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I think the winner gets to pose with
it, have his or her name engraved on it and it is put on display
somewhere. The winner does not get to keep it, I'm fairly certain.
Julie, care to comment on this?
Barbara
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2002 8:51
PM
Subject: Re: [RC] Tevis 2002
comment
Hmmmmm, if this is accurate I guess I won't be growing that handlebar
mustache afterall. I have a feeling Mr. Potato and I wouldn't get
along. Confidence is one thing, but, don't you think a bit of
humility and humbleness surpasses arrogance as we travel down that trail
called life? It's a shame, cause the man takes a nice photo. I was
picturing him in a Quaker Oats Commercial some day on the back of a horse
telling everyone that it was the oats that got him and his horse thru
Tevis. Sounds more like it's the man's ego.
Gee, I wonder what he'd call me, with my record of zero 100's and quite a
few incomplete 50's? Probably an incomplete
loser. Tomorrow, I shave off the stache.
Hey, I have a question about the Haggin cup. Do you get to keep it
forever, or do you have to return it the following year? Darn thing
looks almost as big as the Stanley Cup from that photo in the Auburn
paper. I like the idea that it's big enough for the horse do eat
from. Tevis is cool; one day I'll crew for Truman there (we'd better
hurry Truman, you ain't getting any younger).
cya,
Howard (it's the horse who is the real hero anyway)
----- Original Message -----
From:
Ridecamp Guest
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2002 3:46
PM
To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [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 years 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 years 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. Richardsons 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 doesnt seem to realize
is that, when he accepted that microphone from ride management and stepped
to center stage as this years Tevis Cup winner, he became for that period
of time a spokesman for the sport of endurance riding and I dont 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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