Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I am so happy to see the level of concern and dedication to act from the
members of this group.  I am not an edurance rider and never have been.  In
the early 90's, a couple that I was very close to was doing some very
serious endurance riding and the man was really racking up points.  Many of
our friends would go the rides with them and crew for them.  The urge to
"win" became too strong for the man, and he over rode his horse.  I do not
know the timing of how the events took place, but I know the rider tied his
horse up and went looking for his wife to fix him something to eat.  While
he was gone, his horse went down.  When he finally wandered back out, the
vet, his crew, and volunteers were desperately working on his horse.  They
were able to get the horse back up, and the vet told the man NOT to put that
sick horse in the trailer for the long ride home.  The man did not listen,
loaded up, and left for home.  When they got home, the horse was in trouble
again, and they called the vet out.  The vet treated the horse as best he
could, but the horse died within 24 hours.  All the people who volunteered
to crew for this couple refused to ever have anything to do with them again.
This man did not take responsibility for what he did to that horse.
Instead, he yelled at the vet for improper care and at his hay supplier for
hay with inadequate nutrition.  Then he hit the road to find a new endurance
horse.  I do not understand why no one filed a protest about this.

He rode the new horse for a couple of years, even when the farrier told him
to lay off the horse because of a quarter crack (I think that's what it
was).  He was on his way to crippling the new horse when he himself was
stricken by a condition that would prevent him from riding for the rest of
his life.

I guess there will always be people who want to win at all costs.  I wish we
could weed them out of competitive events.
P.



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