Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I did my first 50s this past summer. The first was a 50 CTR. My goal was simply to finish. About 2 miles from the finish, my horse's heart rate jumped to 200 and took a few seconds to come back down. I knew she was tired and when I saw that I pulled her to a walk. I told the person I was riding with to go on ahead and that I was going to just cruise in slowly. If I had ignored that and pushed my mare we might have made the cut off time, but it certainly wasn't worth hurting my horse. So yes, it sucked to know that I would not achieve the goal I had set for ourselves for that day, but at least I would have my horse for another day. I never once thought or considered that I should get mileage for what I had done up to that point. I signed up to a do a 50 and did not meet all the criteria (finish within the time allowed), so that's that.

 

My next ride was my first endurance ride, a 55. On this ride, everything went really well for my horse and I and although we got lost and finished within minutes to spare, we finished strongly and my mare had energy to spare. I was totally satisfied, regardless of placing that we had achieved what we had set out to do. The Turtle Award was a nice touch, but was not necessary to make me feel like I had accomplished something.

 

This past weekend I did a 2-day 50 mile CTR (25 each day). If something happens on the second day and you don't finish, your entire mileage does not count. You accept the "risk" because it's part of the game or you do some other ride or distance.

 

I think we get so caught up in rewarding every little bit we lose sight of what should actually be rewarded. Sure, it is nice to have awards and I think new riders and juniors think it is pretty cool when they get their first ribbon or award, I know it was pretty exciting for me. And I cherish every one because they were hard earned. I might be still pretty new but I think it truly is "dumbing down the sport" to give mileage for half a ride completed. It also takes away from the achievements of all those other riders who worked their butt off to get their horse and themselves through a 50 or 100 to the finish.

 

Lysane

I realize that this proposal is not being considered at this time but I did want to make a couple comments on the above.  I have a real problem with the idea or attitude that something like this should be considered so some riders do not over ride their horses or to boost the moral of riders.  If we are at the point in this sport where we have to give "credit" for miles when a rider does not complete the distance entered for the welfare of the horse we are really doing something wrong.    I am sorry, the moral of riders really should not be an issue here.  A DNF is part of this sport just as much as completing is.  I don't see how partial credit is going to benefit the sport in the big picture.  Are endurance rider egos now so fragile that we much cushion the inevitability of a possible DNF?

 

 

 

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