RE: [RC] cold shoulder, different ride times? - Chris Paus
I don't think ride times are set to favor arabians. To finish on time you have to ride at a little less than 5 mph. That's pretty standard across CTR, endurance, and all distance riding formats.
I ride arabians and have been over time. It's not because of the breed. It's usually for me because of the rider, not the horse.
Not every horse is suitable for distance sports. If you and your horse simply cannot make it in on time no matter how hard you try, then maybe this isn't the sport for you. Or maybe you need a mentor or coach.
I've seen people compete on a wide variety of horses and beat me and my arabians, so it can be done by many breeds and types of horses. It's a team effort.. not just the horse is involved.
as for the discussion on cliques. When I first got started, I thougth endurance riders were being cliquey. In reality, when I look back at it, I was keeping to myself, was afraid to ask for help from someone I didnt' know. And I often got my feathers ruffled for no good reason when people asked "how are you doing" on the trail.
In reality they WERE being friendly. They WERE offering to help. When I look back at my beginning in this sport I realize how many people DID step up to help me when I was clueless.
I've never yet done a 100, adn I'll bet when i take that step, there will be people to help and coach and mentor.
Much of what we define as clique is all in our perception, not in the reality.
As I got to know people and made friends, by golly, my perception of cliquiness changed!
And as in every walk of life, there are people we will get along well with, people we can tolerate and people we avoid. It's got nothign to do with the sport, it's simply human nature. Not eveyr personality gets along with every other personality. But by and large, I've found distance riders to be far more generous with their time, knowledge and everything, than riders from other disciplines.
People have stepped up to help me trot out my horse, they've shared their feed with my horse at vet checks, invited me into their camp for dinner or breakfast, helped with broken tack, the list goes on and on. And in return I've tried to pay it forward helping other people when I see they need it or ask for it.
"If you let a smile be your umbrella, then most likely your butt will get soaking wet." Maxine
