Subject: Re: [RC] ? WEG distance - should it change?
On the other hand, our 75 has always had more riders than the 100 and drew
THREE TIMES as many riders last year as the 100.? Go figure....
Truman wrote
Back when I was riding 100's I saw absolutely no reason to ride a 75. I
didn't see much reason to ride a 75 when I could ride a 100. At that
time we also didn't have very many if any in the SE. I would drive a
long way for a 100 - but sure wouldn't drive a long way for a 75.? If I
thought about doing a 75, I'd probably just bite the bullet and do a 100.
A lot of riders have said this, BUT, you are speaking from the reference of being a 100 mile rider.? What about those 50 mile riders who do ride after ride after ride at the same distance.? If you are willing to drive somewhere for a 50, why not a 75?
If 100 miles seems more of a challenge than you want, what's wrong with a 75?? I am not expecting that 100 mile riders would move to the 75 mile distance (other than bringing on a new or?rehabbed horse) but rather have?successful 50 mile riders take on the challenge of the 75 mile distance.
There have been a lot of RM's that have offered a 75 one year but didn't
continue with it since it didn't pan out. When I looked at the
distribution of distances - the 75 to 95 mile distance was not only flat
over the last 10 years but if you ignore 2 day 100's it is the smallest
category in riders.
Perhaps it is the smallest?category because it is not commonly offered?
Truman also wrote;
In any sport one is more likely to get injured when they are tired than
when they are fresh.?
Do we agree on this?? I do.? So, if you have a horse that you want to compete for years on end, why not consider riding? at 50 miles with one 75/season as a goal?? Or ride at 75 miles with one 100 /season mile ride as a goal?? Rather than jumping from 50 to 100?? If the horse finishes in better shape (compared to a 100) one could do more rides per season?? The?Europeans have very few 100 mile rides, most being somewhere between 50-80 miles and are well attended.? Perhaps there is something to learn from this???
