The Team USA didn't win anything at the WEC...but (IMHO), we sure didn't "lose" anything, either.
The Team USA consisted of endurance riders from the USA. Though "success" might be measured by "to finish is to win"...in this case, "to try is to win" comes to mind, because it was obvious to this cloistered-up endurance rider in western Nebraska that there was a unity of purpose by Team USA, i.e. we believe that horses are the important component of this sport and we will ride with the single purpose of trying to do well, but should we find the horse(s) on the verge of paying too great a price for the prize, we will withdraw. In my way of seeing this "event"....that's what I choose to believe.
They were competing against folks involved in horse racing...99.4 miles, but it was (in fact) a horse race.
American Endurance and FEI-level Endurance....It is the proverbial comparison of apples and oranges.
The truly sad thing, as I see it, is that the "rest of the world" now associates the term "endurance racing" with what goes on at the WEC, particularly at the WEC as conducted in Dubai.
Once again, the horses were incredible.
BUT JUST BECAUSE A HORSE WILL, DOESN'T MEAN THEY SHOULD!
It was just a long horse RACE.
I believe it was exciting for the participants and all the folks on the peripherary. Heck, it even was exciting for the horses, until the horses figured out that there was only one way to end the "event"...give all you have and then, hopefully, someone will stop it.
I'm sure it doesn't matter to them, but, I have the utmost respect for the riders from the USA, as well as their mounts. I have respect for all the support crews, vets, etc, as well.
But this "event" kind of reminded me of the Harlem Globetrotters' games I grew up watching...they needed somebody to "play" against....it's just that the Globetrotters didn't first sedate them with opulence and ego-stroking.
My personal opinion, (again), is that the AERC version of endurance needs to be protected and insulated (somehow) from what I saw on the webcast last night.
How many members of the AERC will ever aspire to participate in the WEC....REALISTICALLY?
We best safeguard those things that make us "us" and them "them".
I'm sorry if this post offends anyone, it truly isn't my intent. But, I needed to express my opinion regarding the "event" in Dubai.
Give me a ride in Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, California, New Mexico....a nice pre-ride meal, a hard trail with lots of water and no vehicular traffic. You can keep the awards, the medals and the webcasts...give me a healthy horse after the ride and a good night's sleep free of guilt for having used my horse too hard. What could be better?...
