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Re: [RC] LD definition again?? - heidiOkay, I have said it before and I will say it again ( to pat BOB on the shoulder for a job well done) Anyone with one horse and one rider that can do 725 LD miles in one year can say they have done endurance. I just love that and so does BOB. Donna and Henry <sigh> Donna, I love you and respect you. You have endured--in some ways, more than many of us. You have done a tremendous thing, and accomplished a great achievement. But no, you have not "done endurance" with the above. I have run 6k races. (Yes, folks I have--in younger years!) Even if I had run one every weekend for a whole year, I STILL would not be able to say I had "done a marathon." Would that cheapen my experience? NO WAY!! I'm proud of you, Donna, and you're right that you have every right to be proud of BOB and proud of your accomplishment. By all means pat him on the shoulder and tell him "job well done." I understand the "endurance" that it can sometimes take to do limited distance--the LD after I came back from bacterial meningitis was one of the most grueling rides of my life, bar none, and it stands right up there in my mind as one of my greatest challenges. But did I "do endurance" when I did it? No. I "endured" my own limitations and my own issues, and I overcame them. And everyone who does so is a winner. But in doing so, I did NOT "do an endurance ride," not in a million years. Should I get credit for "doing endurance" simply because I had to endure my own demons? Nope, my limitations were my own problem. I'm working with a truly wonderful young lady with severe physical disabilities. She "endures" a few miles out of the arena from time to time. She is one of the bravest souls I know. Will she ever be able to even ride an LD? I haven't a clue. She'd like to someday. And if she does, she will truly be "enduring." It is a distant goal for her to even be able to come and participate in a 10-mile trail ride held in conjunction with an endurance ride. But she doesn't expect the rest of us to redefine "endurance riding" just so she can get "credit" for overcoming her disabilities. Just pushing the envelope as far as she can is reward enough in itself. Perhaps we need to adopt more of her "never-say-die" spirit and worry less about whether we can wear a label that means something different than we have actually accomplished. Heidi ============================================================ Arabians were bred for years primarily as a war horse and those requirements are similar to what we do today with endurance riding. ~ Homer Saferwiffle ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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