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Re: [RC] race brain behavior vs. Training? - rides2farI have never seen coverage where > international dressage and Olympic jumpers are acting like that DURING a > competition. They TOO have been transported by trailer,& plane to these > competitions Ever seen 150 of those lined up milling around knowing they're *all* going to take off at once soon? Apples and oranges for sure. Take on of our horses out at a time and trot them into an arena and canter some loops. Doubt you'll get any panic stricken horses. I do not think you can understimate what the human's excitement level does to the horses. When you go to something international there are just so many PEOPLE who come to help. This is not what we are used to dealing with...unless you've seen the sheiks. At Biltmore they must have had 20 crew members waiting at the in timer to swarm their horses. Everyone is nervous. Everyone is worried, the horses feel this...they don't know why everyone is nervous, but for all they know it *could* be tigers! They trust us to be brave and draw their confidence from us, but how could a rider not be tense with all the pressure that's put on them....no matter how great they are, no matter how much they can't control things like...food poisoning, some know it all couch jockey is going to second guess them and assume they have a *clue* and have a right to critique their performance. When we got to participate in the Pan Ams in Vermont in 2001 Kaboot was just overwhelmed at the first check when all these people swarmed in to help, offer water, take jackets, anything they could do to help. He got more and more wound up and his pulse would not come down. The people were just so excited and he didn't understand why, but figured whatever it was it must be dangerous if they were so tense. I finally had to ask them to leave him alone and walk over by myself before he came down. He had no trouble pulsing down the rest of the day. I have absolute confidence that Becky Hart has more knowledge in her pinky than I'll ever have and wouldn't consider second guessing her or any of the team members. Anyone sitting at home with a few miles of completions who thinks they can begin to give them advice needs to try winning *one* local race, and if they *ever* manage that, try two, then check out these people's records and just realize what neophytes we are in the sport. I am so proud that the USA is still a country where people ride their own horses, often that they have trained from scratch themselves, that aren't part of a fleet of "prospects" brought along like an assembly line and handed to the top riders to race. This pretending a "country" wins thing is kinda silly to me. Did Spain win overall? Sounded like she said no, that was another UAE win. What if the UAE's horses are bred & conditioned in Australians by Australians. Who gets credit for that? Why are we doing this sport anyway? What if we discovered we could have a whole lot of horses, train them in a away that was not enjoyable for anyone but *win*... Is that how you define "win"?... I guess if what floats your boat is standing on that podium regardless of what it takes to get there then it's worth whatever you have to do to "win". Does it mean that much to us for the USA to be on that podium? Do you want them to change everything about how we do endurance so you can feel better by seeing your flag up there? Reminds me of fat men in recliners getting all filled with pride when *their* football team wins. As if they had any part in it. Congratulations Kathy & Val. You rolled with the punches and prevailed. I doubt those who critique you could have even survived all your shopping trips, much less the ride. :-) So sorry for the others. That's the breaks of the sport. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into making us proud. Angie McGhee ____________________________________________________________ Start providing for your family by becoming a paralegal. Click Now. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/Ioyw6i3nffOitb2qfQdcPvAKqSokqX1rYsqeACaOAKgTYMJCWQAqPm/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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