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I am in complete agreement with you, Kat.  You worded your message 
profoundly and, I believe, accurately.  Bravo!

Barbara

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "k s swigart" <katswig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, April 06, 2007 9:43 AM
Subject: [RC] Endurance in the Olympics


> Mike 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.
> :)
>
>
>
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