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> Any horse that cannot complete 50 miles in 12 hours elapsed time because
> it is too tired to go that fast, is not "fit" enough to be an endurance
> horse and the rider needs to take the horse home and do more conditioning.
>
> Averaging 4.6 miles per hour is barely above a walk.
Try looking at the Old Dominion trail in Virginia. The trail definitely
takes it's toll through climbs, heat, humidity, as does the time "eaten
up" in the multiple vet checks. There are years when the finisher has
come in at 23 hrs 59 min and been top ten - and NOT too far off to have
a good shot at BC! Before a blanket statement like as above, look at
the trail and hold times to see what the horse actually accomplished.
I agree with you. There are always a few folks who are undermounted for
the distance. It comes back to not enough wet saddle blankets.
Hopefully those folks will learn lessons in training and rating their
horses.
> If the horse and rider cannot finish under time because of poor planning
> on the rider's part <snip> then that is the rider's fault...and one of the
> responsibilities of riders is to properly rate their horse so that they
> can finish in the time allotted.
The Old Dominion solved that problem of folks planning their ride poorly
by "closing" vet check stations if the folks were not on track for
completing within the established time frame. Quite a few are pulled at
the first 2 checks. This keeps riders from pushing their mounts in high
heat/humidity - a killer combination.
Linda Flemmer
Blue Wolf Ranch
Bruceton Mills, WV
-- ˙WPC$
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