Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Title: RE: [RC] FEI - racing - riding - Europe - USA

OK, Truman, I know all of that, having read many stories on ridecamp and -also - having competed - sorry, ridden :-) - many times in the US.

Maybe we should speak about "pleaure endurance" in the US and "competitive endurance" in Europe.

Anyway, I still think that your view of endurance here is biased. You make is more dramatic, competitive, diabolic, etc that it is in the reality. You can NOT compare UAE races with our rides. What do you think... on the french forums, they are also complaining about what they see in the UAE. Maybe one day, one advisor of a Sheikh will suggest to have rides in another corner of the country where they have mountains (heading to Oman) and we will get more technical races. But I'm stupid, even then they will b racing downhill in the rocks:)-

We don't accumulate miles or km under the belt of a horse or rider or couple, but we have a very good system to trace the achievements of horses, of the get of stallions and mares and a very good breeding system.

But let's stop with comparisons. Things are different, we are somehow different we like popcorns with sugar, you like them salty (beurkkk). we eat frogs and many other things like organs of animals (you will say beurkkkk).

just a question Truman : did you already ride or attend as spectator in a ride in Europe ? Come along, Truman, tu seras le bienvenu


-----Original Message-----
From: Truman Prevatt [mailto:tprevatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Fri 3/14/2008 1:36 AM
To: LIESENS Leonard (COMM)
Cc: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [RC]   FEI - racing - riding - Europe - USA

Leonard.Liesens@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>
> Hi ridecampers,
>
Hi Leonard.
>
>
> Also, ALL RACES in Europe ( 120km, 140km, 160km) are FEI.
>
> Crewing is different in our countries : our crew follows us (most of
> the ride manager provide a road book for the crew cars) and meet us
> every 8..12 km. We stop and get bottles to cool the horse and horses
> are given drinking water. OK, this is a lot more tense than you water
> stop where you guys dismount and take you time to sponge and have a
> talk with your friends. In Europe this is quite different... You want
> an example : watch the photos of eruropean rides and look at the
> _expression_ on the face of the riders : very few smiles, tension,
> concentration... It is a sport, a competition. Every second/minute counts.
>

As you probably know by now - the US is a huge country. Much of Europe
could fit into Texas. Endurance riding has a great tradition of a big
tent. Racing is just one small corner of this tent. The AERC honors,
lifetime and even yearly achievements that have noting to do with
"competition" except competition with the trail. We don't chase our
horses down the trail with vehicles or have grooms or crews meet them
every 5 miles (approximately 8 km).

Many don't really care about racing and most riders will never race in
the US. But they are still out there going down the trail. It seems the
one difference in tradition is in the FEI it IS a race or at least a
competition against the fellow riders. In the AERC many ride against the
trail - they would ride the same way independent of the other riders.

I think it is somewhat irrelevant if the race is in France or the USE -
if it is on a rolling course laid out in France or a packed sand track
laid out in the UAE - at the end of the day it is a race rather than a
ride. I think at the end of the day - that's the difference.I have heard
more than one rider who is looking for a 100 but will avoid an FEI 100
in this country. This view I think is getting more prevalent.

I think the AERC vision of endurance is unique in the sports world in
that it does encompass a large spectrum. To many the AERC is focused on
one man, one day, 100 miles. There is no mention of anyone else being
involved. The FEI version is focused on a competition between
individuals. While that may seem like a subtle difference - it is a
really a very big difference.

We are (at least I am) quite happy with the way it works in the USA. I'm
not looking for any help form our European or Gulf friends in changing
the underlying culture or structure of our sport - which I feel is a
good one. What the Europeans do is up to them. What the Gulf states do
is up to them. In reality what many of us consider endurance compared to
what the FEI considers endurance is similar to what the US calls
football compared to the European version which as we all know has
noting whatsoever to do with football ;-) .

Have a nice sleep.

Truman

--

"It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended
from man." H.L. Mencken