Re: Rabble Rousing

["GESA BRINKS" <gesaeqfx@pe.net>]

OOOOOOhhh Bob.   Great article, and so true.  I have thought about all of the things that you talked about.  We are losing our sport to commercialism.(I think that is the right word)  Who is sponsoring whom?  What is being awarded?  What is the camp grounds like?  How tuff is the trail?  Will my 38ft diesel pusher and 4 horse slant fit in camp o.k.?  Are there showers?  Will there be food and refreshments for the riders.  Can my crew get to me at all of the stops.  Heaven forbid that I might have to take care of my own.  It is kind of scarey.  Are we going to lose our sport to something else?  I guess I'm just an old timer.  I like caring for my own.  To me that is part of endurance riding.  I rarely use a crew.  Usually ride management will help take your gear for you.  On a 100 miler a little help is good and welcomed.  .....sigh.........I hope it doesnt change much more.   gesa n clovis

-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Morris <bobmorris@rmci.net>
To: RideCamp <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Date: Sunday, January 30, 2000 9:43 AM
Subject: RC: Rabble Rousing

Thought this item I found in my archives would go over quite well now the races in the Arab part of the world have completed their spectacle. I wrote this back in 1995 to the AERC.

 

Bob Morris

Morris Endurance Enterprises

Boise, ID

 

WHAT CONSTITUTES A PRESTIGIOUS ENDURANCE RIDE

                                            OR

HAVE OUR ENDURANCE RIDES BECOME TOO EUROPEANIZED

 

This article I am sure will bring forth the wrath of some of our riders but at the same time will cause others to think of what direction our sport is taking.

First, let me qualify that my family and I have participated in endurance riding since 1977 and have supported International Competition since the first North American Championships in 1986. Our horses have an admirable record of competition and have placed in national and regional rankings often.

The sport of Endurance riding when we first entered competition was quite unsophisticated. No heart rate meters, no on board temperature indicators and the rides were not all that plentiful. We fed hay, grain and water. The Vets were learning, once again, how horses work and their limitations. Our training methods were developing but really were just to get out and ride. All in all lots of fun.

No one thought very much about "gaining an advantage" over our competitors except in the matter of better conditioned horses and what breeding lines were the best for endurance. Ride camp was where the ride started and ended. Where you parked your trailer and tied or picketed your horse. Simple, but some places were better than others were. For my own part I did not really like the paved parking lot or even the hard dirt packed ones occasionally found but we survived.

Most of all the ride routes, with a few exceptions, were interesting. They were on old dirt roads, two tracks, single tracks, trails and some time's cross-country. Ride management marked the trail from horseback because they knew then the riders would be able to see the ribbons.

Where am I drifting? I feel that we have lost some of the basic tenants of our endurance-riding heritage in our rush to compete with our inferred competitors from over seas! We are putting on "PRESTIGIOUS" endurance rides that are loaded with all sorts of frills and incentives. We are getting to the point that riders want their crews to have access, for assistance, at all times. We are looking at rides where "STABLING" is offered for the horses. We are definitely looking at more and more rides where the trail(?) is marked from a vehicle for the convenience of management.

In fact the trend of our endurance riding is drifting away from the horse to be centered on the rider. The prime importance currently seems to be the comfort of the rider, the awards for the rider, the convenience for the rider and how soon can the rider complete the ride. The horse is incidental. Seldom do you hear the horse mentioned at an awards presentation.

So where does the Europeanization come into all this? Like it or not the sport is influenced by International Competition. It is inherent that we have pride in our nation's accomplishments and this includes international endurance riding. We want to show our abilities so we "play their game" and this has a great influence on the local scene. Endurance riding was an individual sport! It has now evolved to a TEAM sport at some rides (regional teams) whether you like it or not. With this has come the Continental trend towards uniformity of dress for equestrian events. We find that there is the coming trend for more uniform stabling of the horses (shades of competitive trail riding). We find the trend towards "trails" being more roads so the crews can access their riders. We find that when a ride has winning completition times computed at a speed less than 9mph average the rider participation drops off in subsequent years as the ride is "to hard".

Now on to the scene is a movement to split the Eastern time zone into two, just as the Pacific time zone was. Given time we may even go to States competing against each other. After all many of our states are larger than some European countries.

I find it ludicrous that we have ride managers complaining they "lost money on a ride" and then find out the excessive costs were for catered meals, rider awards, special camping and stabling facilities etc ad nausium. Do we, as endurance riders really need these things?? Are we demanding these amenities?? Just look at the advertisements for the 1996 Championships. Very little about the trail conditions, the terrain to be covered, the climate but there is a long list of what to expect for competitor's living conditions. What is this competition for? I am beginning to think that it is getting to be like the Olympics. Who can put on the greatest show and damn the cost.