Another dimension
Marinera@aol.com
Sat, 23 Nov 1996 00:08:44 -0500
I think there is a dimension in regards to endurance success which has not
been discussed in the posts of the last two weeks which have been the best
thing we have had...discussions with real substance.. I refer to the gifted
horse....the Michael Jordans of the horse kingdom. They are born, not made.
Many well known endurance riders can lay their claims to fame at the door of
Lady Luck. They stumbled on to the gifted horse...BUT,. give credit where
credit is due... They
knew what to do when the raw materials came their way. The homework, the
mental attitude, the dedication, the attention to detail combined with the
gifted horse put them at the top.
I do not feel there ever can be a blanket rule of how to train, how many
hours, at what speed, at what altitude, how many days a week, how many miles
at the trot or gallop. Individual horses vary as much as individual people.
Horses are not born equal and some arrive on earth with the gene structure
arranged so that they have more stamina than the average, they have more
heart than the average, they are sounder than the average, they are less
prone to illnesses, they thrive on hard work that will break other horses
down. It is up to the savvy rider to figure out what is enough and what is
too little or too much. And when the equation all fits together, you have a
world champion, a Tevis Cup winner, a mileage champion. Natural talent is a
God given plus in our sport and while the klutz may with arduous and
disciplined training become a good endurance horse, he needs that extra
special something he was born with to become a great horse. The records for
the Tevis Cup Ride (the one with the longest file of records) were made
before electrolytes, DMG, heart monitors or massage therapy came to our
sport. They were set by horses with awesome natural talent who sometimes rose
to the top in spite of their riders. This is not meant to be argumentative
with the posts of the last several weeks which have been the best, the most
informative and the most thought provoking of anything seen on this bulletin
board. I throw this subject in as an extra part of the equation that has not
been brought up in depth and I hope it will stir up some more great
discussions.
I appreciate so much the recent input on this bulletin board. It cannot
help but stimulate us all to become more thoughtful and better endurance
riders. Julie