Ridecamp: [RC] Zen and the art of Endurance - our responsibility

Well, it is 15 degrees and going down, there is over a foot of snow on the
ground and the wind is whipping by the window.  I can't ride, and have been
thinking about endurance.  Here goes:

    No matter what your level of experience is, no matter what your goals
are, if you ride an AERC endurance ride, you have become an endurance rider.
With the right to be called an endurance rider, comes the responsibility to
do it with care and thoughtfulness.  Our responsibility to the sport and to
our horses will never end, and indeed, in a world that may not view our
sport as humane, our stewardship has increased in the last 20 years as our
sport as become more and more visible.
    There were many years that I was the only AERC member in New York
State - I was an oddity among my peers who were trail riding and showing
horses.  They were concerned that I was competing in a sport that was not
good for the horses we all loved.  I am hoping that the fact that my first
horse ended up with almost 4000 miles of competition between myself and the
man I had to sell him to (divorce-very sad,)  might have made them
understand that it is not a BAD sport, but the truth is, I have fought the
"YaHoo" stereotype for more than 20 years.  I even had a defense attorney in
a cruelty case I prosecuted, bring it up in court that I 'raced' horses in
inhumane circumstances in an effort to discredit my testimony.  I am,
perhaps, ultra sensitive to the issue. (The defendant was convicted, BTW.)
    The responsibility we bear is that of stewardship.  Stewardship of our
horse, who while he is our friend, sometimes our child, sometimes our
beloved servant, he is an animal who thinks very different than we do.  He
operates on little switches that trigger at moments when he must eat, run
for joy, flee for his life, or race another.
    We are there to keep him from destroying himself when the switch goes
off and he is in danger because he does not have the intellectual ability to
understand that he can not run full out for as long as it takes to get
ahead, or pass another.  We are there to offer him food when he may not be
thinking of eating or drinking because he is too excited from the
exhilaration of the race.  We are there to say slow down, take your time, 50
miles is a long way - we can catch up.
    I think my mare Equal Terms didn't get it when we started the both days
of the Ft. Valley ride in last place.  I did this so she wouldn't think she
had to race at any pace other than what I asked her for.  We won the 100
miles by over an hour, but we did it at a pace that would not hurt, slowly
building our speed when we were ready and in control.  I have to make those
decisions for us as a team, because as smart and wonderful as she is, she
can't safely make that decision, and she most likely will never be able to.
    The responsibility we have to this sport is to compete in a safe and
adult manner.  To be polite and caring to other riders and to those around
us.  OK, I have given my husband a hard time when he wasn't ready at the
check, but I made it up to him and it's ok now....It is NEVER ok to stomp
and holler and give volunteers a hard time about anything less than blood or
broken bones - it just shouldn't be that important.  We need to display
professionalism and caring toward each other and our animals.  Unfortunately
we are seen as renegade hoodlums to much of the equine and outside world.
It is up to us to change that image and conduct ourselves in a manner that
reflects the love and pride we have in our sport.
    It will take time to change the collective minds of the rest of the
world, but we can do it if we try - but we must be careful in our actions
and words or the damage will get worse and not better.

Laura Hayes AERC#2741





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