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[RC] ] Duck Editorials - rides2farI am so clueless how the point system works. Hopefully I'll never understand it so I won;t have to chase something so abstract. There is absolutely nothing inherently evil about the points race. The first year I got a jacket I did not know how it worked, never had a clue I was in the standings (came on late in the year so was never listed in Endurance News). When you have the luck or ability to choose a horse with ability, and you get out and train when others don't. You put in your time at slower speeds and build a base...you are constantly vigilant and keep that horse sound...you pay more or haul farther to find a truly good farrier...you do without what other people consider necessities to afford a good saddle that fits...you *read* and learn everything you can about the horse. You stay focused during rides and don't miss those turns or lose track of time and start loafing. You study about riding and constantly try to do things that optimize your horse's performance....you make sacrifices in other areas of your life to go to a few more rides the year that you finally get that base on your horse and he's ready to show the results of all that hard work. It's a wonderful thing to have a horse who just cruises along like it's nothing. One that you simply ride in his comfort zone, just like you used to do on slower horses, only this one puts you in the top five or ten. You don't have to take stupid risks to place in the points race. You simply have to turn in consistantly high quality performances. Competition is a healthy thing. If you have a friendly competition going with someone else in your region and you don't feel like doing a long ride this weekend all it takes is imagining that person heading out to get you off your butt. The only time it's wrong to go for points is when you haven't done your homework or are trying to make some poor horse turn in a performance he's not genetically meant to attempt. Angie ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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