Re: [RC] LD/Endurance/Horse or Rider? - Maggie Mieske
I disagree. The sport is about TEAM work between the
horse and rider. Both parts of the team have a job to do, before, during
and after the ride. It is the rider's responsibility to prepare the horse
AND themselves for the task. It is the horse's job to use that
conditioning and "rapport" between horse and rider to keep their rider safe on
board AND the rider's responsibility to ride to the best of their ability and
care for the horse during the ride for the sake of the team. Then, it is
the rider's responsibility to care for the horse's needs afterwards if they want
their team to be competing fifteen or twenty years down the road. It is an
ongoing process. It requires teamwork on the part of BOTH horse and
rider. Sometimes one part of the team "endures" more than the other part
but it is a team effort nonetheless. TEAM=Together Everyone Achieves More.
Where and when did Endurance
become about the rider? Endurance is about our horses, it is to test the
horses ability to endure the test of distance. The rider trains and manages
and that takes talent, dedication and care. But the sport isnt about us, its
about the horse.... The true test of the horse begins in the last 15 miles of
a 50 and the second 50 miles of a 100..... If you are in this sport to prove
to people how good "you" are and how much "you" endure, then "you" are doing
it for all the wrong reasons. This sport is about the horse not "us". Ken
Cook, AERC West Region
Conversely, there are folks who ride 25 milers who are true
"endurance" riders and true horsemen and women. The care and
preparation of their horses and themselves is admirable and worthy of the
respect of the horsemen and women who do this
sport. Sometimes it is not the distance which
defines who we are, it is the "method" and what it takes to participate at
any level.
