Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Kat wrote on 7/1:
As near as I can see it, this event has all the makings of being an excellent test of true horsemanship combined with ingenuity, perseverance, planning and adaptability. This, as much as any other horse event I have ever heard of, is the absolute poster child for the motto "to finish is to win."  

Kat also wrote on 7/2:
And being a "risk taker" myself, I can guarantee you, that if all the 
participants who are signed up for this event are also died in the wool risk takers, that 
not a one of them is going to ride their horses into the ground out in the middle of the 
Steppes of Mongolia.

Are you that confident that you are willing to make a substantial wager 
on that Kat? But first of all, I do NOT, NOT, NOT support this race as 
is in ANY way! Let me make clear to you that my comment and confidence 
in Christoph's ability, extensive endurance and racing experience, 
repeated exposure and knowledge of riding specifically Mongolian ponies, 
his knowledge of the terrain, customs and food, his light weight, his 
willingness to get OFF the damn horse and run himself more than he makes 
the horse run, his understanding of horse physiology which comes from 
YEARS of experience, (not a two day training session) his personal 
experience in spotting and treating a horse before or if it gets into 
trouble plus his mere bazillion miles of completions to few pulls, is 
what makes me believe that he would be one of the FEW adequately, 
all-around horse-specific-adventure-savvy contestants for this race that 
I personally know and I WOULD cheer him on. REALITY IS, there are FEW if 
ANY participants in this race who have that particular TYPE of equine 
knowledge and experience. So few in fact, that that is one of the main 
things that tips the scale so far against the acceptability of this 
ride. These riders have so few OTHER knowledgeable fellow participants 
to glean help and horse guidance from. So I hold firm in my opinion that 
I do NOT condone this race in ANY way.
That said, NOW IF, the ONLY riders who WERE allowed in this race were 
world class riders, I would certainly feel better but still not 
confident about the questionable veterinary monitoring and choice of 
horses for this type of event. It would need a hell of a lot more 
oversite to get my confidence. Starting with a fully supplied, and 
experienced equine vet actually manning the stations instead of JUST the 
Mongolian herdsmen, who stays there throughout the race to monitor all 
these small horses going out and coming in, so they will always be 
within 25 miles of the completing horses, with several vets working the 
course and watching the current runners on this spread out course where 
riders can conceivably be as much as a WEEK and hundreds of miles apart. 
Of course I would feel great if there were one well supplied mobile vet 
transport vehicle capable of moving injured horses and doing emergency 
surgery within 400 miles at any one time, but that aint gonna happen and 
is too much to ask in a third world country where basic HUMAN health 
care standards are very low let alone vet care standards. Sure if ONLY 
small & lightweight participants of the caliber of the Christoph's, Meg 
Wades, John Crandals, Less Carr's, Melissa Ribleys, ( those are just the 
ones on the top of my head who have thousands of completed miles to VERY 
few pulls (and damn if the AERC site isn't dead right now so I can't 
look up the records of the Hall of Famers) and those who have _PROVEN 
_they can take care of their horses for miles and miles and miles and 
not let their race-brain overtake their concern for the horse, were in 
this race, then I'd be thrilled and watching with bated breath to see 
how the best-of-the-best are doing it. Problem is, the participants in 
this ride AREN'T the BEST-of-the-BEST, the horses aren't the Best-of the 
Best, the veterinary emergency capabilities in a third world country 
isn't the Best-of-the-Best, the support capabilities aren't the 
Best-of-the-Best.
So back to that wager Kat, Are you really willing to bet that "YOU 
GUARANTEE THAT NOT ONE OF THE RIDERS IN THIS RACE IS GOING TO RUN THEIR 
HORSES INTO THE GROUND"? You're on. But what a despicable bet.....


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