I hope
to do the Big Horn one day. I hope it is around. I have never been
an RM so I do not feel I have the knowledge to say what an RM goes
through. I am a rider and I do get tired of hearing people complain about
trail markings. I have been lost several times, one was due to sabotage,
the other times because I was not paying attention. Part of endurance TO
ME following a marked trail, the other part is making sure that my horse is familiar
with everything she (I own mares) will be going through, this includes riding
in the dark and practicing it at home, not on an endurance ride. The
other part I feel which is the most important is knowing my horse and their
limitations for THAT ride. I talk to people who have ridden the ride
prior to me, I read the entry form (they usually will give you a very good idea
of what the trail is like). It is up to me, myself, not anyone else to
make sure my horse is prepared and can handle the ride at hand. I went
back to the entry from on AERC’s site and read the BH entry form, There
is a statement there that says “. This ride is a true test of endurance…”
That statement alone tells you the type
of ride it will be. Tough, VERY tough. I commend all RM’s for
putting on a ride. I commend riders for giving corrective suggestions
that could better a ride. Hopefully when I feel my mare and I are ready
for this type of ride it will still be around.
Teri
From:
ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of DVeritas@xxxxxxx Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 9:17
PM To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] Big Horn -
Misconceptions
Alright.
I need (for me) to state a couple of
things.
Tom Van Gelder has ALWAYS been
exceptionally wonderful to me...back to 1989. One night, Cindy Collins
and I were out there somewhere in the Badlands
on a hundred miler and darn if he wasn't there for us....throughout the
night. And, when I finally found myself just about four miles from
the finish, who was at the fence waiting for me...Tom Van Gelder. He is a
kind man, well-intended.
I understand Tom Van Gelder. I
understand the Big Horn 100.
It is a 100 which is certainly doable.
BUT, I also understand that the fabric of
the AERC saddle pad has changed, particularly over the last ten years or
so. Riders are different. Expectations are different.
I don't think Endurance Riding should be
Survival Riding, no more than I think it should be a Carousel Ride in the
Park. Somewhere in between would be fine with me.
Who of us have ever heard Dave
Nicholson's "You Could Die Out There" speech and not understood that
he was very serious when he gave it.
Well, I remember my first Tom Van Gelder
ride briefing (1989)...very similar in content. The BH is (for the most
part) a primitive point to pointer.
I love the ride.
If things could have been done
better...well, ferreting out the this-and-that of it all won't be a bad
thing. Particularly if it improves the perception of the doability of the
ride and the safety of the ride.
But, face it, Endurance Riding is not
inherently safe for the horse or the rider.
It is a dangerous sport and I don't care
if you doing a training ride, a limited distance ride or going over Cougar Rock
with sliding plates on your horse's back hooves.
If we can improve the safety of it all,
I'm all for it.
What makes me sad, Lisa is that RC can
get frothy at the mouth over Barbaro and when we need to discuss rider and
horse safety, archaeic and entrenched attitudes seem to polarize the
"camp". Too bad.
