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Actually my whole reason for doing this sport has nothing to do with
torturing my self to "endure" but to escape the day to day grinds of
life, project deadlines, and other stresses which I do have to "endure"
in an activity that gets me outside on my horse on the trail. I really
don't care if it is 25 miles or 100 miles - they all fit the bill and
they all have the ability to recharge the soul.

While climbing Mt. Everest will always be climbing a mountain the same
height make no mistake that when Sir Edward Hillary did it was a much
tougher climb than what we see today. So while the mountain has not
shrunk or the weather gotten better - the equipment has by leaps and
bounds. The ability to communicate and know the weather moving in so you
won't get caught on the wrong day making the final assent is to the
point of precision. The knowledge of when and how to use oxygen is
gotten better and the weight of what you have to carry has gotten much
less. The clothing has gotten better and lighter. In reality climbing
Mt. Everest today is nowhere the feat it was in the late 1800's. It has
changed some say it has gotten easier - those that do it today have an *
beside their name.

As far as testing "myself outside my comfort zone" I did more than my
share in the past - and quite frankly it was actually not all it was
cracked up to be but that's a different story. However, out on the trail
with my horse - I can fine for just a few fleeting hours true peace.
There is nothing more peaceful that riding alone in the cool of a dark
evening without a light with your horse finding his way. That is the
only reason I did the 100's I did and if my next horse has a 100 in her
I will do them again. But if she doesn't - that's fine too since I will
be enthralled by the thrill and awe of the discovery that awaits around
the next bend shared with a partner that is more attuned to the nuances
of nature than we can ever be - this is what I cherish about endurance
riding.

So to each his own - it is a big tent.

Truman

Bruce Weary DC wrote:
>  Our sport is so unique in so many ways, and that is part of it's 
> attraction. And it got that way because of it's attributes that were 
> clearly present in the early years, but which are, in some circles, 
> under pressure to change to meet the expectations and desires of it's 
> participants. I looked up the definition of "endure" and came up with 
> this:
>
>   1. To carry on through, despite hardships; undergo: /endure an Arctic
>      winter./
>   2. To bear with tolerance: /“We seek the truth, and will endure the
>      consequences”/ <http://www.answers.com/topic/bear>
>   3. To suffer patiently without yielding.
>
> To me, the key ingredient, the reason we do this sport, and the thing 
> that must be maintained and protected as an attractive quality of 
> endurance riding, is the "hardship" or "patient suffering" mentioned 
> above. Our society has become so accommodating to our every comfort 
> and to increasing needs to be recognized in an ever more crowded 
> world, that some of us like to break away from that, and test our 
> mettle against true challenge, and regardless of recognition or 
> rewards. We want to test ourselves *outside our comfort zones* against 
> fatigue (even exhaustion), the elements (extreme heat or cold), rough 
> terrain, etc, all the while juggling the factors involved in caring 
> for our equine partners who are sharing those same challenges at the 
> same time--just because we asked them to. These are experiences that 
> have been largely lost in today's soft society, though they offer much 
> opportunity for fun and personal growth. I have heard it said that our 
> most powerful lessons come from our most painful experiences. The 
> rides I brag about the most are certainly the toughest and most 
> painful ones. And I enjoy those campfire stories told by riders like 
> Julie Suhr and others as they regale us with tales of the days when 
> everyone rode in cowboy boots, western saddles, and had never heard of 
> electrolytes or sunblock.
> It is my personal opinion that the challenge in endurance should be a 
> fixed parameter. Mt Everest, for example, is always the same height 
> and basically the same challenge, no matter who is climbing it. No 
> climber asks for it to be shortened so they can make it to the top, 
> nor demands the same or similar recognition for having climbed 
> halfway, because they are physically impaired or life got busy and 
> they didn't have enough time or money to train properly. When life 
> gets in the way (kids, work, financial restrictions, etc.,.) our sport 
> responds by making available a similar and more doable 
> experience--limited distance riding. But, just as there are shorter 
> mountains out there to conquer, no one confuses those shorter 
> mountains with Everest, nor expects similar accolades of having 
> conquered it--until they actually do. And when they do, they will have 
> "suffered hardships patiently," and truly endured at a high level. 
> Each person's personal definition of suffering shouldn't define the 
> challenge of this sport, anymore than our tolerance levels should 
> determine how much recognition we get for any other achievement. 
> Asking for increasing levels of recognition and awards for decreasing 
> levels of challenge tends to water down the core principles of 
> endurance riding, in my mind. The challenge is there in endurance 
> riding, fixed and constant. The 100 mile trail awaits us, licking it's 
> chops. An additional level of challenge presents itself as we pit 
> ourselves against the long and difficult trail, helped or hindered by 
> our own strengths and weaknesses, whatever those may be for each 
> individual. Endurance riding truly allows us to embark on our own 
> personal odyssey, to learn what we are really made of. These are 
> experiences not often found in daily life, and they should be 
> treasured, not modified to be more easily achieved and awarded. Where 
> would be the challenge in that?
> Bruce Weary
>
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--

“He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a
monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also
into you.”  Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil



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Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

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