Re: RC: Thoughts on Nat Champs & ROC

["Hickory Ridge Arabians" <hikryrdg@evansville.net>]

For those of us who were not sent into this world with a 
genetic predisposition to weighing no more than 110# soaking
wet, the idea of competing within our weight divisins has
a lot of appeal.  It allows us to compete at the same level.
We don't have to place our horse at an extreme risk by
chasing the lightweights.  That may be a concept hard for
some(not all) lightweights to comprehend.  Until you carry
over 210# on your horse year after year most will never know
or understand the toll it takes.
So come on back to the NC, race if you want, enjoy the trail
if that is your thing.  Or just hang out with some of the
best endurance riders in the world.  Its a grand affair.
Jerry Fruth





On Thu, 1 Nov 2001, Rides 2 Far wrote...

>> 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. 
>
>Never say never. :-)  I was a wannabe back when the ROC was around, 
but I
>went to one as a worker and had that awe.  It will be back this year.
>Will it be the same? The qualifying criteria is lowered.  
>
>Remember when people used to run ads for horses and say "ROC" 
qualified" 
>Was it because people wanted a horse to ride in that ride or because 
that
>was a shortcut to saying, "This horse has completed 5 100 milers and 
one
>of those in the top 10"?  Reminds me of Mathew's "The Way We Win"
>proposal.  Was "ROC Qualified" not just another way to say: "Gold 
Level
>Competitor" or whatever?
>
>I argued the same point you do that the National Championship 
qualifying
>criteria should be higher, so that just showing up would bring status
>like it did for the ROC.  They said they wanted to get the numbers up
>first.  Susan Gibson said she lowered the qualifying criteria for 
the ROC
>this year because she wanted people to have time to get their horses
>qualified.  Same reasoning.  Don't know how I feel about it.  
>
>I think one reason the ROC didn't inspire the debate the NC does is 
that
>it made no claims as to what it was the championship of.  It wasn't
>"Horse of the Year" or anything.  The winner was simply the "Race Of
>Champions" winner...and took home a horse trailer by the way.  If you
>claim the winner of a race is the "National Champion" people
>automatically start trying to figure out what "better" horses weren't
>there to challenge that champion.
>
>Was the original "Trailer Race" better?  Well...if you live in a 
part of
>the country where you can do a race every weekend of the year I 
guess it
>was...but it still didn't prove they were the "Best endurance horse 
in
>the country".  How do the Flat Track people handle the fact that all
>their horses don't manage to race each other?  They elect a "Horse 
of the
>Year".  They have knowledgable people who look at the different 
horse's
>records, times, etc. and they vote.  To me that's about the closest
>you're going to get to figuring out who had the "best horse" in any 
given
>year.  So long as you're going for head to head competition I think 
the
>present format is as good as any.
>
><<<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 theirriders "in the flesh".  
>
>Seems to me that at least every other year the  Pan Ams has sort of
>stepped into that roll.  Granted, the ROC had that quality of 
leaving it
>an individual sport which I like, but I'm just wondering if the 
riders of
>these top horses can get enough time off to do all the "big" rides 
or if
>they'll have to pick and choose, thus making it less likely that 
they'll
>ever all show up at one place.  The "New" Race Of Champions, from 
what I
>understand will not be moving around the country...just be in the one
>spot in Arizona until Susan decides otherwise.  That may give it a 
new
>twist favoring the same type horse or horses from that part of the
>country.  
>
>I really don't know what my position is on all this.  I really like 
the
>AERC having one "Big Daddy of All" ride per year featuring 50 & 100 
mile
>distances.  I'd want them to continue the practice even if they gave 
it a
>name other than National Championship.  And by the way, I LOVED the
>canvas bag I got for a rider packet...and I think that all 
those "extras"
>that the ROC showered every entry in was part of what made it so 
special.
>
>Angie & Kaboot (who'd be ROC qualified under the old rules! :-)
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