Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Yep that sounds like a duck ride even today. No need to set any record 
straight here. He maybe uses a little more tape now though just so's ya 
don't get lost and he has to go lookin for your ass so close to dinner 
time and it IS amazing how he can get to the steepest narrowest places 
in that jeep to observe your horse. He sure sounds laid back about 
criteria as he looks out the window of his rig to give you the OK sign 
as you do your trot by, or need to walk up close enough so he can take 
your horses pulse from his lawn chair, but he can SURE spot a tiny hitch 
to your gait from a half a mile and tell whether it's serious or just a 
little stiff. Gotta love a Duck ride and I will continue to do them as 
long as he offers them.   

Cindy Collins wrote:
> Melissa said:  "When the Tevis was first run it was untried and still 
> proved to be a success, and based on the criteria that Western States 
> Trail put into place, Dr. Dave Richardson (Duck) put forth a new idea 
> for XP rides but he still used the same basic criteria for horse care. 
> Those XP rides were untried too but proved to be a success."
>
> I have to set the record straight here:  Yes, Dave "the Duck" 
> Nicholson's 5 day XP rides were/are an amazing success and my five day 
> completion in 1984 remains one of the highlights of my endurance 
> career.  However, as to Dave's basic criteria, Melissa, people like 
> you would likely have been appalled.  When Dave gave his pre-ride 
> speech, this is loosely what he said (any of the rest of you can join 
> in on your memories), "If you kill your horse out here, you'd better 
> have the $250 for a back hoe 'cause all I have with me is a half 
> bottle of Pen-Strep and you can't save a dying horse with that. In 
> fact, they didn't teach me how to save a dying horse at vet school in 
> Colorado.  You have to go to California to learn how to save a dying 
> horse."  Dave used one roll of orange ribbon on that 250 miles and 
> said he really didn't care how you get to the end of the ride each day 
> or to the vet check as long as you get there without loading your 
> horse in a trailer.  There was/is one vet check at approximately 25 
> miles and very laid back criteria.  Interestingly, no horses got in 
> trouble despite these very relaxed criteria.  There was no treatment 
> vet or even treatment facility.  In fact, there were places where you 
> were likely 300 miles or more from any treatment facility.  We rarely 
> saw any sign of human habitation on the trail.  We had snow on the 
> first and last day (April).  I ate the best pancakes I've ever eaten 
> at the Rez.  Smokey saved my life by giving me whiskey so I could 
> sleep when I got sick with a terrible cough and allowed me to sit on 
> Bandit bareback and ride him around camp.  Anyhow, Melissa, I have no 
> idea if this Mongolian adventure will be safe or not, but as I listen 
> to the complaints/fears I think these same people would have tried to 
> shut Dave down.  Dave believes 100% in rider responsibility for your 
> own horse.  It's worked amazingly well for 26 years with a safety 
> record few rides can match.  Besides, needing criteria to enter a 
> prestigious 100 miler is not the same as riding 25 miles, which isn't 
> even an endurance ride (ha, now I can get us off this topic and on to 
> LD:)
> Cindy
>
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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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