Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Mike Sherrell wrote:
Considering the amount of death and destruction from thoroughbred 
racing, rodeo, 3-day eventing and, yes, sanctioned endurance riding, is 
all this "outrage" perhaps a little overdone, if not badly misplaced? I 
would think that the number of horses put down with broken legs in a 
year of Horse and Hounding (which I presume is devoted to fox hunting) 
would probably equal the worst that could come out of this Mongolian 
once-off.
I'm wondering if there's some displacement going on. I mean, aren't 
there people that rent horses to people they don't know just to ride the 
Tevis?

Well Mike, last night I went to sleep right after reading the comments 
on ridecamp regarding this upcoming Mongolian Derby. This morning I 
awoke and lay there thinking of all the potential people or 
organizations I could or should be "pissed off" at today. There were a 
few front runners...my Home Owners Association, my ex-husband, my health 
care providers, the Exxon Valdeze, the Bush administration, the human 
race as participants in the irresponsible development of global warming, 
or the race track/rodeo/fox hunting/or eventing horse communities under 
whose watch hundreds of horses die each year just for the sake of 
entertainment and money....Shoot who will I be outraged at today? I am 
hoping that the folks with direct contact with those other horse 
communities are raging their OWN battles to make the sport they 
participate in or love, a safer one. I happen to love ENDURANCE RIDING, 
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL, ADRENALINE PACKED ADVENTURE, and HORSES. Soo, 
Today I'm opting to be outraged at the Mongolian Derby as it directly 
falls under ENDURANCE horse racing and "things I am passionate about." 
But how to form a plan of strategy and tactics that will actually be 
effective and not just make me feel better for a day, requires more 
time, research and commitment than just downloading a petition and 
signing my signature. I lay there this morning, all vershmutzed (?) But 
first of all I have to respond that your comment about leasing horses 
for Tevis to other endurance riders doesn't quite fall under the same 
category of irresponsibility as this Mongolian Derby. It has been my 
understanding that in the endurance world, it almost doesn't matter if 
the rider is dead and held upright in the saddle with bungee cords and 
duct tape, as long as the HORSE is "fit to continue"! Antonia 
Bolingbroke-Kent, events manager for the "The Adventurists." who are the 
group that is putting on the Mongolian event wrote and I quote: “We’re 
launching our inaugural Mongol Derby, set to be the world’s longest 
horse race… This is going to be all about the endurance of the rider, as 
opposed to the horse.”.............DAMN! Red Flag, Red Flag, Red 
Flag!.....As someone already pointed out. " This is ONLY 25 miles". Well 
these 800 horses will be provided by Mongol families who will probably 
NOT be selling their BEST and healthiest horses for this race, but their 
worst and oldest.
Tevis riders have to have DOCUMENTED miles and experience in the sport 
before their application is even accepted for Tevis. So the riders for 
Tevis already have experience with equines under racing conditions. 
Almost all of the Mongolian Derby participants admittedly do NOT. All of 
the horses participating in the Tevis Cup are ALSO required to have 
documentation of THEIR mileage and ABILITY to complete minimum distances 
of 50 miles in order to participate in this ride. The Mongolian Derby 
horses do NOT. Tevis horses are under constant and regular veterinary 
observation at REGULAR intervals throughout the entire race and are 
pulled from the race, (regardless of if the rider is the owner or the 
lessee), if it shows any signs or symptoms of being injured, or "over 
ridden" BEFORE it results in serious injury or the death of the horse. 
The Mongolian Derby will NOT be under this same veterinary scrutiny at 
preventable and regular intervals to prevent possible permanent injury 
or death. So I don't think the comparative of leasing horses for Tevis 
applies here.

Just some other ideas and questions about stopping this Mongolian race 
though.
#1. Yes, I think everyone in the endurance community should read and 
sign the petition to stop this race if the organizers can not assure 
that they are able to provide adequate food water and veterinary care of 
the horses throughout the entire event. (They already admit up front 
that they can't.) If this petition is ONLY going to be submitted to the 
promoting organization, then it is assured to be ignored as they have 
already made it clear that it is already their intent to ignore such 
criticism as shown by their response to the Long Riders Guild who tried 
to discourage this event when they were approached by The Adventurist 
Company and asked for their "input". The petition needs to be sent to 
the Mongolian Government and every possible organization that might 
POSSIBLY benefit by this event in even the slightest or remote way. The 
Adventurist website lists as supporters of this event. Each one needs to 
receive a copy of the petition and it's signatures.
#2. The Mercy Corp. ESPECIALLY needs to be put under pressure to decline 
to benefit from, promote or join forces with this event and should be 
made to WANT to distance themselves instead. Being a non-profit, 
charitable organization dependent on donations, they should be assured 
that their participation in this race will most assuredly result in 
several equine deaths. Pressure should also be put on any other 
benefactors of the Mercy Corp. to withdraw their financial support in 
the future. Mercy Corp. needs to hear that regardless of what their 
charitable cause is, no one wants to support a group that is willing to 
accept the potential cruelty or death of animals just in the name and 
process of fund-raising. Mercy Corp.'s already known benefactors should 
be contacted and informed of this organizations participation in this 
potentially lethal event and let THEM put the pressure on as well, by 
threatening to withdraw future support should this derby result in a 
SINGLE death.
#3. Have the participants themselves been tracked down, contacted either 
by phone, letter or email and enlightened further on the probability of 
numerous equine deaths, possibly ones that may be incurred while in 
THEIR care and sole responsibility? Have they been made to think about 
the worldwide attention, protest and media coverage that will shine 
directly and prominently on THEIR shoulders should a single horse die 
under their watch either intentionally, or accidentally? Have they been 
asked if they are truly prepared to answer the inevitable questions when 
their picture is prominently displayed in newspapers around the world, 
alongside the body of a dead or dying horse and they are asked why THEY 
participated in killing it? Or better yet, have it documented on Reality 
TV with footage to be picked up and run in their own country for all 
their friends to see? Have they been asked if they are prepared for the 
scrutiny that they will surely be under should anything go sadly wrong? 
Have they prepared their speech or explanation for when they cross the 
finish line and are able to tell the world that "WhooHoo, we completed 
the race, and are happy to report that only two of our horses died as a 
result, and only three are permanently lame, but damn, we made it across 
the finish line YEAH!" It is one thing to have the world watch and 
admire or shake their heads in wonderment at a human beings strength, 
fortitude, stamina, ingenuity, or heroism when faced with incredibly 
difficult challenges, but the world tends to look at you in a completely 
DIFFERENT light when you VOLUNTEER to risk another beings welfare and 
possible life for a purpose that is only personally motivated by ego or 
financial gain. Especially when that innocent participant is a creature 
that is already considered a beast of burden.
#4. SHAME on FEI for not having the balls to publicly step up and 
condemn this race. They are an International organization claiming to be 
operating with the best interests and welfare of all equines 
participating in endurance sports. Their EXCUSE that it is none of their 
business, as Mongolia is no longer a member of their organization 
because they are not up to date on their dues, doesn't cut it. I feel 
ashamed that our organization, AERC, is associated and operating hand in 
hand on many levels with the FEI organization.
Ahh but who am I? Nobody, a relative newbie to endurance and just 
another piddly ol' pesky ant....
Ooops there goes another rubber tree plant!
Melissa Margetts

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