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RE: [RC] [RC] Winning - Juli Jakub


Bruce,
I have to say that you never fail to either make me bust a gut laughing ( by the way my perfect husband says he'll go head to head with you in a belching and/or farting contest anytime!!) or make me go " Yes that is exactly it!" This is a wonderful series of thoughts and I wish I could share it with some show people I know! It is one reason I got out of the show ring...the pressure to compete to be first and anything else was losing made me REALLY stressed. I want to face challenges and overcome them ( or not) with my horse, but not be made to feel insignificant for not getting a blue ribbon! I am hoping that endurance will provide me with that chance. And I hope to find that feeling of friendship and trust and helpfulness with my competitors instead of being afraid they are stabbing me in the back the minute I turn around! A note that I do have many wonderful friends from the show world and am in no way implying they are all evil...you get good and bad wherever you go and I realize this. I hope I someday have the honor of meeting you and then you can take my husband behind a tree and explain your theory on husbandly behaviour!! Cheers,
Juli

<html><DIV>
<P>Juli Jakub</P>
<P>The Air of Heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears.</P>
<P>~ arabian proverb</P></DIV></html>

From: Bruce Weary <bweary@xxxxxxxxxxxx
To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [RC]   Winning
Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 19:14:18 -0700

Over the years my view of "winning" and it's various definitions as offered by many of our members has evolved. Certainly there is the "finished first" definition that prevails in most forms of racing throughout the world--track racing, Olympic sprints (Hey, at least I finished the entire 100 meters!), NASCAR.etc.,. But just as "To Finish is To Win" doesn't fit well in the 100 meter dash, I assert that "finishing first" isn't broad enough to include and recognize the enormous amount of accomplishment and success that occurs, both human and equine, on any given endurance trail. So I ascribe to the philosophy that our adversary is the trail itself, and that all successful riders must first beat the trail, and then sort out their placing at the finish line for perhaps an additional level of success--finishing first, or finishing well. In all my years of endurance riding, as I compare the challenges thrown at me by the trail versus other riders, the trail wins, hands down. The trail has lain in wait for me, with heat, humidity, rocks that aim to lame my horse, darkness, holes to step in, and very few places to pee in privacy. The trail has thrown mountains, valleys and rivers in my path. It has offered up exhaustion, dehydration, nausea, hallucinations, a dislocated shoulder, broken ribs (okay, it was a training ride), and various rashes I'd rather not talk about. Meanwhile, my opponents, the other riders on the trail, have merely passed me with a fresher horse, let me taste their dust, and offered help whenever I had a problem on the trail. I have always tried to do the same for them.
Very few people know about this, but it's time I told this story publicly. This year at Tevis, my horse ran out of gas at the bottom of the second canyon, and even though I had hiked (not tailed) the first canyon already, I had no choice but to hike the second one with no help from my tiring horse. His welfare depended on it. Pete Davies, a well known rider with many miles, was at the bottom of that canyon with me. He must have seen something in my face, because without me asking any favors, he offered to let me tail off HIS horse while HE rode up. This horse felt very strong, and he tailed me two-thirds of the way up. I finally told Pete to go on or he wouldn't make cut-off. He did. And he didn't. After pulling due to overtime, he brought his horse and a bottle of warm Gatorade back down that canyon looking for us to make sure we made it out of there. He had plenty of horse and would likely have easily finished. He saw a greater need and met it. And to me, that is a terrific definition of a winner.
I personally don't feel the need to defeat everyone on the trail. Not while there's Pete Davies and others like him out there. Thanks again, Pete.
Respectfully Submitted, Bruce Weary

















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Replies
[RC] Winning, Bruce Weary