Re: NOT FLUFF/mileage

["cookie hickstein" <cookieh@trib.com>]

----------
> From: Sullys Maze <Sully@Forsythe.Stanford.EDU>
> To: ridecamp@endurance.net
> Subject: Re: NOT FLUFF/mileage
> Date: Saturday, March 14, 1998 10:36 PM
> 
> REPLY TO 03/13/98 22:27 FROM ridecamp@endurance.net: Re: NOT
FLUFF/mileage
> 
> 
> I find that juniors I ride with do the 50 and then after they have
finished
> vetting in are out riding around for fun.  Have you ever seen Laney
Porter
> after a ride.  She sometimes brings an extra horse to ride around after
the
> ride.  I'm usually dying by that time and taking extra pain pills.  You
would
> be surprised what even 5 years olds can do.....Maryben
> 
> -------
> On the other hand........it's pretty awful to see children dragged
> on endurance rides becuase their parents don't have babysitters, or
> are trying to accomplish some sort of family mileage.
> 
> To me, taking a 5 year old on a 100 mile ride could constitute child
> abuse!  How many 5 year olds can concentrate on anything more than
> 20 minutes at a time, and how many take naps?  Also, to expect a
> child that young to have any concept of how dangerous a horse can be
> is absurd.
> 
> Although I allow that there are some exceptional children that
> desire nothing more than to spend the entire day on a horse, I do
> feel sorry for those that are pushed to do an often grueling and
> exhausting sport when they have no interest or aptitute.
> 
> I have heard some juniors express that they are pushed by their
> parents.......
> 
> My daughter did a 25 when she was 8 years old.  Her friend did her
> first 50 mile ride when she was 9 (I was darn impressed).  Even
> though these girls grew up loving horses, and with, I hope,  gently
> supportive parents, there is no way they would have enjoyed doing a
> 50 mile ride when they were 5 or 6 years old!
> 
> Just as there are rules to protect young horses from competition, I
> wish there were some age limits on junior riders to protect them
> from obsessive parents.
> 
> Karen
> 
> To:  ridecamp@endurance.net