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Re: [RC] 2500 Mile Requirement - kimfuessPutting any kind of mileage requirement on a horse/rider team really doesn't address the issue of making the completion important in a FEI one day event or race. This type of requirement will eliminate several good horse rider teams that have been together for many years and CHOOSE not to do a high number of competitions. I can think of three exceptional horse rider teams that do not meet this criteria yet I respect the partnership the rider has with the horse.I think a much better solution would be for the organization (meaning FEI) to find a way to minimize the all or nothing attitude that comes from holding a one day race of this importance. If FEI cannot come up with ways to recognize or reward longevity and promote the idea of "completing" at a championship event then I believe they need to find a way to penalize national squads that do not finish a complete team. In the long run, a low completion rate, lame horses, and metabolically stressed horses at high profile FEI endurance events is a PR nightmare. Why would it be unreasonable for the organization to do everything possible to discourage this, including squad penalties for non completion. Does it really matter as far as public relations goes if the 100 mile race is won in 7 hours or 9 hours? What is the real benefit to FEI to have faster winning times with very low completion rates. I think if a team really thinks it can finish 3 or 4 riders at the 100 mile distance in 7 or 8 hours they should go for it. But, I also think that there should be consequences for a National Squad if they made an error in judgement, went to fast or didn't use the right strategy and could not finish a complete team. Remember we are talking about the best horses in the world that are experienced at this distance and have all earned the FEI COC. It is not like there are a bunch of unknown quantities out there trying to get through their first 100 mile race. I really don't think it is too much to expect a better completion rate at this level of competition. I think that if a team consisted of 5 horse/rider teams (instead of 4) with three teams necessary for a team completion, this should take care of the "natural" mishaps that can happen at any ride. I don't think that finishing 3 out of 5 team members is an unreasonable expectation at this level. I guess the real question is this. If a national squad realized that getting a team completion was instrumental for their country's qualifications for future WEC competitions or knew somehow they would get penalized, would the "team" strategy change by becoming more conservative to ensure completion first over placing? Would penalizing a squad for non completion minimize some of the all or nothing attitude that seems to be part of this culture? Instead of focusing on individual horse/rider team requirements, changing the distance of the event, or even taking away the "race" aspect, I would rather see changes made that will change the culture at this level of competition and bring a better balance between winning and completing. Unfortunately, I really don't see many ways of positively re enforcing "completing" without taking away the "race" aspect. The only kind of positive re enforcement I see is to re reimburse a national team some of it's expenses if it completes an entire team. Of course, with wealthy teams or subsidized teams this will have little or no effect. So, penalizing non completing squads seems like another viable solution. It allows national squads to "race" any way they choose BUT the results from those choices will have consequences for future competitions. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Truman Prevatt" <tprevatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: "Bruce Weary" <bweary@xxxxxxxxxxxx> Cc: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Saturday, November 18, 2006 6:21 PM Subject: Re: [RC] 2500 Mile Requirement Unfortunately the USEF is going the other direction. Now with 200 miles and no 100's a horse can be nominated for the WEC. I was told once in a conversation where I expressed my displeasure in that decision that "we need the younger horses to field a team of sound horses." =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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