Re: Race against...yourself...

[Kimberly Price <PLOUGH1@ix.netcom.com>]

Hi Tina,

Of course, people are competitive and there is nothing wrong with that.
"cut-throat" is only a figure of expression, obviously a bad choice as
you have interpreted my meaning wrongly.  Just like I will try not to
interpret your choice of words which insinuate I laaudy daa down the
trail picking up flowers, holding hands with ? , and whistling loonie
tunes while watching  the world in rose colors......
(well, maybe I whistle, but I ani't saying for sure......<g>)

(btw, there are top tenners, some very well known, who don't think twice
about sending their competition down the wrong trail etc.  But since
they didn't do it to ME personally, I am not in a position to protest,
only to be dismayed.  I assure you, experiencing these happenings while
crewing  opened my eyes to the nasty side of endurance rides).
back on subject:
My original point was to remind people of what endurance is suppose to
stand for.  Sure, once my personal best is beat I will become
competitive...that is the nature of the beast. (and hold me back on this
up and coming 30 so people don't think I'm racing on an LD and condemn
me, not knowing my horse is fit for a 50 but the saddle isn't!).

 If my personal best remains the same or doesn't improve, then so be it,
as long as the horse is healthy and we are doing the best we can do, I
am happy.  But I certainly won't look at my competitors and frown and
whine "welllll, I weigh more than they do, they have an advantage!"

That was my main point Tina, to remind people you are really only
competing against your own personal best.  If you push and push to beat
your competitor, and end up beating your personal best, but the next day
the horse is beat, then did you win?  But if you push to beat your
personal best, monitoring to make sure you aren't pushing too hard but
only following the natural progression of good management and
conditioning, and you beat your competitor too, than yes, that is a
double win.  But if you didn't beat your competitor, you still won....

make sense?

Happy riding to you.  I always enjoy your stories and posts.  I'm
sending this to ridecamp since you choose to do the same and not respond
privately.

Kimberly (& Mystery the Morab..."she does too pick flowers and whistle!
Esp. when I pee!!!")
Pt.Reyes, CA

K:"oh yeah, well your morgan is just too slow"  M:"yeah?! well your butt
is just too big!"
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original message follows:
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1998 07:44:38 -0500
From: "Tina Hicks" <hickst@nichols.com>
To: endurance list <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Subject: Re: Race against...yourself...
Message-ID: <35FFB2B6.944987D6@nichols.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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I think that this is just one element of the sport - but
there is also room for those (I am including myself in this
group) who go to a ride sometimes to ride competitively -
which to me means, if everything falls into place, a top ten
finish.

There is nothing wrong with those that consistenly race -
after all there is a finish line and those that cross it
first are in front of those that cross it last. You
(generically speaking) (or I the vast majority of the time)
may choose to complete most of our rides but that doesn't
mean anyone else shouldn't try to do something different.
And that doesn't make them cut-throat in my mind.

We are a competitive culture - look at kids staring t-ball,
football, and soccer at age 5 - to think people will pay to
enter an event with a finish line, placings, and prizes and
*not* race is looking thru rose colored glasses I think.

There is lots of comradarie out there - I experienced a ton
of it this weekend - from hooking up with someone who
pre-dates the Tevis(talk about a walking, talking history
book of the sport) to getting an e-boot on the trail - but
that doesn't mean you can expect everyone to go down the
trail holding hands and handing out flowers <g>.

There's room for all of us - and many of us change from ride
to ride. I see many riders - myself included at times - who
may top ten one ride and then complete lower middle of the
pack next ride for a variety of reasons.

And that's the beauty of this sport in my mind.

Tina
hickst@nichols.com
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