Re: RC: XP 2001

[Karen <karen@storallnv.com>]

Hi Kim:   I think that those two horses did well in particular not just 
because they were so capable (which they were, obviously), but because of 
how they were managed by their riders.  The successful riders paid 
attention to every detail and rode carefully.  Our horses (of all breeds) 
are capable of so much.

Carol and John both did a great job.  Carol received the award for Best 
Performance on the ride.  Sunny (aka Energizer) is a neat little horse.  If 
you look in the national awards, you'll see that John placed 2nd in 
National Mileage, they completed several more rides since the XP 
ended.  (you may also notice that the 1st place national mileage horse is 
not an Arabian)  My two Arabians have done several more rides and have 
completed 2,950 miles between June and December.  Not too bad for Arabs 
<G>.  btw, most of the riders brought more than one horse and alternated 
them -- lots of different goals and accomplishments on this ride.

Next time anything like this is done we'll have a lot more people riding 
individual horses more days, or people alternating horses and riding them 
each more miles.  A lot was learned, and I'm sure it won't be wasted.  The 
entire XP ride results, in spreadsheet layout are up on the www.xprides.com 
website.  You have to click on the link to "results".  btw, any XP riders 
who notice any errors, please email The Duck (link on the website) and let 
him know.

Happy Trails,  Karen & Weaver & Rocky :+)

At 08:18 AM 01/17/2002 -0800, you wrote:
>Kim dogtownxpress@aol.com
>I have enjoyed reading the articles on the XP 2001 in EN over the past
>couple months.  I find it very interesting that the two horses that were
>able to complete the most miles were not Arabs or Arab crosses.  As a
>topic of discussion, I would be curious to know why an Icelandic and a
>Mustang completed SEVERAL more miles (days) than any Arab yet I would
>guess that 90% of the horses entered were of Arabian blood.  I assume that
>many people riding Arabians wanted to complete more days.  Could it be
>that  the Mustang and Icelandic are exceptional specimans of their breed
>(were the Arabs entered not exceptional individuals) or is there something
>that that the non Arab breeds have that allowed them to excel at a this
>type of competition (2000 mile ride)?