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Re: [RC] Riding As A Team - Joe LongOn Thu, 27 Jan 2005 16:03:16 GMT, Ridecamp Guest <guest-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Please Reply to: Kim kimfue@xxxxxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== I am certainly the last person that should be commenting on the strategy used by the US at the WEC but from everything I have read and heard they were training to ride this way for quite some time. It looked like the strategy worked at Arabian Nights 100 and I am sure it was refined in FL. If you ride this way in practice and training with success there would be no reason not to expect success in competition. As someone who had a fair amount of experience competing in this fashion, when I sponsored two Junior riders while competing for First Place myself, I think I can comment on it. When several horse/rider teams stay together throughout a ride, they gain some advantages: primarily, cameraderie and moral support for both horses and riders. However, there is a clear cost. As Truman pointed out so well, even horses whose optimum pacing would result in identical times get those times in different ways. Some are "get out in front and stay there" horses, others are "come from behind" horses, some are "steady Eddie." When you force them to all run at the same pace all day, you prevent them from doing their best. You end up riding to the "lowest common denominator." No amount of practice together is going to change that. As for what works in practice working in competition: they are not the same. You can give up a lot in practice. At this level of competition, you can't afford to give away anything. You have to do your best or those competitors who are doing their best will clean your clock. IMO it is impossible for a team to do their best when some of their members are held back by forcing everyone to ride together. It will be interesting to hear/read what did work and what didn't work with the revamped training and selection program the US Team used for this competition. Was it just a case of bad luck that two team members DNF. Was the squad more successful this year then in the previous flat, desert, type high profile competitions abroad? What can we learn (training, conditioning, strategy) or what will be shared (good or bad) with the general AERC membership from the US Team's experience both in their intense training schedule for this event and from this competition. I'll go along with that. -- Joe Long jlong@xxxxxxxx http://www.rnbw.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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