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[RC] Endurance in the Olympics - k s swigartMike Maul said: My personal opinion is that Death Vally will host ski competitions before endurance makes it into the Olympics but there are certainly people trying. Having goals is part of our sport and each of us chooses those that satisfy us. While I am also of the opinion that thrre is a snow ball's chance in hell of endurance ever being an Olympic sport simply because of the nature of the sport itself, I am also of the opinion that it would serve most endurance riders (and endurance horses) well to ACTIBELY discourage the possibility. If you ask me, the single most significant thing that has a negative impact on the welfare of horses at endurance rides is high stakes. When the riders have a big interest in the outcome of the event, the horses suffer because the riders stop making decisions in the best interest of the horse and start making decisions in pursuit of the stakes. We need to ensure that the welfare of the horse is more important than the stakes. This is far easier to do if the stakes are low. People will be far more willing to forego the prize at the end of the ride if the prize is a T-shirt than if the prize is an Olympic gold medal. If there really are people out there campaigning to have endurance added as an Olympic sport, then I will do my damnedest to make sure that that never happens. It is very important, if we care about the welfare of endurance horses, for endurance to remain a low stakes game. It is a common practice among poker players to assert that the stakes should not matter with respect to how you play. However, this is pure bull. Change the stakes, you change the psychological profile of every player in the game. And this is as true for endurance as it is for poker. If you raise the stakes in endurance, people will start making stupid decisions for their horses (and, incidentally, you will start attracting players who are interested only in the stakes--which is probably even worse for the horses). kat Orange County, Calif. :) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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