open exchange of information and opinions. I'm interested in your comment that there was a sense that RM "really wanted riders to complete." I am assuming that they were hoping that more completions would make the ride more appealing thus encouraging more people to enter next year. A ride that is easy, or at least possible, to complete is certainly more appealing than a ride that cannot be completed in time and with a healthy horse by most entrants. But, today, I think more people are concerned with the health and safety of their horses than ever before and are therefore more likely to consider entering rides that are known to be do-able. An appealing ride should certainly be challenging but within reason. And I, for one, expect a ride to ride the way it has been described by RM. If it's described as being 100 miles, it should actually be 100 miles long, give or take a couple of miles. In other words, I like to know in advance what I'm getting myself, and especially my horse, into; I don't like last minute surprises.Old timers complain that today's riders can't do really tough rides. They may not be wrong, but the sport has to keep up with the times. We are no longer a nation of people who grew up on horseback out in the woods, learning horsemanship and outdoor skills almost before we learned to walk. Rather than designing rides that can be completed by only a very few (& those likely to be locals who know the trails with their eyes closed); successful ride managers will acknowledge that for probably 95% of today's AERC members, riding is a hobby fitted into a busy schedule of work and family. I'm not arguing for walks in the park; I am suggesting successful and popular rides will be ones that accurately measure the trail, then accurately describe it, and finally recognize that in today's world, vets and drag riders are expected and necessary. There is a place for extreme rides such as Big Horn apparently was, but they should be described as such and perhaps limited to people and horses with many miles of comparable experience so that the unwary are not put at unneccessary risk. Laney =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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