Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

That's pretty much a matter of soul anymore. The term amateur means someone who does something for the love of the activity. A professional is someone who does it to make money at it. The big change in the Olympics came when people in the US started pointing out that the amateur athletes in the US where having a hard time of things while those in other countries got governmental support and subsidies. So they dropped the money issue and everyone turned professional pretty much. And of course once their life's work depended upon it, drugs moved in because the only measure of success was winning.

One of the HUGE differences I see between the FEI endurance racing and the other endurance riding around here is that most people  do the FEI racing in order to make money. The suggestion that endurance riding might be done just for the fun of it brings at least raised eyebrows and often hoots of laughter from racers in Egypt. Remember, we've never really seen endurance riding here. It's been FEI/UAE racing from day one, and even in the casual sphere of recreational riding, I'm the only outfitter in Egypt who does rides that are longer than an hour or so.

In the US you have had a chance to build up a population of people who do rides for fun...you have the tradition. There is no such tradition in many other places. Riding in the Middle East, for sure, can be amateur sport if you are doing Friday morning jumping or dressage classes or maybe playing polo with some buddies, but there is no amateur activity that involves riding a horse for longer than an  hour or two other than some of my neighbours who just go out and fool around in the desert on Friday mornings.

Part of what I've been saying about being able to decide what kind of world you live in and being able to say that endurance racing is NOT part of it has to do with this distinction. I'm sure that there are people taking part in the President's Cup who are not riding to make money...the Rojeks come to mind. LOL  They probably just like dancing with the devil and from what I hear of them are very sure footed. I think that there is room for the FEI/UAE racing and AERC/AERA/BHS riding...just keep the distinctions clear in your heads and keep them clear in your structures.

Maryanne

On Fri, Feb 15, 2008 at 1:25 AM, Tom Sites <goearth@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Thanks Truman,  I knew things had changed and didn't realize i was 2 decades
off.  So here's another question?? What seperates an amateur from a
professional?  Or they all and the same?

I guess w/ a purse on the GAHR that may have made some of the winners that
got money then a professional in the 70's?  But what about the ones that
didn't get money,  were they/we amateurs or professionals? ts

----- Original Message -----
From: "Truman Prevatt" <tprevatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Tom Sites" <goearth@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "ridecamp" <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 5:53 PM
Subject: Re: [RC] The Presidents Cup Purse


> Tom Sites wrote:
>> Hello,  I was curious as to the purse money offered in the Presidents
>> Cup.  I read its 1.5 something, but how does that relate to US $$?  I'm
>> also curious as to how you can compete in an event w/ considerable
>> monetary and value objects and still consider oneself an amateur in the
>> Olympic fashion.  I could never figure out how the basketball players and
>> track and field folks could do it either.  It seems if you run in the
>> Kentucky Derby w/ comparable purses you'd have to be a professional as i
>> doubt they would allow amateurs to race.  Some things in life i doubt
>> i'll ever understand.  ts
> Tom,
>
> The Olympic rules on amateurism have changed - they changed in the 80's.
> Of course that has ushered in the era of drug dominated sports.
>
> Truman
>
> --
>
> "It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended
> from man." H.L. Mencken
>


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

 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!!

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

-- 
Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
msgabbani@xxxxxxxxx

Egypt Face to Face
www.alsorat.com
Weblogs:
Living In Egypt
miloflamingo.blogspot.com
Cairo/Giza Daily Photo
cairogizadailyphoto.blogspot.com
Turn Right At The Sarcophagus
haramlik.blogspot.com
Photos of Egypt:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/livinginegypt/