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Re: [RC] Letters to the World -- showing - Barbara McCraryGood post, Lif. I can feel distance riding written all through it. It really doesn't take more than an urge to get one's body into enough condition to do a LD ride. I'll wager that there are more comparatively fit senior citizens out on the trails than there are most anywhere else. Barring catastrophic injury or illness, I feel just about anyone can ride a horse enough to do a nice LD ride. I've done only 1 official LD ride, but jillions of 25-30 mile conditioning rides. 25-30 miles is about the limit of comfort, and if it's difficult physically for people to go beyond that, then stay with LD. It affords enough mileage to keep rider and horse in fit condition, and it is fun. And then, there is NATRC and/or CTR. I've drag ridden enough NATRC to see that it's a great venue, if you don't mind the slightly more rigid protocol. I watch riders on Emma's NATRC having a great time. Emma herself is now competing and she finally had to go to an Arab because of the better P&Rs they usually afford. I agree that halter classes, much like cattle and dog shows, are ruining type. When the cattle breeders realized that their rush to produce blocky cattle on short legs was backfiring by producing dwarves, they started breeding for taller, longer, less wasty cattle. But dogs.....horrible damage to many breeds! Some can't breathe, some can't whelp without a C-section, some are crippled by age 2 by hip dysplasia, some are utterly brainless.....on and on. Just my thoughts this morning....... Barbara ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lif Strand" <lif@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: "Bette Lamore" <woa@xxxxxxxxxxxx> Cc: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, June 18, 2004 5:59 AM Subject: Re: [RC] Letters to the World -- showing At 11:36 PM 6/17/2004, Bette Lamore wrote:And not all of us Arabian owners have 100 mile fannies and are into 100 milers yet want to demonstrate the athleticism of our horses. You're wrong, Lif, if it's an Arabian sponsored event, you have to ride an arabian (at least part) and some of us like the look and temperament of the Arabian and the family bonding of the breed-- that's why we would go to Arabian shows and not other breeds.Bette, I'm not arguing with you at all on your point. But can you demonstrate that the small niche of showing you're talking about is enough to pull AHA out of it's bind? Is there argument that the Arabian horse can excel over other breeds in the areas of jumping, dressage and sporthorse showing, enough to attract the thousands of new owners and support a failing market for the breed? There will always be showing of Arabian horses, all the classes, of course, and Arabians are versatile as you say, and can do so much. But that just doesn't seem to be helping promote and market the breed any more. It's a new day, calls for a different approach. New folks aren't going to be attracted to the breed by endurance--- very few have the dedication to devote hours and hours into conditioningHours and hours into conditioning for endurance must be compared to the hours and hours of training for showing, of course. You don't just take a horse from stall to show arena any more than you take a horse from pasture to endurance trail.and fewer yet have the desire to push the limits of their horses and themselves to the extremes that some do.You're right - and that's why I used the term "distance" initially in my letter to AHA and AHW, rather than the specialty term "endurance" - although of course at the end I do use "endurance". The beauty of distance riding is that it takes place out of an arena, it doesn't require extra equipment, long hours into conditioning or specialized training or entry fees if you don't want to go that route. Distance riding is only as extreme as the individual chooses.There is a far better chance of people being drawn to the breed by seeing them in a show than there is seeing them on the Tevis.That's another argument in *favor* of distance riding! Distance riding isn't a spectator sport, it's a sport that *engages* the individual or family. No longer does the supportive family have to sit in the bleachers, or, worse, at a big show, pay for tickets just to watch their rider. With distance riding the whole family can ride together, or if they're into it, part of the family rides, part crews - and the crew is right there in the center of the action PLUS they get to watch the rest of the "endurance show" for free!Kind of like Pop Warner football-- the way it USED to be (before over-zealous adults got into it) as opposed to the NFL-- few people qualify for that and Liv-- you and many on this chat room are part of that elite-- but don't expect most neophytes in the breed to follow in your footsteps.Hah! I hardly consider myself to be part of any elite with respect to endurance, but I do expect most neophytes to follow the exact same sort of footsteps I go in - to have a wonderful relationship with horses on beautiful trails and meet great people who, even though they're on the same trail with you, aren't trying to knock you down and in fact will help you achieve your goals just as they are trying to achieve yours. What NFL player would help a rookie player from an opposite team? You know in endurance that happens all the time! The wonderful part about endurance is that all you don't have to compete to the NFL level, you can play Pop Warner football forever, and you *still* are a winner. In fact, with endurance, every time you hop on your horse you are having a great time, and you can get involved with practically all the benefits endurance has to offer - healthy bodies and minds, wonderful relationships with your horse, enjoyment of trails and the outdoors, *free* mentors and training/conditioning advice - without ever even having to enter an endurance ride!Many have jobs that don't allow it even if they had the dedication and some of us just like to hack around on our buddies--- a 4 hour ride at the beach is just fine.And that, my friend, is exactly what the AHA should be promoting about Arabian horses! A 4 hour ride on the beach IS distance riding for many people! ============================================================ Why should I look good if I don`t smell good? ~ author unknown ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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