Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Very good as usual Bruce, you seem to be able to put my thoughts on 
email much better than I. I was still just staring at the keyboard 
when your message came thru.
Thanks, Don Huston


At 10:58 AM 6/24/2008 Tuesday, you wrote:
>  Our sport is so unique in so many ways, and that is part of it's 
> attraction. And it got that way because of it's attributes that 
> were clearly present in the early years, but which are, in some 
> circles, under pressure to change to meet the expectations and 
> desires of it's participants. I looked up the definition of 
> "endure" and came up with this:
>
>   1. To carry on through, despite hardships; undergo: /endure an Arctic
>      winter./
>   2. To bear with tolerance: /"We seek the truth, and will endure the
>      consequences"/ <http://www.answers.com/topic/bear>
>   3. To suffer patiently without yielding.
>
> To me, the key ingredient, the reason we do this sport, and the 
> thing that must be maintained and protected as an attractive quality 
> of endurance riding, is the "hardship" or "patient suffering" 
> mentioned above. Our society has become so accommodating to our 
> every comfort and to increasing needs to be recognized in an ever 
> more crowded world, that some of us like to break away from that, 
> and test our mettle against true challenge, and regardless of 
> recognition or rewards. We want to test ourselves *outside our 
> comfort zones* against fatigue (even exhaustion), the elements 
> (extreme heat or cold), rough terrain, etc, all the while juggling 
> the factors involved in caring for our equine partners who are 
> sharing those same challenges at the same time--just because we 
> asked them to. These are experiences that have been largely lost in 
> today's soft society, though they offer much opportunity for fun and 
> personal growth. I have heard it said that our most powerful lessons 
> come from our most painful experiences. The rides I brag about the 
> most are certainly the toughest and most painful ones. And I enjoy 
> those campfire stories told by riders like Julie Suhr and others as 
> they regale us with tales of the days when everyone rode in cowboy 
> boots, western saddles, and had never heard of electrolytes or sunblock.
> It is my personal opinion that the challenge in endurance should be 
> a fixed parameter. Mt Everest, for example, is always the same 
> height and basically the same challenge, no matter who is climbing 
> it. No climber asks for it to be shortened so they can make it to 
> the top, nor demands the same or similar recognition for having 
> climbed halfway, because they are physically impaired or life got 
> busy and they didn't have enough time or money to train properly. 
> When life gets in the way (kids, work, financial restrictions, 
> etc.,.) our sport responds by making available a similar and more 
> doable experience--limited distance riding. But, just as there are 
> shorter mountains out there to conquer, no one confuses those 
> shorter mountains with Everest, nor expects similar accolades of 
> having conquered it--until they actually do. And when they do, they 
> will have "suffered hardships patiently," and truly endured at a 
> high level. Each person's personal definition of suffering shouldn't 
> define the challenge of this sport, anymore than our tolerance 
> levels should determine how much recognition we get for any other 
> achievement. Asking for increasing levels of recognition and awards 
> for decreasing levels of challenge tends to water down the core 
> principles of endurance riding, in my mind. The challenge is there 
> in endurance riding, fixed and constant. The 100 mile trail awaits 
> us, licking it's chops. An additional level of challenge presents 
> itself as we pit ourselves against the long and difficult trail, 
> helped or hindered by our own strengths and weaknesses, whatever 
> those may be for each individual. Endurance riding truly allows us 
> to embark on our own personal odyssey, to learn what we are really 
> made of. These are experiences not often found in daily life, and 
> they should be treasured, not modified to be more easily achieved 
> and awarded. Where would be the challenge in that?
> Bruce Weary
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>
> 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!!
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Don Huston
donhuston @ cox .net
SanDiego, 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!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=