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[RC] Re: Is 100 miles in one day too much? RE: [RC]?? WEG 2006 - TeamnellieIn a message dated 19/11/06 06:00:33, katswig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes: Riders who say, "I don't believe my horse is fit to continue, so I choose to stop now" are not penalized in the same way (although their country still would be if because the horse didn't finish the course the team did not get a completion). But in a team situation a penalty is a penalty - why should the team be penalised because a rider made the right decision for their horse? It doesn't follow. And there's a strong possibility that a rider who might otherwise have withdrawn a seemingly fit, sound horse because they felt the horse just wasn't doing right might choose to continue rather than risk being responsible for their country being banned from international competition. I live in France and have attended about 12 FEI rides this year. The completion statistics don't show the number of 'abandon's, which is quite high. The vetting is extremely strict. To suggest that a horse eliminated for a minor lameness which has disappeared the next morning has been 'over-ridden' to an extent that merits some sort of ban just doesn't tally with what actually happens at most rides. It's easy to fool around with statistics. In 2003 my wife rode the President's Cup in Abu Dhabi. Her horse was spun for minor lameness at the 92 mile compulsory representation. There was a fully-equipped clinic on site and we took advantage of the offer to have our horse rehydrated even though her metabolics were all A's. Why wouldn't we? When we got home we were assailed by the cries of the statisticians bewailing the high number of horses who 'ended up on a drip'. Best wishes Richard Allen
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