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RE: [RC] LD/50 times - David LeBlanc

Terre said:


David said:

That's not what anyone has said. They said the 50 mile riders went 
about 15% faster. So if the 50 was won in 5 hours even, a typical LD 
the same day would be won in about 2:50.



         The problem with this observation--which is probably 
true--is that it acts as if the two populations of horses and 
riders were identical except for the distance being ridden.  
That, I think, is not at all true.


It's not so much a problem as it is a possible explanatory factor. If we
could add in miles or number of total rides experience of the horse, then we
could test that. Though I have been passed on an LD ride by a horse with
multiple 100's of experience that completed the PanAm at Mt. Adams, while I
was riding my experienced 50 mile horse with another rider on her
experienced 50 mile horse, and we all top-10'd that particular LD ride. I
expect this is an unusual circumstance, though it might be interesting to
see the percentage of LD rides being run by horses with experience in 50's.

However, Truman's analysis shows that somewhere around 1/3 of our riders do
some amount of both LD and endurance in any given year, which is
interesting. It's also interesting that riders who do both are more likely
to be doing more rides/year than others.

The interesting thing about this particular analysis is that it fairly
effectively shows that the "racing LDer" is currently a myth. It's also
somewhat counter-intuitive - even if the horse isn't in as good a shape,
they're only going 1/2 as far, and ought to be able to keep up a faster
pace. The fact they're going significantly slower for the hot shoes winning
riders says a lot.

We all know the worst problem is people who ride their horse too fast for
that horse's conditioning level and abilities on that particular day. That
problem isn't confined to LD, and some of the worst examples are the highly
competitive FEI 100's. I've been told that the treatment rates for some of
the international rides exceed 50%. That's horrible.


I think the majority of the entrants in an LD are 
less "race ready" than the entrants in a 50


So people are doing the right thing and going slower.


Of course these people ride slower!  And the people 
who ARE racing the LD are not being pushed by a field of "racing" 
competitors, so they don't have to ride as fast as they are 
capable of in order to beat them--they only have to ride 
faster than the few other "racers".  


So what you're saying is that they're riding their horses within their
capabilities, and are thus going slower. I agree, but that's contrary to the
racing LD'er myth.


That may be why some of 
them decline to move up to the longer distance.


I know that's a factor for some people, but I only know a few of these. Most
people I know who can run up front on 25's get bored with it, and want to
take on greater challenges.



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Replies
[RC] LD/50 times, terre