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[RC] Over ridden? - k s swigart

Richard Allen said:


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.


A horse that has been removed for the competition because it was
sufficiently lame to be deemed not fit to continue WAS over-ridden (i.e.
it was ridden beyond its level of fitness).  And it is the fact that "it
doesn't tally with what happens at most rides" is that at most rides
there are lots of riders who over ride their horses (myself included,
BTW).

One way to get riders to stop doing this (who if they are supposedly the
best in the world should be possible) is to have penalties imposed if
they do.

Something needs to be done to get the "elite" endurance riders at the
world championship level to be a lot more careful with their horses.
Because right now, we know that more than half of them are not.

It may be that there is no way for even elite riders to be careful
enough to not have huge numbers of them overriding their horses even
when they are actively trying not to (which, is not the case at such
events today, in today's world championship events it is apparent that
many of the riders are more interested in winning than in riding the
horse within its level of fitness so make the decision--whether
consciously or not--to not care if they over ride their horse because
they figure the vets will stop them from over riding the horse to its
permanent detriment), and if that is the case, then endurance SHOULDN'T
have a world championship.

If telling riders that they have to know when their horse is not fit to
continue in order to maintain their qualifications for the event and
telling teams that they have to pick riders and horses that are actually
capable of finishing the event with some reliability (i.e. 75% of the
time) in order to maintain the team qualification makes is so that there
are no riders and no teams qualified, then that is pretty much proof
positive that NOBODY should be out there racing at a world championship
endurance event.

Right now, there is NOTHING in the structure of the event that provides
any incentive for riders to ride their horses within their level of
fitness if doing so puts the horse "out of the medals."  Consequently,
there is no way to know if riders are not riding their horses within
their level of fitness because they choose not to or because they simply
cannot.  Give them a strong incentive to ride the horse within its
capabilities even if it doesn't medal, and we can find out.

And if we find out that there really is no way to race horses over 100
miles at a world champsionship event and ride them within their level of
fitness doing so, then we really shouldn't be doing it at world
championships.

kat
Orange County, Calif.



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