ridecamp@endurance.net: Riding Attire

Riding Attire

Barbara Madill (madill@teleplex.net)
Wed, 16 Jul 1997 19:21:38 -0400 (EDT)

The commentary on riding attire reminds me of 1980 when our son was
challenged by the young lady he was then dating (said young lady had ridden
the Tevis) to ride the NJ 3 Day 100 (with ten days preparation time).
This met with my approval for a couple of reasons, the main one
being that the horse he would ride absolutely intimidated me (on the trail).
He liked the horse. One problem solved. At 6'1 1/2 and 190 or so, he
needed a bigger saddle. I said I'd spot him to the saddle if he'd work out
his own clothing.
His outfit:
Surgical greens (borrowed from surgeon friend)
Thermal cotton underwear
Football helmet and knee pads
Adidas

Since NJ frequently experiences thunderstorms at the end of May, the
other riders had varying opinions as to whether, with the stainless steel
threads in his outfit, they wanted to be near him in the event of a
thunderstorm.
This was the first ever competitive ride our son had ridden. Would
you believe he managed to draw # 1 starting position? At the conclusion of
the three days, he stepped off the horse and announced, "I want Credit for
TWO 100 mile rides -- my first and my last!" So far, he has kept his word.
(For the record, the horse was 2nd in the heavyweight division and
went on to be Vermont 100 Grand Champion at the end of the summer, with our
daughter riding) This same horse has mellowed a bit, but at 23, gets into
100 mile mode whenever there are more than a couple of horses around.

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