Re: RC: DVE/LSD (Long)

[Truman Prevatt <tprevatt@mindspring.com>]

Well, Jim I see the weather has gotten to you. W

In FL many of the best equestrians in the country come down here for the
winter
Grand Prix circuit. A couple of years ago, I crewing at a FL ride and
the RM
sent this guy over to talk to me about endurance. Turns out he was an
Olympic
caliber eventer and he though he would do an endurance ride as "cross
training"
for one of his eventing horse.

He knew a little about the sport. So we went though how it is run and I
made
the suggestion about electrolytes - which he was already prettty well up
on. I
watched him during the day and he had more endurance sense than 90% of
the
riders there - although it was his "first ride." He also rode crewless
on a
ride with three out checks and only had help when someone offered it at
the
checks. I did take his stuff out with me and helped him when I could. He
eaisly
top tenned and his horse look great all day long. So I don't get too
hung up on
miles, either.

Hope you guys get dug out soon.

Truman

Jim Holland wrote:

>
> You can't NECESSARILY determine an individual's qualifications by the
> miles they have done on a horse in Endurance.  That not only applies to
> me, but to many others, including the individual under discussion. IMHO,
> the fact that you have a zillion miles in the record books in Endurance
> does not automatically qualify you as an expert on all things horse and
> Endurance. I was commenting on the information you posted, AS WRITTEN.
> Whether it is accurate or not is moot. Again, I don't know this person.
> How he trains and competes is entirely up to him, and if it works for
> him, that's OK, I guess.   IMHO, this "training method" is not
> appropriate, sets a bad example, and 5 yrs is too young....but that's
> just MY opinion. Everyone is entitled to one, even me :) How you train
> is a personal decision.
>
> I would like to point out that you did exactly the same thing you
> accused me of...."bashing" (which I don't think I did) But's that's
> OK....I have a thick skin....all this is called freedom of speech...the
> right to express your opinion, right, wrong, or indifferent and comment
> on the opinions of others, right, wrong, or indifferent.  If we all did
> things exactly the same, it would be a pretty boring world.
>
> Note that my AERC number is 4074....pretty low number for only about
> 1300 miles. Crewing for a knowledgeable rider, listening, learning, in
> order to know NOT to do as well as what to do is extremely important in
> Endurance. I learned how to train, feed, pace, and how to evaluate a
> horses's condition, and the multitude of other things you need to know
> in order to compete successfully in Endurance from an individual who I
> crewed for and hauled to rides all over the place for years. I did not
> own an appropriate horse. That individual has on RECORD over 4000 miles
> of ALL types between 1987 (where the online archives start) and 1999.
> Over 80 rides, with one pull, consistently in the Top Ten.  Many more in
> the early days of Endurance prior to that not on the record. In
> addition, prior to Endurance, there were many championships of all types
> in Competititive Trail and the show ring. There would have been even
> more, but this individual graciously allowed me to compete on their
> horse at times under STRICT supervision to "learn" in the saddle as
> well.
>
> Starting at the same time (1997), I have done 20 rides, with 18
> completions, consistently in the Top Ten. The two incompletes were both
> on Sunny due to ripping off a shoe and tearing up his hoof, not to
> injury or metabolic  problems....and many of these were hard rides. (OD
> 50 and Leatherwood 50, for example)  I have not done multi-days or 100's
> because IMO, Sunny is not yet old enough or experienced enough for me to
> push him there, especially since he missed much of last year because of
> the hoof problem. I think I learned my lessons pretty well. (I can
> guarantee you I was chastised and verbally abused for mistakes so much
> during those "lessons" as a crewperson that any verbal abuse on Ridecamp
> pales in comparison) <grin>  My horse is safe, happy, healthy, and God
> willing will complete many more miles in the same condition.  Since I
> met Susan Garlinghouse, I have an even better chance of that happening.
> Thanks, Susan! You may have even given me a handle on this hoof problem.
>
> My new guy Magic just turned 5, but it will be at LEAST two years before
> you see him out there....when I think he has the conditioning, ground
> manners, and proper mind set to compete successfully and safely in
> Endurance.
>
> The latter two are extremely important for the rider's safety as well as
> that of the horse, during training and rides. Look back at some of the
> posts by Heidi and others concerning training the horse's mind as well
> as his body.  For example, this past weekend, Flinn Anderson and I were
> riding a FS road up in the mountains. She was riding Sunny and I was
> riding Magic.  We had to go around one of those FS gates that's a long
> metal pole over two posts.  This one sticks out past the end of the post
> where it's easy to hang a stirrup or leg on it...it also has a little
> "mushroom" on the end. I got off Magic and led him around it...I don't
> trust his judgement right now. Since there was plenty of room, Flinn
> rode Sunny around it behind me. She forgot to "leg" his butt around and
> the end of the pole caught the cinch just below the buckle, yanking him
> to a stop. This is a potential disaster, with the possibility of an
> injured rider and a torn up horse if he panics....I had visions of
> punctured ribs.  However, because I had thousands of repetitions with
> Sunny using ropes in the ring and rides in rough terrain teaching that
> when something "grabs" you, freeze and I will get you out of it, his
> trust is absolute. He stopped instantly and waited quietly for me to
> loosen the girth on the other side and free him, then calmly strolled on
> around the gate as tho nothing had happened...with Flinn still in the
> saddle and the cinch completely loose. Did that training save his life?
> Maybe, maybe not.....but it gave me a warm fuzzy!  Flinn was just amazed
> how he handled that.
>
> Sorry for the long post....kinda boring day and my verbosity got the
> upper hand! <grin>
>
> My apologies to you or anyone else who felt bashed by my one
> liner....again I was commenting on the action, not the individual.
>
> Jim, Sun of Dimanche, and Mahada Magic (currently snowed in...)
>
> guest@endurance.net wrote:
> >
> > Kathy Mayeda kathy.mayeda@att.net
> > Posting as "Guest" because my home e-addy bounced.....
> >
>
> >
> > THIS PERSON HAS TWICE THE AMOUNT OF MILEAGE AS YOU DO, AND HAS SEVERAL
> > MULTI-DAY RIDES BEHIND HIM OF WHICH YOU HAVE LITTLE EXPERIENCE, IF ANY (I
> > CHECKED).
>
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