Jim, I beg if you
must vent about something that bugs you so personally, do it in private.
Please.
I myself have not jumped the band wagon on this
proposal. Will I be flogged?
Why does it have to be so difficult? I don't think this proposal has enough bite. The whole idea
of "To finish is to win" is such a load of crap. It just encouages riders to
finish, no matter what. I'm not saying that those who just ride to finish are
not accomplishing any goals. I am saying a horse that finishes, then needs
treatment isn't winning a damn thing, except an IV bag. Fit to continue at the
vet checks, needs to be the mantra.
Jim, you yourself said that letting the riders
call the shots while on the trail is not working and yet Dr. McKay proposes to
do just that. He proposes to let riders continue, but only if they slow down
because they are only going to get a completion. Who is going to police that??
By the way, does anyone know if his definition of completion includes
mileage? Because if you pay to ride, and you complete, you had better get the
mileage, don't you think?
Fit to continue is so much more appropriate for
what we are trying to accomplish. If we want to tighten up the "pulse window"
than make it tight. Give it some backbone. A compromise would be to put
into place a 20 minute pulse time and those who don't make it, get pulled.
Period. If the horse hasn't met that parameter, why in the world would we want
to rely on the rider, (since you say that isn't working) to continue on but slow
down? That doesn't make any sense. And for those who say their horse can't
possibly make that window of opportunity for what ever reasons, I disagree.
The horses that are truly able to compete should
pass with flying colors, the ones that can't, will just have to go a
little slower to begin with. I think we can all agree that any horse
can do this discipline, therefore offering everyone the same opportunity to
ride. But they can't all do it at the same level. That has to be accepted by
riders who ride horses of different breeds. It all goes back to training and
conditioning and if your horse can't go the speed and distance you want, either
slow down or get another horse that can. How does that saying go? Lord, please
help me accept what I cannot change.......
You want zero tolerance? Don't make excuses. Make
the parameters tighter and those who want to ride will work very hard
before a ride to be able meet those
parameters. It's pretty simple. That way, the core mission of Dr.
McKay's proposal is still met. Everyone can ride, and the risk to horse is
lessened.
If a horse isn't fit to continue
within 20 minutes, how will 10 more minutes make him more
fit??
