From: dixie midnight
Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2002 9:58 AM
To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [RC] $$MONEY Fer NUTHIN'!$$
Hi, y'all!
I'm generally a nice, quiet lurker on here. Make no waves, stay out of the messes, and all that.
But...I've just been privately berated for spewing my view that there really oughta be prize money available for the Endurance crowd. So...I'll toss my views up for public discussion.
Here they are, have at it, no holds barred. Maybe I'll even answer one or two of you.
I'm NOT an Endurace guy. I don't ride Arabians. I do cows. On Quarter Horses and Paints. AND...I compete in Pennings, Poles, Barrels, a tad of Reining, and once in a great while, Reined Cow Horse. I compete for the sport of it, but I really like it when I get to go to the pay window. I don't mind an occasional hefty entrance fee when the payback is over 70%.
Shoot...I don't mind a small entrance fee when the payback's over 70%, either. Especially when there's a large wad of competitors. More for me! If I win.
And THERE, Ladies and Gentlemen, IS the crux of the matter: "IF I WIN." Which brings up the question..."What will I DO to insure a win?" Y'all (no offense, Howard) appear to have a difficulty with that one. It is relatively easy. Sort of.
Yes, there IS a problem with the "win-at-any-cost" crowd. No doubt. Y'know, we have that problem in OUR sports, too, but wiser heads than mine seem to have arrived at a reasonable solution for that.
It's called CLASSES. Divisions of skill-level and expertise. Ya don't make the money until ya got the skill. Neat, huh? Not counting the un-sanctioned events (which ARE around, if ya know where to look), the Newbies start out in Green Horse, Green Rider; or Green Horse; or Green Rider. Green meaning inexperienced--either horse, rider, or both. There is NO prize money for those classes. The participants are learning, and ya
don't get paid for learning.
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Karl, I'll tell you what. Enter endurance riding, give it a shot. Do a 25, and consider what a 50 miler would be like, and then, try to imagine what doing 100 miles in 24 hours or less entails. I don't mean to belittle your sport; I know it's difficult and challenging, but (no offense meant), it ain't endurance.
I feel pretty comfortable in saying that endurance is the most difficult, challenging endeavor that one can ever asked from a horse. This includes team penning, roping, anything you see in the show ring, and on the rodeo circuit. And, I'm talking about the distance and the pure physical stamina required for an endurance horse to compete at top international levels.
The top riders, internationally, are completing a 100 mile endurance race in less than 8 hours ride time. How much faster can they possibly go at that distance doing that speed? And, yes, there is some money there, at some of these rides, but it's not out in the open and you're not running for a million bucks a race; at least not yet. And I hope that day never comes.
If you start throwing money into the sport, like they do in your sport, Karl, it won't fly with endurance. The sport is too challenging, alone, as it is. If you add money to the equation innocent horses will die, because the rider/owner gets blinded by the light reflecting off the gold, and misses the tell tale signs he would normally see when his horse tries to tell him to slow the heck down. I don't think this is a real problem in any of the sports you mentioned. I haven't heard of too many horses dying in reining, barrel racing, poles or penning (unless you draw a really vicious cow). In endurance, it does happen, and it's a real fear.
Try the sport, first, Karl, before you decide money would be a good thing in endurance. Do a couple 50's and then let me hear you say it's a great idea. And, even after you do those 50's keep in mind that the money in the sport, if it ever gets there, will most likely be in the 100 mile ride.
Keep it clean, keep it pure, keep the horse first and keep the friggen money out of it.
cya,
Howard
