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Re: [RC] Adrenaline Junkies - k s swigartFrom: "Betsy Thomas" <betsy@xxxxxxx> I should point out I ride my horse out of a barn that's primarily dressage horses, so they think I'm pretty daring... thanks for helping me realize I'm still a total wuss though. :-) I like pretending I have guts. There is certainly no shame in NOT being an adrenaline junkie. Adrenaline junkies who cannot control their need for a fix (and what it takes to get that fix, like all additions, escalates) end up dead or end up killing themselves or somebody else in their pursuits. Being an adrenaline junkie isn't about being brave, it is about being stupid. If you are an adrenaline junkie and pursue a fix on the endurance trail, especially a 100 mile endurance trail, you and/or your horse are probably gonna get in big trouble (which is probably why, in my experience, there aren't a whole lot of adrenaline junkies in endurance riding). If you are an adrenaline junkie and you ride endurance, you have to learn to control the craving, which can be damned hard for an adict (it helps if you are an endorphine junkie too, so can get the same fix that way). One of the best endurance riders I know personally is, if you ask me, most definitely NOT an adrenaline junkie. HE thinks that finishing a 100 mile endrance ride is "thrilling" (his word, not mine). When I told him that, while I found 100 mile endurance rides satisfying that nothing could beat steeplechasing for pure thrill, his response was that he preferred his horses to keep their feet on the ground. Ask me? Where's the thrill in that? But that is probably what makes him a better endurance rider than me. You should be glad that you can get an adequate adrenaline fix from riding along side a road with a tennis ball machine...it will keep you from galloping out INTO the traffic just for the fun of it. Problems start when a little bit of danger is not enough. Endurance is not a sport for adrenaline junkies...at least not for ones that cannot control their need for a fix on the endurance trail. kat Orange County, Calif. :) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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