Re: Who was in the US Squad

[jlong@mti.net (Joe Long)]

On Sun, 13 Dec 1998 09:57:34 -0800, "Carlos Crespo" <ccrespo@nigma.com> wrote:

>It is a sad reflection of the sport and the  current state of competition 
>if the way to win is to play conservatively, not take risks, and aim for a less 
>than optimum performance. In my book, this is not competition.

>WHERE THERE IS NOTHING VENTURED THERE IS NOTHING GAIN.
 
>Great horses and Great Competitor do amazing, unpredictable feats in the face of adversity.
>Underestimating these horses and riders is a big mistake.

Why do you keep beating *this* dead horse?  No one said anything about not
taking risks or turning in a less that 100% effort.  I pointed out that the
results of the race bore out what I and others have been saying about team
selection, that the *consistent* team wins the Gold.  That's a fact -- deal with
it. 

In my book, the best competitors find out what is the best approach to victory
and employ it.  They also go out and *do* it, and they don't put down the
achievements of those who beat them.  I'm not taking anything away from the U.S.
team and their fine achievement when I give credit where credit is due to the
New Zealanders.

>CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TEAM, BUT MUST OF ALL TO VALERIE AND JEDI FOR A 
>GREAT PERFORMANCE AND FROM WHOM WE NEVER EXPECT ANYTHING SHORT OF 
>OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE.

I'll second that.  I also never expected anything less than optimum performance
from the U.S. team, and I believe we got it.  There's no sense finger-pointing
and crying sour grapes because another team won; we congratulate them and begin
preparing for the next competition.


-- 

Joe Long
jlong@mti.net
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