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[RC] AERC president and denim jeans - Lari SheaI hope I'll be forgiven for telling this tale... But I
remember Bill Bentham telling this story around the campfire one
night~~~
He'd been a 3 Day Event rider, and wanted to get into
endurance. Figured he might as well skip the 25 and 50 mile part of
the learning curve, since he was both a veterinarian and an extremely
experienced equestrian. He decided to start out with a 100
miler. He also figured he didn't want to look like a wuss, wearing
the elasticized riding britches in which he was accustomed to
competing. So, he showed up for his first endurance race
ready to ride in a brand new pair of denim jeans, so as to look like a
regular dude. He thought perhaps his butt might get sore riding for
100 miles, so he glued a piece of foam rubber to the top of his Stubben
Siegfried forward seat hunt saddle. Of course, he always
posted the trot.
I guess this story just doesn't have the same impact unless I relay
the information that he told us... he's a guy who doesn't usually wear
underwear.
After about 20 or so miles on the trail, he realized that when one
posts the trot, one doesn't actually rise up and down in the
saddle. One actually slides forward and back. And with slick
skin tight riding britches against smooth saddle leather, all is well
with the world. But when rough denim meets porous foam
rubber, the slick is gone... and all that's left is the stick. But
something has to give in order for the forward and back to happen.
That would be the inside of the denim against the skin of his
butt.
He said that by the time he arrived at the first vet check at about
25 miles, he must have looked not unlike a female baboon in full
heat.
Luckily, he had a pound of Vaseline in his vet rig, which his crew
had driven to the vet check. He ripped the foam off the Stubben,
hobbled into the porta potty, applied two heaping handfuls of Vaseline,
and tried to ignore the fact that for the rest of the race, it looked
like he actually hadn't made it to the porta potty in time.
Bill persevered, learned, and went on to become the President of the
AERC.... and never lost his sense of humor.
Lari
"What unites us all is a love of the out-of-doors, a spirit of adventure, and a passion for horses!" Lari Shea Ricochet Ridge Ranch 24201 North Highway One Fort Bragg, CA 95437 Riding Vacations on the Mendocino Coast with lodging at unique B&B Inns International Riding Vacations
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