I feel honored. I happen to have been at (as were Randy and Cheryl I
think Cheryl even let Randy ride that ride ;-)) one of the few rides
Nancy Loving was able to get away and do - the Cottonwood Canyon (think
it was called the MERA Benefit) ride in WY in Aug 1997 (for those that
must check the database.)
As far a judgement concerning the horse - there are few people who I
would trust more than Nancy Loving. As far the judgement concerning a
horse's ability or fitness to do a 100 (25, 50 or cross country
eventing for that matter) there is few people I would trust more than
Nancy Loving.
She is tops in the sport - no question about it.
While we are at it - there are two people in this sport who have never
done an endurance ride but they are the top of my list if I have a
question concerning my horse. I think all SE riders will know who I
speak of. Number of miles only departs so much knowledge and in some
people it seems to depart none.
Truman
The Winters, Randy or Cheryl wrote:
=================
I must agree with Susan K (a good friend of mine) - get
advice for riding 100 milers from people who have done 100
milers. That's why I have a problem with Nancy Loving's
book & her advice on 100 mile rides... her record is 750
miles - no 100s.
Susie Jones, AERC# 7997
23 100 mile completions
==========================
I think numbers are sometimes only that. The experience that one brings to
the sport is sometimes brought by a different degree of expertise than just
riding. As for writing books, as with many authors, it is not just their
personal experience, but research garnered from multiple resources to
produce the finished book. Dr. Loving, and other top vets, who have limited
ride experience in competition., have been involved with endurance for many
years in a capacity that many of us will never experience and that is as
people who have vetted more top level rides than many of us will ever see
ourselves, much less participate in. Having worked closely with these
events, both as ride vets and as a treatment vets, they have seen more
about what can happen and is going wrong and see things that sometimes are
lost to riders in the heat of the competition. They have had to deal with
the metabolic crashes, the lameness issues and deaths in ways that some of
us will only imagine ( thank god). Their knowledge and insight is brought
to our sport from a different angle. I think we have to be careful about
how we qualify people who can give advice other than just miles ridden. I
have personally seen a few riders who have the miles and still no clue.
Thank goodness that is not usually the case.
Cheryl
-- We imitate our masters only because we are not yet masters
ourselves,
and only
We
imitate our masters
only because we are not yet masters ourselves, and only
because
in doing so we
learn the truth about what cannot be imitated.
