Re: RC: Question about rules and respect on ride

[David LeBlanc <dleblanc@mindspring.com>]

At 10:55 PM 5/25/00 -0400, Rides 2 Far wrote:
>I've seen front runners on a very important 100 (Biltmore 1999) stop on
>the first loop to offer a stirrup leather to a "nobody" who broke one.

Here's one for you.  It our first ride up here in the NW (Fire Mountain),
and Laser's first ride ever.  We'd planned on taking it nice and easy
(famous last words), and came into the vet check (LD ride) running 10th and
11th. So we hit the 2nd loop as hard as we could, we kept leapfrogging this
very nice woman.  We finally got a bit ahead of her, and going up a very
long hill, Ozar (my ride) started coming up a bit off, and wouldn't trot.
The other rider came up behind us, said we'd lost a shoe.  We'd left camp
without an easyboot (doh). She loaned us the one she had, stopped and
helped us put it on - another rider came sailing past us.

As it ended up, we all came into the vet check together, and Ozar pulsed
down quicker than the other 2 horses - we ended up with a top 10 (my
first), and we were 2nd for BC.  The lady who helped us was Gail Williams,
who manages some rides up here - I'll always be grateful, and I don't think
there are many other sports where someone would do something like that. She
could have easily had a top 10 if she'd just kept on going.  I think there
are more nice people in endurance than just about any other sport I've
encountered.


David LeBlanc
dleblanc@mindspring.com