Re: Welsh cobs/different here

[rides2far@juno.com (Angela C. McGhee)]

>In the UK the current holder of the highest grade one (no penalties) 
>mileage in competitive trail rides is a Welsh Cob Oakden Frenin, of 
>very Old Welsh lines. One of the top ride ride horse over a 100 miles 
>is Bobby a Clydesdale

Tamara,
For the last 10 days I have had a houseguest from the UK.  Dawn Saunders
of Scotland did a 50 mile ride with us at Big South Fork in Tennessee. 
It was somewhere around 97 degrees that day.  Ever seen a baked Scot?
  
After LOTS of questions and answers, we found that there are LOTS of
differences in the way our rides and your rides are run.  Also, there's
major differences in terrain and how it has to be handled.  (I've yet to
lose a horse in a bog).  I took her to the rockiest trail I've got (the
Longstreet Charge course for those of you who know) and she wasn't even
slightly surprised.  

We learned that it is that it's MUCH cooler there.  They use lots of
Highland Ponies (which are probably taller than my Arabian "horse").  I
don't think those would do very well here in the heat...and their tallent
for sniffing out bogs would be pretty useless...but then, Kaboot wouldn't
get very far over there if he jumped in a bog up to his ears.  Dawn rides
an Anglo-Arab, and has to blanket, etc. to help her handle the cold.  

You all have divisions where rosettes can be earned at different paces,
etc. That is much more like our sport of Competetive Trail.  There are
lots more non-Arabs that excell at Competetive Trail than there are that
excell at Endurance.  All our rides are run more like your "race rides".

Another reason we don't use Welsh Cobs is the availability factor.  I
have two registered Welsh Ponies, but I've never seen a Welsh Cob...even
when I went to a fairly large show in Atlanta.  They're pretty rare over
here.  

So, if someone suggests that a Welsh Cob probably wouldn't do very well
here, don't think it's a slam.  Different things work out in different
places.

After talking to Dawn I've learned that there's lots of European lurkers
out there.  I wish you guys would speak up more often and describe what
it's like over there.  It's more interesting than us hashing our the same
arguments OVER and OVER.  :-)

Angie McGhee

P.S.  There must have been at least 25 people talking about coming over
to visit Dawn....she may be calling some of you up for HELP!!!  :-))




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