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Re: [RC] Olympics and endurance? - Susan Young CaseyWe can discuss endurance in the Olympics all we want to. The fact is, not many people are going to pay money to sit in the venue while even the first place horse comes in. If it's not a race, what's the big deal? Sure, it's a big deal to us...WE'RE endurance riders. In marketing, you've got to think of your market. What would the average Joe want to spend his money on? Paying good money to sit and watch horses trickle in or a Grand Prix jumping event with action at least a minute at a go? You are absolutely correct; there's always ONE who will do something stupid and a horse dies as a result. How badly do you want to show THAT to the world? As long as folks (who may have never completed a 100 mile ride before) can lease horses, or as long as you've got those who will ride a horse to death, you're going to have fatalities. Doing a 100-mile horse RACE is an extreme sport. If it was humans running the 100 miles (which they do) and a human dies, the world doesn't get all upset like they do when a horse dies because the horse doesn't have a say in the matter. Please consider the possible negative consequences before jumping on the band wagon to make endurance an Olympic event. And, thinking how WE enjoy watching everyone else finish after WE'VE completed the course is NOT thinking how a spectator thinks. The average spectator isn't tired...they haven't just ridden 100 miles. They want action. One more issue I have with endurance as an Olympic sport is that the Olympics are for HUMANS and endurance is NOT a human sport. None of the equine sports are human sports. We do not test the human's athletic abiliies; we test the equine's abilities. So, why are ANY equine sports in the Olympics? If I were to attend the Olympic games and had to pick which events I'd see, I'd pick the events that were the most fun to watch. While I'd rather RIDE in an endurance ride, I'd rather WATCH gymnastics. Oh...and kick that "Curling" thing out too. How much of an athlete does that take? Pool isn't an Olympic event. Geeze! ===== Susan Young Casey, Princess of Pink, LIW, RRHA, RHS Semper Obliquo (Always aside) Glenndale Grace Farm, Ft Gibson, Oklahoma U.S.A. "Ride on! Rough-shod if need be, smooth-shod if that will do, but ride on! Ride on over all obstacles, and win the race!" - Charles Dickens (1812-1870) __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Send Flowers for Valentine's Day http://shopping.yahoo.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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