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Re: [RC] [RC] LDs as Endurance - Ridecamp GuestPlease Reply to: Erick Larson paradigm@xxxxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== I read with great interest this thread. My wife and I are long time trail riders new to this sport. So far I have ridden 2 LD's and my wife has ridden 3. I would like to give you the perspective of someone who is new to the sport and intends to ride many more events. **Caution!! Long rambling musings to follow: ** I LIKE THE CURRENT SYSTEM. The way I see it, LD's are a way of conditioning and training both horse and rider. We are anticipating riding a mix of LD's and 50's next year. With any luck (and a lot of good training) we will have a year of completions and end with fit healthy horses (and riders!). The year after that.... Watch out! This year we started our training several months before our first ride. We intended to ride the 10 mile "fun run" at the Oakland Hills. But our horses routinely go 15-20 miles on a Saturday anyway, so we opted for the 25 mile LD. Kudos to Nick Warhol on a great ride! His idea of adding a 10 mile fun run attracted many riders who wanted to get their feet wet at this sport. Also, riders had the option to elevator up to the 50 from the 25. Excellent idea! That ride is a good example of how the current system works well! If you have never done a ride and don't know much about endurance but are intrigued by it, do the "fun run". It's not a recognized ride and you get no miles. It's a learning experience designed to get you excited about the sport. If you have intentions of riding endurance and competing use the LD as training; elevator up to the 50 if your horse is ready! And for those who have "been there done that" and just want to ride for fun and "wine time" around the campfire, LD baby, yeah!! Then set out the lawn chairs, bust out the bottle and cheer the horses as they complete the 50. For those curious: my wife completed the ride near the end of the pack with a horse rearing to go more and a vet encouraging her to elevator up. She decided to stick to our long term plan of bringing the horses along slowly and was content with a completion. My Walker/Arab was pulled for lameness. I was off the horse jogging slowly down hill and he slipped and came up slightly gimpy on his right front. He was fine later that evening, ultrasounded fine, and has been fine ever since. But the vet would show me no mercy at the ride! My thanks to vet Melissa Ribley. Getting pulled for that slight lameness when many of my "old-timer" cowboy buddies would have said to "just walk it out, he'll be fine" taught me something. I learned that the health of the horse comes first. Just as 25 or 50 miles is a long time to ride, 10 years or 10,000 miles requires a long term attitude. Do you follow my logic? Vets at the LD's should be as strict if not MORE strict than at the 50's. If I am to build a horse/rider team to last many years and many miles it will begin with my attitude and training now. ** Caution! Controversial Statement to follow: ** Just as Tevis now has requirements that must be met prior to entry, I would not be opposed to that being applied to all 50 mile and above rides. Perhaps riders and horses should be required to ride a few LD's first. If the vets are strict and the managers sharp those moving up to the 50's would be much better prepared. If you can't complete an LD safely should you really be allowed to try a 50? What damage would I have done to my young horse had I been allowed to continue slightly gimpy and done a full 50? Something about this whole thread does confuse me, however. I have not experienced the "stigma" that other posters have mentioned. My wife and I have found everyone to be friendly, helpful and encouraging. Where's the "stigma"? Perhaps I'm just too dense to notice it. This summer we met many people I hope to ride with again for years to come. Our season ended with the Oroville ride and a successful comeback for my horse. We rode a pace that we thought was as fast as we could safely go. I let the HRM on my horse act as a throttle restrictor. At the end of the ride he was tired but sound. Once again, my wife's horse seemed ready to go farther. Hhmmm... Could that 40 extra pounds my horse carries make a difference. Naw... Pass those brownies from the "Slow Pokes" my way! In conclusion... (Whew, finally!) I vote to keep the system the way it is. My limited experience this season says this controversy seems to exist only on the discussion boards and not out on the ride. I welcome your comments on the board or in my personal e-mail. All views appreciated, you can't hurt my feelings. I'm too dense for that. -Erick- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. 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