 |
Re: [RC] The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race - Laney HumphreyFirst of all, congratulations, Suzanne for making the decision to live your dream. Your determination will overcome a lot of bumps in the road.It's kind of hard to know where to start with giving you info. Both aerc.org and endurance.net have lots of information for "newbies." You should definitely read it. As for what to wear: a good friend who doesn't like how she looks in jeans, rides in sweat pants. She's done it for thousands of endurance miles and says they aren't hot and she doesn't get chaffed. IMHO, don't even think of jeans for day after day 50 milers. Once your skin gets irritated, it won't have a chance to recover. And, if it makes you feel any better, none of us have perfect bodies, but we do care not to get chaffed so we wear tights. Not a fashion statement, pure necessity. Endurance people are very practical; there are no fashions or fads in this sport. As for riding in your western saddle, hmmmmmmm. You've still got time to find a saddle your horse, who has to wear it, will like better before the ride starts. Endurance riders don't a twit about fashion, but we are passionate about making everything the best possible for our horses. Endurance saddles have been developed to meet the demands of the sport. A barrel racer wouldn't compete in a roping saddle; a roper wouldn't rope in a reining saddle. Saddles really are specifically designed to meet the demands of a particular sport and to enhance the ability of the horse (& rider) to perform well in that sport. So, do your horse and yourself a big favor and find an endurance saddle that really fits both of you! Appropriate tack is often the difference between completing an endurance ride and having to pull. Believe me, you can't imagine how bad you would feel if you went to all the effort and expense to get you and your horse to the start and then have to drop out because you didn't something that sabotaged your chance of success. One final suggestion: since you really haven't "done" endurance, why not set your sights a little lower and plan to do one of the many 5 day endurance rides now offered throughout the country? You'll be plenty challenged but have a much greater chance of success, and for much less money too! OK, now a final question: have you checked out the Santa Fe Trail Horse Race website to make sure you can enter the way you think you can? Laney Suzanne Avery DVM wrote: I have joined this list a few days back to get some information on endurance riding. I must say I have had to chuckle on a few of the comments made. This list seems to put out some good information. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|