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Re: [RC] 86 in Rome/2005 Dubia - 2 hours off time - statistics - Truman PrevattThere are some interesting things that jump out here. First in VA the ride was on the OD trail (or at least part of it maybe Tom Sites can chime in here). Long climbs and rocks do slow things down. Eliminating that ride you see a (almost) linear decrease in the times. The first "jump" came in 1996 when almost an hour was knocked off. Then a plateau at 9 to 9:30 till this year with another big jump.I remember a conversation with Larry Kanavy some years ago at a vet check while he was waiting for his riders to arrive (I was working the ride). He made the comment something like "we are only scratching the surface on what these horses are capable of doing." The UAE seems to be more than scratching the surface today. To the UAE's credit they have sent a lot of time and money on this sport.They have been at it for a little over 10 years. They have brought over the best endurance vets in the world to help them learn and develope their program. They have gone "outside the box" to try new things to push the level of performance. Their program seems to be designed to get the best out of a horse on race day. They have shown how to do it. Yes they have bought some good "made" horses, however, those horses were not performing to those levels until they got into the UAE program. My hat's off to them for that. The horse may not ever put in another performance at this level or may never do another ride. They have a stable full of them and more in training in other countires they can bring over. The seem to select the horse that has the best chance of winning on a given day - much like a track coach does with his runners. While it may not be "my cup of tea" or my definition of endurance riding. Their program has no room to promote longevity - and this philosophy is diametrically opposed to what most AERC riders hold dear. However, at the WEC level the UAE has taken our sport, pushed it to the next level of single race performance - they have raised the bar. If we want to compete at this level we will have to figure out how to step up to the plate. It may very well be that to do that will either require a total separation of international endurance from the AERC or the acceptance of this type of all out "one race wonders" endurance racing as part of the AERC. Truman Ridecamp Guest wrote: Please Reply to: Lynda Townsend townsend.buggies.sleighs@xxxxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== -- “Many people consider the things government does for them to be social progress but they regard the things government does for others as socialism.” Earl Warren =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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