RE: Horse Illustrated article

[Deanna German <finishis2win@columbus.rr.com>]

DESERTRYDR1@aol.com wrote:
> Any body out there who will admit to subscribing to Horse Illustrated besides
> me?  They have an article in the October issue about Endurance RACING. ....
> Some of it wasn't too bad, but the constant referral  to Endurance RACING
> about drove me nuts!

I thought the article was pretty good for a basic primer of what endurance
is all about. The author jumped back and forth between calling it "riding"
and "racing" and it didn't bother me a bit.

Here are some snippets (ellipses showing deleted copy):
(opening paragraph)
"If you're under the impression that indurance racing is an all-out,
take-no-prisoners sport....you're way off. While champion endurance horses
and riders kick serious butt over many mailes of varied terrain, they are
supremely conditioned to do so. There's a long road to get to that point,
and in order to succeed at any level, the horse's health and welfare are
placed above all else."

(near the end of the article)
"Remember, whatever pace you decide on, you will have designated rest stops
along the way and your horse must pass required veterinarian criteria to
continue. There is no shame in a nice slow pace. In fact, many riders enjoy
this aspect of the ride, and never ride the race to win. A finish with horse
and rider in good shape is the goal. The motto and creed of endurance riders
is "To finish is to win."

Good stuff.

The author offers what seems to me to be good basic conditioning advice and
the captions of the photos emphasize proper care of the horse. There is a
sidebar guide to distance riding resources, specifically referencing
RIDECAMP. 

Read the rest for yourself and decide (October 2001 issue). This article was
WAY better than the article they had a few issues back on CTR (if anyone
notices my letter to the editor, my apologies for the organization name
screw ups and I can now explain how letters to the editor get printed -- it
ain't necessarily what you submit).

I have to say that I'm with Roger on this one. It's a race. You don't have
to race it, but that doesn't change the nature of the beast. As far as being
competitive and wanting/choosing to race or wanting/choosing to ride, I've
discovered that there are basically two types of people who engage in
recreational activities: those who play to win (the competitive types) and
those who just play to be doing something fun and challenging.

There is nothing wrong with either POV as long as one does not interfere
with the other and as long as either can be done safely. Being the
competitive type myself, I can tell you why I find playing to win way more
fun than just playing. It's a mindset, not necessarily a reality. It doesn't
mean that I'll ever be *able* to win at endurance or that I hold a
diminished opinion of those who choose to just play. I would hope that those
who choose not to compete would have the same attitude.

Roger, I'll race ya for 20th place (horses willing, of course).

Live and let live.

Deanna (Ohio)
AERC #M30478 -- I'll have endurance miles someday.....
a few hundred CTR miles