Home Current News News Archive Shop/Advertise Ridecamp Classified Events Learn/AERC
Endurance.Net Home Ridecamp Archives
ridecamp@endurance.net
[Archives Index]   [Date Index]   [Thread Index]   [Author Index]   [Subject Index]

Re: [RC] Change - Elizabeth Walker

I snipped some...

I have to differ. If I understand your position correctly, it is that, since the LD is a "beginner ride", and beginners may not have learned to pace a horse (or condition a horse) for the speeds needed for top ten and BC consideration, it is better not to have them at all.

There are two issues I have with this. One is that, while you do get "newbies" in the 25 distance more than the 50, folks moving up from 25 to 50 also have additional lessons to learn. What works at 25 miles (including the amount of conditioning needed) doesn't necessarily work at 50 miles, and what works for 50 miles doesn't work at 100 miles (or so I think I have read somewhere). So - the "newbie" issue is not confined strictly to the LD distance.

The other is that I think we are seeing the beginnings of a trend in LDs -- riders moving *down* from 50s into 25s as age, injury, etc. accumulates. There are also those folks that have no desire to move up to a 50 - they are happy at the 25 mile distance. These folks are *not* beginners, but under the current structure, they have no place to go but the "entry level" ride, or to quit riding. The result is that the LD ride is now attempting to serve a dual purpose, with limited success.

I drafted a proposal earlier (that apparently died in committee) for revising rules specifically for the "newbies". I think the time will come when AERC should seriously consider a separate "Entry" division (at any distance), which puts restrictions on *just* the beginners. That would allow experienced riders to compete for placings and BC at the LD distance without reliving the history of the early LD rides. (And, if you institute an "Entry" division for each distance, it would allow people moving up in distance to figure out what is required for that distance without getting caught up in attempting to top 10 their very first ride -- which has caused problems at the 50 mile distance as well).

On Jul 8, 2008, at 8:54 AM, Bruce Weary DC wrote:

Though any horse can improve it's own fitness with an intelligent conditioning program, horses are still being built pretty much the same as they were back in the days when they showed us it can be dangerous and deadly to race with a beginner on his back for 25 miles. The carnage that occurred back then when LD's didn't have the controls they do now is, at least in part, responsible for why some RM's exercise their option not to offer a BC in their LD rides. It isn't to exclude riders from a good educational experience, or to deprive them of placings or privileges enjoyed by those at the longer distances. It is because to be considered for BC, there is a finish time or "speed" component involved, wherein the rider must go fast enough to be considered for BC. And while certainly not all riders in an LD are beginners, with an LD being the entry level type of ride, the potential numbers of beginners is greater than the higher distances.....
<snip>

Endurance riders are a funny lot. I know riders with over 25,000 miles who are humble, and say they still have a lot to learn. Then there are those who have done a few LD's, or one or two 50's, that already feel they know what sweeping changes should be made in our ride structure and awards system, and that those changes would, by definition, be "improvements."
Let's go slow and get there quicker. Bruce Weary




=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

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!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


Replies
[RC] Change, Bruce Weary DC