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[RC] Moving from CT to LD - rides2far@xxxxxxxxThose are interesting guide lines. I am wondering about the terrain issues. I train on very steep ground, lots of climb, and lots of down >>>hill. We do25 miles in about 4hrs, but I would not want to take the down hill anyfaster than we do, (4-5 mph walk or 6-8 mph trot depending >>>>on the hill). We usually take 4-5 hrs. to do our rugged 22 mile training trail...and on the same horses top ten on a 50 in as little as 4:15, and has finished a 100 before dark. It's hard to explain why. All I can say is, "A miracle occurs". On a training ride my horse knows I'll walk him over every bit of gravel where he might get a bruise so he acts like he's walking on razor sharp rocks. In competition he tells me "Forget it, I was faking" and trots over it all like it's nothing. In training he goes to the top of a hill and says, "I need to walk a minute, or two, or ten". In competition he says, "I'm fine already would you get out of my mouth?" People say you should train the way you compete. If I did I'd be pulling for all I was worth and he'd be going backwards. :-P It's easy to complain about how excited the horses are during competition...especially when you're really afraid you're going to die on the first loop, but there's a lot to be said for adrenaline...and DESIRE. A horse, a person, or a kid can do a lot more when they WANT to and in competition they WANT to. Doesn't mean you should go crazy, I'm just saying that just because your horse will only give you a 5 hr 25 miles in training, don't turn down a 3 1/2 hr. 25 in competition so long as he's recoverin g well, and you really *have* been training. As to all the formulas about when to move up...I'd be more interested in the splits for the different loops than the overall ride time. Did they hold a fairly steady pace or lose a lot at the end? Did the horse EAT & drink? If a horse eats well and holds a steady pace he can probably keep going as opposed to a faster horse that didn't eat & drink and got tired at the end. Angie =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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