thoughts on the "AERC" National Championship

[guest@endurance.net]

Cindy Collins sunsetrim@hotmail.com
First, let me congratulate all of the finishers of what appears to have
been a very challenging course.  Any negative comments about the ride
format truly does not reflect upon the horses and riders who completed the
course or won titles.  They might be the same caliber of horse that won
the Tevis, or the ROC, or the the old style AERC championships...there's
no way to know this.  I also want to thank the ride management because all
comments point to an outstanding effort on their part.  All that being
said, as long as the qualifications are so low, most of us "old-timers"
will never take the ride seriously.  To me, the qualifications are a joke.
There will never be the excitement of the ROC-type format...seeing the
greatest horses in the sport, head to head without weight divisions, in
one location!  It was worth going just to see these horses and their
riders "in the flesh". People busted their tails to get qualified cause it
was such an honor to compete there.   And, no, many of us don't see a 50
mile championship as meaningful.  That does not mean that those horses and
riders are not great athletes....but, if they are, they should be in the
classic distance.  There's only one Kentucky Derby and other distances
and/or formats will never be revered as such.
This is not meant to continue the controversy, but I know that many others
are saying these things privately and that's not fair.  Thank you for
listening.  Oh, BTW, the Old Dominion is NOT the second oldest endurance
ride, as was stated in a recent article in the Arabian World
Quarterly...the Big Horn 100 in Shell, Wyoming started in 1971.  Cindy
Collins, AERC #176, 7,000 miles