Re: MECHANICAL FATIGUE

[Barbara <madill@teleplex.net>]

At 11:13 AM 5/15/1998 -0400, you wrote:
>
>Goodmorning Barbara,
>
>The 3 day 100 is a good test - a good way to bring a horse along.  But I
>fear that is not the case for the shorter CTR these days.  I think the
>horses have become better than the test in a 25 mile CTR. 

	I have never felt the 25 mile CTR to be anything more than a training ride
to be used only as a stepping stone to the 100's or ER

> I think the conditioning methods used for endurance - selective use of
speed for
>anarobic conditioning along with LSD has is producing animals that can tick
>off a 25 with no sweat.
>
	
>What critera does one use for placement when all the horses at 48/48 at the
>10 minute CRI and all the metabolic parameters are "A". This is the case
>for most SE CTR's.  

	What distances and what sanctioning?  If there is no way to increase the
difficulty of the test, then crank up the speed as NJ has done for their
rides.  Or structure the year end award structure to reward the individual
who progresses in CTR distance or to AERC LD's.


>I fear that what is happening is the 25 mile CTR is becoming a horse show
where beauty of movement is replacing condition as the critera.  

	>I didn't mention 25's.  Only 100's.

>This is tending to turn a lot of people off to the sport and the low
attendance of the FL 3 day is a result. 

	Sorry -- do not think that is a sequitor.  Low attendance at FL 100 was
partly due to change of date -- hard for northern horses to condition that
early.  AERC convention didn't help since some of the riders use FLA 100 to
condition for the northern endurance rides.  I believe the change was to
encourage more local riders to move up from shorter rides.

>I don't know how the three day 100's in other states are fairing but the
FL 3 day has >to be losing money with the small turnouts the past several
years.

	The pity is that the 3 day 100 is too much work for most CTR riders when
there are so many "quick" fixes (25's).  New York and Biltmore have usually
filled -- the limiting factor being the stabling available.  GMHA will
allow camping (no problem with stabling) for the first time.  It will be
interesting to see if the entry increases.


>I see the judges becoming so picky in order to get placements that it is
>turnig people off.  I see judges hiding in the brush and horses spooking
>and losing points because they spooked at something in the brush moving. 

	Whoa!  I don't know what CTR's your describing but it sure isn't ECTRA or
any of the East Coast 100's.  These are ALL judged 100 % on condition.  If
there are subjective awards, they are done separately and judged as
inobtrusively as possible.  Generally there is a Veterinary Judge, a Trail
Judge ("lay" judge who judges condition) and a Horsemanship/Special Awards
judge.

 >I see a lot of stuff that doesn't make much "horse sense" at these rides.

	Exactly --- but NOT at East Coast 100's, or at any ECTRA event.  I can't
speak to shorter distance SEDRA rides, but I thought they were judged 100%
condition, also.

>That is really too bad, and because of it a lot of people are going
>directly to LD without the sensitivity to the horse they need before they
>add speed to equation.

	Which is precisely why I encourage serious long distance riders to
incorporate 3 day 100's into their programs.  I can't think of any time I
was advised to increase the speed I rode before increasing the distance.
Maintaining a 5 1/2 to 6 MPH for 7 hours (often INCLUDING the rest stop)
for two 40 mile days and then notching up the speed to 7 MPH for 20 Miles
means that you're rolling along at 8 - 9 MPH or better whenever the terrain
allows.

Barbara (Faithfully supporting 3 day 100's as a valid method of producing
long distance equine athletes._