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> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Nik Isahak Abdullah [mailto:drnikisahak@xxxxxxxxxxx]
> > Sent: Saturday, January 29, 2005 8:25 AM
> > Subject: WEC:Review

> >       I am sure the Americans, former  world power in this game will 
> > still
> > be wondering what went wrong.They have many thousands of rider horse
> > combinations to choose from.Many hundreds of rides per year.The birth 
> > place
> > of endurance.A whole culture stepped in riding andhorses.What went
> > wrong.?They were no where near at all.!No one will ever know the reason 
> > why
> > but in this game sometime it is good to just not look inward but also
> > outward.Lessons can sometime be learned from small nations as well.And 
> > this
> > is mighty difficult for a nation as big as USA.{Iam very sure Iam not 
> > going
> > tobe too popular there!}


Maybe the reason that the Americans didn't finish first is Americans 
generally have a huge respect for their horses as companions and partners, 
not as expendable tools of the human ego.  Personally, I don't care if our 
team did not win anything.  I feel our love for our horses is far more 
important than winning something as insane as a 100 mile flat-track race. 
So.....we are not the world champion endurance riders on a flat-track 
road.....so what!  I can think of things a lot more important.  Even if 
Americans never won another WEC, I can still think of things far more 
important.  Let's keep our record of competition clean (no drugs or 
cheating), keep our heads up, and keep on riding as we enjoy it here in the 
USA.  The WEC and other international rides like it are a battle of 
politics; we just happen to be using horses as weapons.
But then, you have to realize that I am not a competitive person, so the 
outcome of such races does not impress me.  I ride for the joy of it, not to 
beat someone.  And if anyone thinks that the masses of money being poured 
into the facilities and the entertainment for the "guests" is truly an 
attempt to promote the sport, think again.  It's politics of some sort, but 
I can't quite put my finger on the real reason.

IF the alleged disqualification of the first place horse goes through, for 
the alleged reason of drugging, all I can say is.....I'm disgusted.  And if 
the DQ does not go through, yet there is a hint of impropriety, then I'm 
even more disgusted.

Barbara 



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