[RC] WEG - the relevance of international competition - Mike and Laurie Hilyard
I think you get into a whole cultural thing
too. In this country, most endurance riders are middle class, workers or
retired workers, riding their own horses. Horses in this country have not
been working livestock for 4 human generations. We don't even remember
that lame horses are used on a daily basis in many parts of the world. I
live in an Amish community. Every day I pass horses that are at least
grade one lame on pavement at a trot. Weekly I pass horses that are grade
2 lame. Is that cruel? These are working animals, and are not
treated sentimentally. Not many Amish keep older horses - in subsistance
farming, if it doesn't work, it doesn't eat.
American endurance riders do not see their
horses as disposable. We spend thousands on custom saddles, chiropractors
and farriers to make "our" horse comfortable and acheive their personal
best. Maybe, if we take it seriously enough, when our first horse ages
out, we look for a more appropriate endurance mount the next time. IN
regards to international competition I can see a real "who cares?" attitude
in a lot of the membership now. If I did have a 100 mile horse, there is
no way on God's green earth that I would let it compete at that level.
When I first got involved in endurance, back in the early 90's, international
competition was a goal, like the ROC. Now, I think it is barely relevant
to the majority of riders. It is something distasteful about our sport
that is difficult, if not impossible to defend. Kind of like soring
in TWH big lick classes. . .
