LD Competition

["Kathy Mayeda" <Kathy_Mayeda@atce.com>]

Title: LD Competition

Monika-

I think that you see different goals at other distances, too.   I’m still in that “I hope me and Beau live
through the next ride” stage in the 50 mile distance, and was hoping to move up to distances this
year, but I guess it will have to wait until next year.

I think that if you only compete against others that are newbies, too, you probably won’t learn as much.

I don’t believe that endurance riding is particularly good for the timid rider anyway.  I pleasure rode for
many years before I had the guts to enter a LD.  I did it, faster than I really wanted to because it was
Camp Far West, made a lot of mistakes, raced an experienced career LD person and had my saddle
roll under my horses belly because of no breastcollar, didn’t electrolyte myself and my horse enough,
didn’t “beet pulp load”, etc. etc.  But since it was an LD, the consequences of all these mistakes were
minimized.  I then entered 50 mile competitions, and still making  a few mistakes, but I hopefully I am
learning from them!   When I did Lake Oroville Vista 50 last year, my horse was BOUNDING
up hills, totally under control mind you – just taking huge strides-  but I’m not a cross-country rider,
and I was telling Beau –“Gawd – you’re going to kill me!”…. But I was grinning, thrilled and scared
all at once.  The best training for me and my horse is actually competing.  We don’t do the same
things during conditioning rides, that’s for sure.  We were tailing a Top 10 rider and learned a lot
about how to negotiate those turns fast.

K.