Why We Do Endurance?

[Jerry & Susan Milam <milamj@agtelco.com>]

Title:

All right Ridecamp. Now that we have officially started a brand new year with all of it's opportunities and challenges, I'd like to start off with a hopefully lively discussion of what's at the very heart of our sport: Why do we do endurance? I'll bet we have loads of different answers from folks.

Without a doubt, since becoming acquainted with endurance in the later 90's myself, I would have to say this is a darn hard sport to even get into much less become proficient at. I am fairly inexperienced compared to most on this list, but I do have  8 races under my belt although not all 50's. I find myself sometimes contemplating the value of this time intensive sport with all the other time grabbers this world has to offer us. For me with husband and two kids and a job, I find it most difficult at times to balance my time spent with the things that matter most in life. It's a constant struggle for me.

Then some of it comes into perspective when I gaze across the pasture and hear the thundering hooves and see the herd approach with their tails flying high in the air. These creatures that God gave us to enjoy and care for are marvelous creatures that are a constant reminder to us of some of the life's most precious qualities; love, honesty, beauty, courage, strength, and loyalty. What a blessing these horses are!

I've tried to examine my own heart about why I enjoy endurance so much. It is a very hard sport to do right. It takes loads of training hours just to get a sufficient base on the horse for this sport as we've discussed with the LSD training threads. Then, it takes all the stuff you need to gear up the horse and you for a race. These are the plusses for me: I love the communion with my horse. The beauty of the trail ( unless you do 3- 6 loops of the same trail) The joy of meeting new people who enjoy what you enjoy.

What are your reasons for doing endurance?

 

JMO, Susan

Happy Tails!