Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I snipped some...

I have to differ.  If I understand your position correctly, it is  
that, since the LD is a "beginner ride", and beginners may not have  
learned to pace a horse (or condition a horse) for the speeds needed  
for top ten and BC consideration, it is better not to have them at all.

There are two issues I have with this.  One is that, while you do get  
"newbies" in the 25 distance more than the 50, folks moving up from 25  
to 50 also have additional lessons to learn.  What works at 25 miles  
(including the amount of conditioning needed) doesn't necessarily work  
at 50 miles, and what works for 50 miles doesn't work at 100 miles (or  
so I think I have read somewhere).  So - the "newbie" issue is not  
confined strictly to the LD distance.

The other is that I think we are seeing the beginnings of a trend in  
LDs -- riders moving *down* from 50s into 25s as age, injury, etc.  
accumulates.  There are also those folks that have no desire to move  
up to a 50 - they are happy at the 25 mile distance.  These folks are  
*not* beginners, but under the current structure, they have no place  
to go but the "entry level" ride, or to quit riding.  The result is  
that the LD ride is now attempting to serve a dual purpose, with  
limited success.

I drafted a proposal earlier (that apparently died in committee) for  
revising rules specifically for the "newbies".  I think the time will  
come when AERC should seriously consider a separate "Entry" division  
(at any distance), which puts restrictions on *just* the beginners.   
That would allow experienced riders to compete for placings and BC at  
the LD distance without reliving the history of the early LD rides.   
(And, if you institute an "Entry" division for each distance, it would  
allow people moving up in distance to figure out what is required for  
that distance without getting caught up in attempting to top 10 their  
very first ride -- which has caused problems at the 50 mile distance  
as well).

On Jul 8, 2008, at 8:54 AM, Bruce Weary DC wrote:

> Though any horse can improve it's own fitness with an intelligent  
> conditioning program, horses are still being built pretty much the  
> same as they were back in the days when they showed us it can be  
> dangerous and deadly to race with a beginner on his back for 25  
> miles. The carnage that occurred back then when LD's didn't have the  
> controls they do now is, at least in part, responsible for why some  
> RM's exercise their option not to offer a BC in their LD rides. It  
> isn't to exclude riders from a good educational  experience, or to  
> deprive them of placings or privileges enjoyed by those at the  
> longer distances. It is because to be considered for BC, there is a  
> finish time or "speed" component involved, wherein the rider must go  
> fast enough to be considered for BC. And while certainly not all  
> riders in an LD are beginners,  with an LD being the entry level  
> type of ride, the potential numbers of beginners is greater than the  
> higher distances.....
<snip>
> Endurance riders are a funny lot. I know riders with over 25,000  
> miles who are humble, and say they still have a lot to learn. Then  
> there are those who have done a few LD's, or one or two 50's, that  
> already feel they know what sweeping changes should be made in our  
> ride structure and awards system, and that those changes would, by  
> definition, be "improvements."
> Let's go slow and get there quicker.     Bruce Weary


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