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Is 100 miles in one day too much? RE: [RC] WEG 2006 - Steph TeeterPerhaps this is heresy... but is it possible that 100 mile horse races are simply too hard?? Perhaps it might be better if our sport embraced a shorter version (or perhaps a 2 or 3 day version) for championship level competitions? Certainly 100 miles in one day is the ultimate challenge, but if the sport has become a 'last man standing' sport, then perhaps we don't have it right yet. After seeing the last two Presidents Cup rides finish winners in just over 7 hours, my thought was that this is simply not a sustainable sport - horses are simply not mechanically or physiologically capable of sustaining those speeds over those distances. We are seeing a sport where only a few incredible athletes - the freaks - are able to play, and the majority can't even finish the course. In human sports there are 'ulta marathons' but this is also an extreme, freak, sport- and if the Olympics embraced a 100 mile human race, we would probably also see a 'last man standing' sport, where at least half the competitors had to retire before they completed the course. And I don't think the public would approve. I think the comparison between human distance races and horse distance races is valid given the athletic ability and capability of the two species. Humans can also run 100 miles, and it is a valid challenge, a valid sport for the 'ultra' elite athlete, but it is not a mainstream sport and therefore has limited appeal to the International community. why is that?? It's easy to say 'well, just throw in rocks and mountains to slow them down' - but this is not a solution that is available to most of the world. And in a true race situation (e.g. International competition) an Old Dominion type course would result in an unacceptable level of injury on race day. Give the current format of Endurance the only way to reverse the 'last man standing' trend of International competition is to make people slow down, which is a difficult concept in a true race format. Kat - your idea is as good as any I've heard. But we'd still see 100 mile races around the world (and in the US btw) where 50% completion rates are not unheard of. But if we were given the opportunity to change the format (currently 100 miles in 1 day, speed is everything) of FEI Championship Endurance ... any ideas? How can we test our own horses' endurance against the rest of the world's horses' endurance and still reward skill, training, athletic ability, sportsmanship - and still have a sport that we feel good about doing?? Steph -----Original Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of k s swigart Sent: Saturday, November 18, 2006 8:35 AM To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] WEG 2006 Steph Teeter said: ...the press and other disciplines weren't critical of the Aachen course, they were critical of the sport. Most of the rest of the Equestrian world never sees Endurance unless it is held in conjunction with a WEG. ... But still, when less than 50% of entries can even 'get around' without some level of metabolic distress or lameness... that simply doesn't look good. Not only does it not look good. It isn't good. What has pretty much been consistently demonstrated at the World Endurance Championships is that less than half of the world's best (presumably) endurance riders riding the world's best (presumably) endurance horses know how to ride their horses within their level of fitness, or if they do know how, they choose not to at the championship events because winning is more important than riding the horse within its capabilities. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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