Ridecamp: [RC] Tevis 2002 comment

Steve Powers srjmpowers@xxxxxxx
I had the pleasure of crewing this past weekend for some friends who rode in the Tevis. The rider we were mainly responsible for got kicked by her horse at the 21 mile point while adjusting a boot and completed the ride on a knee that she could barely walk on. That sort of dedication and focus is what separates endurance riders from the more casual riders that enjoy their horses in a more recreational way. My wife was always the horse person in our family until two years ago when two things changed my mind about the sport and contributed to convincing me to take up horseback riding.
The first was when we crewed for three friends who rode in and completed the 2000 Tevis. Despite two of them being first time Tevis riders, all three finished with healthy riders and horses and all three are very proud of their accomplishment as they should be. I was so impressed with the magnitude of what they had just done that I decided to challenge myself to someday complete a Tevis. After spending 2001 competing in and finishing 6 limited distance rides on a borrowed horse, I purchased a horse of my own and have successfully completed four 50-mile rides with a target of competing in the Tevis in 2003.
At the award presentation after this year?s Tevis, ride management graciously allowed the riders the opportunity to say a few words as they picked up their hard-earned buckles. The first buckle was awarded to this year?s winner of the Tevis Cup, Mr. Potato Richardson. After accepting his buckle, Mr. Richardson took the opportunity to speak to the hundreds of riders and crew members that had assembled. He began by relating a few anecdotes from previous rides and told of one recent year when he was passed in the darkness of the woods near the end of the ride by two riders. His next statement was the one that I feel someone needs to take exception to. In Mr. Richardson?s words, ?This knocked me from third place to fifth place, or as I call it, fourth loser?.
Apparently somewhere along the way to earning 17 Tevis buckles Mr. Richardson lost track of the intent of the sport. I sat there and wondered how many of the riders who completed the Tevis in the darkness of Saturday night and Sunday morning and the crews who worked so hard to try to ensure a completion were offended by his comment. I certainly was.
What Mr. Richardson doesn?t seem to realize is that, when he accepted that microphone from ride management and stepped to center stage as this year?s Tevis Cup winner, he became for that period of time a spokesman for the sport of endurance riding and I don?t feel the sport was well represented.
I mentioned earlier that there were two things that convinced me to accept the challenge of endurance riding and crewing was the first. The second was a quote I once heard - ?To finish is to win?. I think someone needs to remind Mr. Richardson that what came across the finish line during the darkness and early dawn this weekend was 94 winners not 1 winner and 93 losers.
Everyone who competed in the Tevis, even those who failed to finish within the 24 hour limit, should be very proud of what they have accomplished during their involvement in the sport of endurance riding. The hundreds or thousands of hours spent by a horse and rider preparing themselves to finish endurance rides with a healthy rider and sound horse are what the sport is all about.


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