HOPE visits Ridecamp

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

Cathy Sabe csabe@servicepaper.com
Thank you Howard for sharing your ordeal.  I lurk at work mainly to save my sanity but foremost to learn, and I have learned much thanks to all of you.  As I sat incoherent thru two sales meetings reflecting on Howard's agony, a glimmer of hope set in.  Hope that perhaps this story increases our awareness just a little, and keeps our feet on the ground.  I'd like to share a  tale about "Rider Z".  Rider Z is the competitive type, dreaming of a "top 10" and pushing hard to get it.  At one competition, Rider Z's horse was pulled at the final vet check due to lameness, and Rider Z was in a Top 10 placing.  Well, Rider Z was very unhappy, blaming the long vet line for the pull...."my horse wouldn't have been pulled if he didn't have to stand so long..." and slamming the vet all they way home not really giving any thought to *why* the horse was pulled, or what Rider Z could have done differently.  A week later, Rider Z got a phone call, aparently the paperwork on the pull was misplaced at the ride and Rider Z got the top 10 after all.  Rider Z revelled at this news for weeks, and decided to enter another race too soon, after all they did "top 10".  I don't know what became of Rider Z or the horse that tried so hard to please, but I did hear that soon after that next competition blood workup was ordered to help determine the cause of a tie-up.  
Although it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of a ride, and an occassional error in judgement is human nature, my hope is that Howard's story reminds us to step up our awareness. And even though things happen beyond our control when we are most careful, WE control how we compete. It took courage for Howard to share his story, don't judge him, learn from him.  Rider Z, if you're out there........
Cathy.