Kat, I have no doubt that you would excel in an event like this. Your years of formal riding, your endurance experience, riding multiple horses, riding green or problem horses, your thinking outside the box, etc. would give you the experience needed to be successful in the event and humane to these animals. You are one of the toughest persons I know and I am convinced you could survive or even thrive in the most adverse conditions. The problem is not everyone entered has a realistic view of this event or the life experiences to deal with what may come up for both themselves and their horse. I have had first hand experience with someone who was entered in this race so my opinion is not based on what I read on ridecamp. I also think that it is possible to run a horse into the ground in 25 miles whether it grazes for 25 miles every day of it's life or not. It all depends on how that animal is ridden. I feel like that is a no brainer.
I will probably be sorry I ever even commented on this topic. An event like this could be a true test of horsemanship for an experienced, prepared rider or a complete disaster for both horse (s) and rider when the rider doesn't realize what they are getting into. The responsibility falls on the organizers to make sure participants are qualified. For 90% of the equestrian world this event would be considered "extreme" (though most endurance riders probably view this differently because of the length of each leg and changing mounts). It would be like taking a hiker who's only experience is in his local mountains and expect him to be able to successfully climb Mt Everest with a sherpa as his guide. His sherpa partner is local to the area and experienced on the route but is that enough. I think thrill seeking and a sense of adventure and is the catalyst to want to do these types of things but preparation and a person's life experience is going to make them successful and/or keep them alive.
