Re: Re: Lewis Family Response

["Jack Massey" <jmassey@neteze.com>]

well here i go adding my two cents for what it is worth. i have known cliff
and his family for only a few years but i find it hard to believe that he
would ever do any thing to indanger any member of his family---. i think its
great that they include their kids in what they enjoy doing , like a famous
president once said - keep your kids out of trouble by keeping them on a
horse. i have four kids all grown and they were lucky they weren;t born on a
horse i rode up till the day they were born,my boss used to say they were
going to be born with flat heads ., and if i had been in the know about
indurance then they would have been it just cliffs kids and grandkids. my
granson rode my stallion in a christmas parade when he was just four years
old . i walked beside them just in case they had a problem but he did the
riding and he had the reins.lets see how many responces that gets , and i
have the pictures to prove it and my grandson has the trophy, put that in
your pipe and smoke it you nosey bissy bodies. why dont you tend to your own
life and keep your noses out of other peoples. i joined the aerc because i
couldnt stand the garbage that went on at the shows, all the back stabbing
and bad mouthing that went on and now it seems we have the same kindof know
it alls in indurance. if they knew half as much as they think they know they
might be a little bit smart. a man once told me that what a foal or a calf
knows when it is an hour old it will take you a life time to learn and you
still wont know it all. these people that have read a few books and rode a
few miles and think that makes them an expert make me sick. they need to
talk to and listen to people like cliff--- that has been doing indurance the
biggest part of his life, they might learn something. just owning [or the
bank owns it] the fanciest truck and trailer and the most expencive horse
and tack doesnt make you the best indurance rider or the smartest horse
person. please excuse my spelling i didnt proof read this befor i sent it i
was so sick of reading the petty bull---- and garabage on ride camp i just
had to add my voice to the group i think all these women have cronic [pms] i
wouldnt want to be their horse- dog or a member of their family and if they
dont like what i have to say thats just tuff   patricia massey  ps keep on
keepin on cliff.
----- Original Message -----
From: <KKLLFARMS@aol.com>
To: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2000 9:15 PM
Subject: RC: Re: Lewis Family Response


> Well, here I go. I don't read Endurance News or Ridecamp because it
> frustrates me to read so many opinions and advice from people who have
ridden
> 2 or three rides and have become authorities on everything.  Instead of
> learning how to ride and about horses, they are fresh out of the sandbox,
yet
> want to educate others on the college level
> Kathy has been giving me printouts of Ridecamp postings.  I wish I hadn't
> read them, but its too late now and I can't stay out of it.
> My son Tom and I have very close since his birth.  He has always wanted to
go
> everywhere with me.  In 1974 when he was 3, I had a riding stable at the
> Mount Rose Ski Lodge in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  At this age he rode
> into the mountains with me, taking people on fishing trips to Price's
Lake.
> Soon he was accompanying me on long training rides as I conditioned
endurance
> horses.  It was much more fun than the baby-sitter.  His first endurance
ride
> was the Endurance Digest 35.  He had just turned 5, but it was not a feat
to
> see if he could do it, he had already done it in training.
> When it came to the Virginia City 100, it was the same.  We had already
> ridden all day long many times, and all night long on several occasions.
When
> we finally did the ride, he had the same problems we all experience.
After
> riding 84 miles and sitting in a comfortable chair with a turkey sandwich
for
> an hour, he fell asleep.  But sleepy and tired as he was, there was no
doubt
> he wanted to finish.
> Little Cliffy also wants to go everywhere with his dad.  In order to take
> Cliffy with him as he went out walking and jogging in the mornings, he put
> him on old Spiderman and took him along.  That's how Cliff got his start.
> Soon they began short training rides.
> The base camp of the Comstock ride is only about a mile from where we held
> the Endurance Digest Ride (Tom's first), and where we lived at the time.
He
> knows every inch of the trail like he knows the back of his own hand.  On
the
> Comstock 25, Cliffy never went for more that a few miles without seeing
his
> mother waiting for him in the pickup.  Tom and Cliffy went slow enough
that I
> was able to finish the 50, and be there to see them cross the finishline
side
> by side with huge smiles on their faces.  I was so choked up, it was hard
to
> keep from breaking down in front of everyone.  It was wonderful beyond
words.
>  Cliffy was on cloud nine the rest of the day as were we all.
> To come home and read some of the mean spirited trash put forth by Karen
> Sullivan and others was hard to take.  I doubt they know much about the
> sport, horses, riding or anything else.  If they did, they would be out
> training their horses to compete with us rather than leaning on a computer
> running their mouths,
> My son and I have about 25,000 miles of competition experience.  My son
Tom,
> Cliffy's father, has earned a 1200 mile buckle from the Virginia City 100.
> When he won his 1000 mile buckle at the age 15, the youngest person to
have
> accomplished that feat at the time was 35 years old.
> In closing I would like to say that I have been around since before the
AERC.
>  Phil Gardner and I were partners in a snowmobile rental business and we
had
> often talked about starting a national endurance organization.  We started
> with only 5 sanctioned rides, and things do not seem to have improved by
> adding more.  It does seemed to have driven off so many real endurance
riders
> and replace them with wannabe lawyers.  Every time something new comes up,
> these people want a new rule.  That is how THEY win.  If you drag everyone
> else down to your level and eliminate the ones you cannot drag down using
> multitudes of rules, you haven't really gotten very high, it just looks
that
> way!
> Sincerely, Cliff Lewis
>
>
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