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[RC] Making the mistake of "racing" (was: Michel/Monsieur Joseph) - k s swigart

Gary Daniels said:


That's not what my post was all about.  I'm simply
proud of Michel's accomplishment at the recent
NC, and that's all.  I think with Heather winning
BC at Tevis, it's clear that hear horse had more
left, and it is equally as gracious on Heather's part
to have ridden WITH Michel, rather than racing
him for most of the day.  They both arrived at the
finish together after being GREAT sportsmen to
one another and to their horses.


For everybody who seems to have the idea that what Heather
and Michel did was to "fix" the race by being gracious and
sportsman-like.  I would like to point out that it isn't
just about graciousness and sportsmanship.  It is also about
being smart.

Quite frankly, one does not win Tevis by changing your focus
from properly negotiating the entire trail to competing head
to head with another horse that happens to be near you on
the course.  Doing so comes under the heading of breaking MY
cardinal rule of "I need to remember to ride my horse, not
the place I am in."

Had Heather and Michel been foolish enough to make the
mistake of "racing each other all day" it is entirely
possible that neither of them would have even finished the
course.

And Heather did not have to give up anything by being
"gracious" and waiting for Michel when leaving the last vet
check.  If she had enough horse to win the ride by riding
ahead of him, she had enough horse to win the ride by riding
with him; and if she didn't have enough horse to win by
riding with him, she probably didn't have enough horse to
win by riding ahead of him either.

I point this out not to suggest that the players here were
not gracious and did not have good sportsmanship, but rather
to demonstrate that one does not have to sacrifice
graciousness and good sportsmanship in order to race, but
rather remembering it and exercising it throughout the
entire effort is more likely to get you to the finish line
first.

Had Heather and Michel not recognized much earlier in the
day that it was in both of their (and their horses) best
interests not to engage in a one on one dual with each other
the outcome might very well have been quite different (e.g.
with neither of them finishing at all, or with over using
their horses earlier on and being overtaken by somebody who
hadn't made that mistake).

After spending hours going along a 100 mile trail, the
people who are actually ON the horses, if they are astute
enough horsemen, rarely ever NEED to engage in a one on one
dual to figure out who has more horse at the end; and doing
so is fraught with risk...and just plain dumb.

kat
Orange County, Calif.




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