Re: This Sport as a Sport

[Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>]

>Tom, please note the existence of the THIRD CATEGORY, comprised of those
>of us who gratefully benefit from the knowledge gained from those of YOU
>WHO ARE going for the gold.
>
>I am a pleasure-trail-horse trainer/instructor who, over the years has
>‘visited’ multiple horse disciplines, seeking new ideas and new ways to
>improve my skills.  The two ‘disciplines’ that have taught me the most
>are dressage and endurance.  
>
>The benefits derived from dressage are obvious to most.  However, few
>appreciate that the endurance community is an absolute gold mine of
>cutting-edge knowledge that can be of immense long-term benefit to the
>active pleasure horse as well as the equine athlete. 
>
<snip>
>Most of us ‘lurkers’ really do appreciate the hound as well as the hare. 
>We are listening and absorbing.  Don’t hold back!  Please keep arguing
>with great passion.  It is essential to progress.
>

Pat -- I felt as if I had written this post myself.  

Most of the students I have taught here have been pleasure riders...and a
few are now getting into endurance riding right along with me.  (Sort of
the blind leading the blind. ;-))  The knowledge that I have gained from
the discourses on ridecamp has been tremendous and I've been able to turn
around and teach it to those that are just starting!  Some of it has been
way over my head and I don't claim to understand it well enough to pass it
on...but the gist of the discussions is becoming an integral part of my
teaching program.  For a long time my main interest was dressage (still
occupies a fair amount of my time since I'm so firm in my belief of it's
importance) but I sampled other disciplines along the way to learn a bit
about them (and usually enough to realize that it just wasn't "me", I
didn't like showing, didn't like going over anything but low jumps, I got
bored or disillusioned with the people involved, and so on.)  Somewhere
along the way, while trying to find out more to teach beginning trail
riders, I stumbled into the endurance world.  What I found was a
tremendous, very challenging sport...and a very wholesome way of life!
Certainly not without it's egos...but that's part of the package if you
want this level of education.  I work in the medical field and it's also a
world of intelligence, education, and egos.  Errant behaviour doesn't go
unchecked, but the general impression of high self-worth is everywhere.

The level of education readily available on this forum, on many different
aspects of horsemanship, has been very impressive to me.  It's in enough
depth to make it interesting for those with a broad, scientific and/or
fairly experienced horse education base...but not so complicated or
detailed that those just getting started can't get *something* out of each
discussion.  Keep it coming!!!  There are a whole bunch of people out here
that are going to benefit! ;-)

...and I REALLY like intelligent, well educated, hard-driving curmudgeons!!! 

Sue

sbrown@wamedes.com
Tyee Farm
Marysville, Wa.
ARICP Certified Riding Instructor
Recreational Riding II, Dressage I