Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Here we go again.  The emotionally charged, polarizing LD debate.

Why don't we narrow-minded, prejudiced, mostly West Region/PS Region 
members lobby AERC to add a new category of ride and call these rides 
Novice Rides.  They would be for educational purposes only, no emphasis on 
performance or winning or placement.  Experienced riders would be 
encouraged to provide help to these newbies and/or their horses.  The most 
important consideration for these Novice Rides would be safety and we could 
even encourage Ride Managements to include a mini-clinic with a vet and an 
experienced Endurance and/or LD rider.  The mileage accumulated at these 
Novice Rides could be tallied in with LD mileage but there wouldn't be any 
points given, just a completion award.  Anyone interested in piling up 
points would graduate as quickly as they could to either LD or Endurance 
where the REAL recognition was.

With the new Novice Rides in place, the rules governing LD Rides could be 
loosened up.  Gone would be the worry about policing LD Rides for speed. 
Since only experienced riders on properly conditioned horses would be doing 
LD, there wouldn't be any NEED to worry, at least not worry any more than 
we worry about the 50-milers.  They could have placings, Top Ten and BC 
just like the Endurance Rides.  No longer would their performance be 
compromised by those inexperienced riders or horses.  No more arrogant, 
condescending sniping from the self-proclaimed "real Endurance riders" 
about how LD riders couldn't handle speed and they would just injure their 
horses because all the Novice Riders would be in their own ride leaving the 
LD field to just those well conditioned, experienced, ready-to-go athletes. 
 Think of the new speed records that might be set... WITH the horses in 
superb condition at the end of the ride.

With three categories, and the freedom of RMs to decide which categories to 
offer, gone would be the cat fight about reporting results.  LDs would be 
run under the same rules as Endurance.  If the RMs didn't want to put on a 
short, fast race, they could opt out of LD.  Or, if the RMs didn't have the 
time or resources or trail to do a longer ride, they could opt out of 
Endurance and just do an LD (LD and Endurance would be treated equally so 
LD would no longer HAVE to be run in conjunction with an Endurance Ride).

I think it would be good if the Novice Rides could only be sanctioned with 
either an LD or an Endurance Ride to assure that more experienced riders 
were available as role models and even briefly as mentors.  Perhaps right 
after the Awards luncheon for the LD Ride, some of the top LD riders could 
hold a little Q&A session where the newbies could ask about problems they 
had encountered during their ride.  The newbies could then hang around and 
watch the Endurance Ride's BC judging and learn what that was all about. 
It could be a wonderful, educational experience.



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