Well said. I have done literally dozens of short rides and a few 50's,
nothing longer. I have been riding the same horse all these years, and we
still continue to complete despite her navicular. She is now 17 and still
raring to go. I am very proud of the fact that this horse is still chugging
on down the trail. We have never won a ride and in fact are often among the
last finishers.
Some of my main reasons for sticking with the 25s are as you stated,
particularly with respect to lack of time for conditioning for 50's. I
don't think us 25ers should be looked upon with scorn or pity and indeed, as
someone else stated, we are often the bread and butter of the smaller rides.
Locally our rides often include a trail ride of 8-12 miles and those riders
often help a ride at least break even. The trail riders have a great time
and we are exposing non-endurance types to our sport and showing them we
aren't all completely psycho <g>.
One last word about distance: Karen Steenhof managed a night ride last
summer, which had a modest showing of 25's and 50's. Her 9 mile trail ride
attracted 91 riders. This year our local club said to heck with the
endurance ride and sponsored just the moonlight trail ride. We had 124
riders and *cleared* over $1,000. There may be no glory in trail riding but
it sure padded our bank account this year!
-------- REPLY, Original message follows --------
Date: Wednesday, 30-Aug-95 04:26 PM
From: Tina Hicks \ Internet: (hickst@puzzler.nichols.com)
To: Endurance Forum \ Internet: (endurance@moscow.com)
Subject: [endurance] 25 milers
I'm not sure I totally agree that these rides should be veiwed as a
temporary condition for a rider - implying that everyone will move on. I
have recently begun endurance riding after showing in dressage and 3-Day. I
have been to two 25 milers thus far, completed both in time and with a sound
, fit to continue horse. I don't know if I will ever do a 50 - I'd really
like to but I also realize my limitations-other obligations prevent me from
riding more than 3 or 4 times a week - usually 3 (Is that enough to
condition for a 50 - my instinct tells me no). For that reason, 25s are
perfect for me - let's me get out on the trails that I otherwise would not
ride, have a good time, meet new people, check on my conditioning skills,
etc. Does this mean that after X number of 25s I should have to do a 50
since my horse is far from young or green (10 yr old sound Arab) and has
never, to my knowledge, had an injury? I don't think so.
A similar problem happened in 3Day eventing several years ago. The first
division used to be Training - there was no novice. You just started out
with 3'3" fences and a 4' spread or whatever they were - much too large for
a younger horse/rider. The novice division was introduced to boost
participation and help finances for show managers. Fences were brought down
to 2'9" with a small spread. The division caught onextremely well and became
the backbone of many events with 2 or 3 times the entries there that they
had in training. As a matter of fact, they now have a "Tadpole" or Pre-
novice that 's even lower and it's quite popular, too.
I think for a sport to grow you really have to cater to a wide majority of
folks. And let's face it, not every one has the resources to train for 50s
or 100s. I think 25s are a great way to get us on the trail and help the
sport grow and gain a real voice in the industry.
Okay - off soapbox now.
Tina Hicks
Andy (shredding is a relative term - I like to call it recycling), 7 cats,
one horse and one non-dog/non-horse husband Huntsville, AL
hickst@puzzler.nichols.com
-------- REPLY, End of original message --------