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RE: [RC] LD catagory....? - heidiTruman, For what it is worth I look at doing 25's as training rides only. I have no clue (and don't have the interest or energy) to pay attention to standings, points etc. I am going to do a couple 25's this summer in hopes of doing a 50 in the fall. I only look at 25's as training rides and REALLY feel like I will accomplish something once I do a 50 and then a 100 in a year or two. That is my long term goal, to do a 100. The 25's will be just part of the time that has to go in to get there. So, at least you now know 1 SE rider that has the goal of a 100 once my horse is ready. [Kathy Ramspott] There ya go, Truman--there's one in your own backyard. It is not at all uncommon here in the NW to hear people who have entered the sport since 1997 aspire to 100-milers. No, I don't think it is a lack of interest--it is a combination of factors. For one, 100-mile entries go in cycles. I can remember a slump in our region several years ago, and then a real upswing again, and then another slump. For another, there is a real decline in the number of RMs that are willing to put on 100s that are interesting in their own right, and not just a repeat of the 50 (or worse, 4 repeats of the 25). Tevis is turning away entries. Biltmore certainly had a good turnout. It takes a dedication to managing a 100 (beyond just "what sells"--although if you do it well, it sells) that is akin to riding 100s. And if a region doesn't have dedicated 100-mile ride managers willing to go with the flow for a few years, then a region tends not to groom up 100-mile riders in quantity. It also helps to have more 75-milers to get people started going past 50. There aren't near enough of them out there. I was pleased to see that we had 15 riders on the Purple Passion 75 two weeks ago--and a 100% completion rate despite a hot day!--perhaps we are starting back into an "up" cycle for longer distances again, but unless managers are willing to take the plunge and offer them, we'll never know. The FEI phenomenon has an influence here--both positive and negative. The positive is that it maintains at least a core group of riders that want to do 100-milers. The negative is that some rides have now gone to being very erratic in when they offer 100s--only offering them on years when there is a Pan-Am nearby and local riders are trying to qualify. That makes it very tough for the rank-and-file riders who aspire to 100s to plan ahead--100s tend to be something that you shoot for a year or two ahead, rather than something you look at the ride calendar for next month and just decide on a whim you want to do one. (Although I admit to having done a few that way--but only when I was young and tough, and only on seasoned horses, with the exception of my first endurance ride ever, which was the Virginia City 100.) Heidi ============================================================ Prudence and focus will carry you a long way on a horse. ~ Frank Solano ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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