You Finish the Tevis! Horse and you were awesome, and wow! you
finished in the top ten! Next morning, your horse is judged for the Haggin
Cup and you win it! Yaaaah! AERC awards no points for it, but, who
cares? A few thousand people see, in print, on the net, in magazines etc.
that YOUR Horse won the Haggin cup. It's talked about for years;
Your name is put on the Haggin Cup. GREAT!!
Next Scenario: Raised a baby, trained him myself, conditioned him
religiously, gave him the best care I could afford. Took him to a ride and did a
25 or 30 LD. We rode at the same pace we do on conditioning
rides. I finish 3rd, with a strong, healthy horse. Didn't even realize I
was in the top ten. I win "Horse of Excellence". Very nice!
Without looking at my name, can anyone name me, my horse or which ride this
was? Did anyone see it in print in the EN? CAN I EVEN PROVE MY HORSE
WON THIS AWARD? Does my horse care? Nope. Do I care, yeah. I
didn't get the award totally by accident. Seven years of
careful and sensible work with this horse and who knows or cares, and I can't
even say we won BC because it really "doesn't count." It was only a
"training ride", because some of my fellow endurance riders
have decided that LD's are for fluff bunnies, or, I
must have raced. Or, if my horse is so good, how come I'm not
doing 50's or 100's? OR, My ego shouldn't be rewarded because my horse did
all the work. OR, I am a novice,(HA!!!) and all I've learned to do now is
race, and I am going to hurt my horse. Tell me; how many of you that are so
adamantly opposed to BC LD reg., have ever won a BC?
By the way, many years ago, my other horse was judged for BC at
a 50. We had the highest score of all, but lost out on weight
and time. I was proud when high scoring horse was
announced. Rightly so, I can't prove this happened, either, but my
hard work and ego were rewarded, briefly. renie
