Re: .Limited Distance
Samm C Bartee (bartesc@mail.auburn.edu)
Wed, 29 Jan 1997 09:18:06 -0600 (CST)
> organized by AERC. Somehow, it's just not clear enough to many limited
> distance participants that it is not a race but a ride. There is just too
> much gray area. Some rides make a big deal about placing, some don't
> recognize placing at all, some award best condition, etc., etc. If placings
> were removed from the limited distance category all together, perhaps that
> would end some of the racing. Just recognize finishes... alphabetical order
> perhaps?
*I* think, not that this is *my* opinion here:-) I think that some people
will race to the end no matter what this means!! I see people racing on
the freeway to get to the exit first. They aren't winning blue ribbons
either. I see people racing to get in line at the vet check, to wait for
1 hour to see the vet at pre-ride check in.
You are going to have that racing mentality no matter what. Many people
don't care if they win something or not. I know a guy here in the SE that
thinks it's great to beat out people that weigh less than he does. He is
a big boy folks!! To him, that is the race, and he rides his horse the
same no matter if he is conditioning or at a ride. He will probably not
do 50's for a while, bad heart makes that a little difficult on him, but
his horse could sure do it!! he knows that too.
My point is, that no matter what you do, there will always be people that
believe you have to Race to get from point A to point B. even if they
know they are out of the top ten, they will still race--in their mind
anyway. I know people that ride for pleasure that do not ever walk. In
fact they ride so fast that even *I* won't ride with them for
conditioning. I can't keep up!! But they have the horse to do it and have
no desire to do endurance at any mileage.
We have criteria in place to determine the order of finish, if that means
that someone thinks they won, fine. They are going to always think they
won. Humans for the most part are competitive creatures. Trying to be
better than something, not necessarily their neighbor, but something!
Some are competitive against the clock, they finish a 25 in under 6 hours
and they WON. Some want to do the ride in better time or whatever than
they did last year. That is their competition.
I understand this is a tough subject for many. I have ridden all three
distances. I was glad to finish my 100, have raced for top place in some
50's, and have never tried to race for first on a 25. But, on the 25's
that I did do, I rode to see what the horse could do. I let him pace
according to how he felt. If that was a 4 MPH pace, then fine. If that
was a 10 MPH pace, then as long as he looked good at the vet checks and as
long as he felt good on the trail, I let him go. It's all about
conditioning for me. I see no reason to get upset with anyone for how
they do as long as the horse is OK. I know that's the run for many of us.
Seeing certain people who ride LD rides showing up week after week with a
new horse because they blew up the old one. It really chaps me too. But,
I do see many in the 50 mile rides who do the same thing. Season after
season these people have a new horse because the last one just didn't
"have it in him to do this sport" or he was lazy, or he was ......
Never mind they rode the horse well beyond his capabilities, heaped up a
pile of top tens, and then suddenly when the horse could no longer do it,
bam, sold to the highest bidder no matter if it was the pleasure home down
the road or the meat peddler. I know people who refuse to pay much for a
horse because they know the horse will not last and they will have to
resell.
My point here is that no matter what distance you do, you will always find
someone who rides in an offensive manner. Instead of critisizing, we need
to educate the newcomers. When I first did this, I didn't know any better
than the people that taught me. It took me a long time to learn what I
was trying to do, and I am still learning today. I see people who jump
from doing easy slow LD rides to a better horse and suddenly act as though
they didn't know there was a slower pace than race. Horses seem
expendable to many people. It's sad, but true. Education has to be the
answer to this problem.
I understand that no matter what or how something is run, noone will be
100% happy with the outcome. There will always be problems and
complainers. I just think that of all the horse sports that I have done,
and there have been a few of them, that endurance, no matter which level I
ride on, is the best sport, with the best people, who seem to care the
best for their horses in the long run. It runs pretty smoothly most of
the time, so why throw a chink in that?
> As to best condition, I'm not sure what the answer to that is. It's a nice
> award, but if you have to finish in the top five or top ten there will again
> be those who feel the need to barrel through the ride to accomplish that.
> No matter what, better clarity on the part of AERC regarding limited distance
> seems to be in order.
No doubt that we all have to look to AERC for the rules and regs, but
anytime there is another rule added, we all groan. Any mention of a new
rule or guideline is met with steady resistance no matter what the rule or
reg is for. Face it folks, we are a bunch that hates rules, that's why we
ride endurance. there are some rules, many guidelines, and all to ensure
the welfare of the horse and safety of the rider. makeing more rules will
not prevent the over riding of horses. It will mean people look for
more ways to get around the ones already in place.
samm--quitting for now and running really fast for cover:-)