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[RC] 100 milers - Budler,Cindy - AfroxHere in Soth Africa 100 milers have never been popular because of the expense in vets and helpers as well as FEI fees.Also we had a lot of the diehard type of rider/official who could never understand why they needed to cater to a handful of riders who wanted to do the longer distances when they can put on a 50 miler and have 250 entries! In the wake of finally getting to compete internationally- albeit on leased horses and against Namibia and Botswana on our own horses- we did have an increase in interest.Mainly for the money to be earned I think:-). We introduced the elevator concept - stolen from you guys- and that has helped quite a bit in encouraging riders to enter BUT we find that the distances are getting less- our most popular ride is the 120km ride and most of our rides end at that distance with the 30km, 60km, 80km ,100km and 120km distances offered under the FEI rules - even if it is not FEI registered for points.In fact , in order to encourage and train our "normal" endurance rider to attend and understand the vet gate and FEI system we now are encouraged at club level to host ALL our shorter distances under the FEI system and rules - combined with our rules - that is we take the vet gate system, the pulse criteria's etc and add it to our normal national body rules- NO huge amount of officials, no specific camping and grooming points but only the things we think need to be understood and those which benefit the horse! We also do have specific 100 milers and 120km rides which are FEI accredited for those wanting to earn their points etc and find a large majority of the riders who enter these do not do so for FEI points but because they have done the intermediate elevator distances and have lost the "fear" of the 100 miler. Another thing that has helped to increase the amount of riders doing 120km - or longer distance rides - is the clover leaf pattern with all vet checks being at base - it can be boring and personally I always thought that half the joy of a 100 miler was the crew participation/aid on the course - but it does make it easier to host ALL the distances if the crews, vets and officials with the computers etc can stay put in one place. We start the 100 milers and 120km riders very early in the morning- about 3am or so- and then the shorter distances at 6am - that way most people finish before dark and there is not much loss of spectators and not those REALLY long days for the officials. Also the 50 milers see the 100milers arriving home with a major fuss being made - you hear lots of "that didn't look too difficult" in the crowd and lots of training suggestions being asked for afterwards! Regards, Cindy Budler Afrox IP Marketing Germiston Gauteng South Africa Tel: 011 876 1179 Fax: 011 873 4623 Cell: 082 464 1809 This e-mail message and all attachments contain the CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY information of The Afrox Group and may contain LEGALLY PRIVILEGED information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, distribution, or use of this e-mail, its attachments or any information contained therein is unauthorised and prohibited. If you have received this in error, please contact the sender immediately and delete this e-mail and any attachments.Internet Web Address:http://www.afrox.com _____________________________________________________________________ This e-mail has been scanned for viruses by MCI's Internet Managed Scanning Services - powered by MessageLabs. For further information visit http://www.mci.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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