> LD rides ARE training rides and should be treated as such. In training,
> ALWAYS add distance BEFORE adding speed..
Ummm....I must heartily disagree with this. Though it is received wisdom
and LSD (long slow distance) has always been a favorite conditioning
technique...recent (last 5 years) studies (no I can't quote or cite
them...that would take a lot of digging) and my own experience is...if
you intend to compete at speed, you need to train at speed. And that,
in fact, it is possible that many race horses are breaking down for lack
of speed training and too much LSD.
I am of the opinion that if you intend to go fast over long distances,
you must first practice going fast over short distances. Speed
conditioning should be done hand in hand with distance conditioning. A
high speed 25 is a great prep for a high speed 50 (in fact, I would go so
far as to say, that it is a better prep for a high speed 50 than a low
speed 50 is).
The metabolic requirements, the bone requirement, the muscle
requirements, the stresses and torques, etc. of riding at speed are
completely different than those of riding at low speed.
> "Winning" an LD ride in my book is
> nothing to brag about. Join the QIDM Marathon racing team instead and get
> the thrill of winning money and the admiration of the sheiks.
Well....Qatar is rather a long ways away from Southern California (for
Kris) and why should she have to go all the way to Qatar if there are
people here who want to do the same thing. An equally as (or more)
reasonable thing to say would be..."If you want to participate in a ride
of 25-35 miles that awards completion and is judged on condition of the
horse, ride a CTR in your own backyard and leave the LD "endurance" rides
to people who want to race."
Personally, I don't (not any more...my first year of "endurance" was LD
rides) take my horses to LD rides. I, too, consider them training rides,
and I don't need to pay an entry fee to train my horse. I can train my
horse at home, for free (and it saves on gas money too). And I don't
need a vet to tell me when my horse is tired (vet checks being the other
thing that LD endurance rides provide).
Other people want to "compete" at 25-35 miles. I am willing to let
them. Like any other endurance ride, there are all kinds of competitions
going on at an LD ride (BC, against the trail, against the other horses,
against the other riders, against the clock).
I will train my horses at home, and they can compete with their horses at
LD endurance rides, and you can finish at a CTR (or an LD ride too, if
that is what suits you).
For me...this is an endurance ride, "one horse, one rider, one day, one
hundred miles." I also like the multi-day rides...and rides like Malibu
and Sunland which (though they are only 50 miles) are tuff. A 50 mile ride
where the top finishers finish in under 5 hours...no thanks (I recognize
that I am probably in the minority here...but so what). When the AERC
stops sanctioning competitions that I like, I will stop competing in them.
Which is why you don't see me on my horse at competitions any more.
I've done that 50 miler thing...look for me at 100's otherwise, I will
TRAIN at home. YOU (speaking generically) can do whatever you like, and
as long as you can find other people who want to do the same thing with
you...you can organize an event and do it together.
kat
Orange County, Calif