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I find it quite funny that this new idea of how to run an endurance ride
where riders are stopped after it becomes apparent that they are no
longer in contention for placement is call "Grand Prix style."

It seems to me that somebody came up with a rather unpleasant idea, and
they figured the best way to get people to accept it was to give it a
high class name.

I must confess that no other Grand Prix horse competition that I have
ever gone to have they stopped any of the competitors as soon as it was
apparent that they were no longer in the running.  As an example, grand
prix show jumpers are not required to stop as soon as they knock down a
rail just if there have already been enough competitors to fill the
placings who have jumped clear.

There is nothing "Grand Prix" about this "style" of running an endurance
ride.  Choosing this name was probably just a way to see if its
proponents could get people to swallow it by giving it a nice sounding
name.

Of course, it may also be that many riders who are only interested in
the race aspect of the competition like the idea because it gives them
an excuse for quitting after they know they can't win while still being
able to say (and to tell themselves) "No, I didn't quit because I
couldn't win, they made me stop because it is a Grand Prix, and, you
know, that is a much higher form of competition."

I also find this quite funny.

kat
Orange County, Calif.
:)



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