Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Diane,
I like the process of voicing some "what ifs"..thanks for being open to 
thinking about it.

Ok, so here is another scenario:

On the entry form (as I have seen in the past) is a box to check if it is 
your first ride.
Then another box "if yes, would you like us to help you find a mentor for 
the day?"

Maybe the RM allows the "mentor" to go at 1/2 price which the newbie pays 
for??

I know if I was asked to do that by a local ride manager and it was not a 
ride I was planning to do (I am only talking LD's here), I would consider 
it. Maybe they even would have some way of designating these teams.

Just processing folks...I would love to see new riders in our sport who 
learn to love it like all of us. Just think how quickly the learning curve 
would go up for these folks!

Ranelle Rubin
Coaching and Consulting Services
The Coaching Center
ranelle@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
raneller@xxxxxxx

916-663-4140 home office
916-718-2427 cellular
916-848-3662 fax




> From: Diane Trefethen <tref@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: Ranelle Rubin <raneller@xxxxxxx>
> CC: Ridecamp <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: [RC]   [RC] Are the LD's feeding 50's?
> Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2006 16:59:36 -0700
>
> Ranelle Rubin wrote:
> > What if there was a program available whereby an experienced rider 
> > "sponsored" a newbie through their first ride..kind of like a junior..only 
> > coaching them along the way..a few calls with them before to discuss  
> > conditioning, timing of shoeing, use of electrolytes, what to bring 
> > etc...kind of like the mentoring, only a bit more formal..nothing 
> > manditory.
>
> I think that is a good idea but fear it would be impossible to formalize. 
> Perhaps over time it could become the norm for experienced riders who are 
> PLANNING to go slowly to tell Ride Sec'ys that they are available to act as 
> a New Rider mentor on the trail so the RS could post their number and where 
> they are camped on the ride's bulletin board or on the RS's table.  I 
> personally have a lot of empathy for those who are just starting and really 
> don't know what to expect or how to plan or, worst of all, get pounded by 
> insensitive behavior on the part of more experienced riders.  Back a ways 
> we had an email exchange on Ridecamp where someone said that if someone 
> can't handle being blown past at a gallop, that person didn't belong on an 
> Endurance or LD ride.  I abhor that attitude.  What arrogance.
>
> > I have to agree with Amber though. I think LD gets the short end of the 
> > stick sometimes.
>
> I tend to agree too.  But I think one of the reasons there is resistance to 
> giving LD a full seating at the table is that the more LD becomes a venue 
> in its own right, the more the Novice riders get shoved off the playing 
> field.  And bottom line, it is primarily the newbies that the shorter 
> distance was expected to serve.  Not that others weren't welcome, just that 
> the original title "Novice Ride" was clearly aimed at beginners.  If LD 
> Rides are to stand on an equal footing with Endurance Rides, there MUST be 
> some other provision made for those who want to participate but who have no 
> clue about what might await them at a ride.
>
> Maybe we need to think outside the box.  How about reworking the 
> traditional ride start, ie, 50s first, LDs 15-30 minutes later.  We could 
> experiment with a tiered start where ALL the riders choose the tier they 
> want.  Tier 1 could consist of all the riders that plan to compete 
> seriously, regardless of which ride they are in, for a high finish.  Tier 2 
> could start 5-10 minutes later and consist primarily of those who felt they 
> weren't ready to join the hotshoes but also didn't want to be at the back 
> of the pack.  Tier 3, another 5-10 minutes back, could consist of those who 
> wanted to go quite conservatively.  Horse/rider teams would be numbered as 
> always but the choice of Tier would be made at the secretary's table and 
> the Tier designation appended to the number on the rider's card.  Each 
> rider would still get the the race time allotted to the ride (s)he was in.  
> This would extend the "finish time" for the ride as a whole by 10-20 
> minutes past the usual 12 hours.  Yes it would take some getting used to 
> but heck, changing the thinking that 25 miles = a beginners ride to 25 
> miles = a serious competitive endeavor requires "some getting used to" too. 
> :)
>
> Well, just some thoughts.  I hope some of the LD advocates on Ridecamp can 
> come up with other ideas we can chew on.  I am sure they were all beginners 
> at some point and know the huge amount of trepidation that newbies can 
> feel.  It's not fair to the beginners to throw them aside when, as another 
> earlier poster pointed out, it's not the Juniors in our sport that grow 
> into the main bulk of competitors.  It is the people who USED to be into 
> horses who come back.  Those people often don't know about our sport and it 
> is they whom we need to encourage and support.
>
>
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Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

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