Not Everyone Does, But Some Do

[DVeritas@aol.com]

    It seems hard to spend our money in the "right" area sometimes.  It can be
even harder to try to determine where to spend our "energy".
    I've made many mistakes in my life, many in endurance.
    I will never pay more for a saddle than I will a horse who will spend
years in an effort to help me find MY connection to that something wonderful
that happens on hidden trails and rocky travails.  (And THAT doesn't mean I'll
scrimp on the saddle.)
    Crockett and Sharon Dumas really introduced that aspect of endurance to me
down around Penasco, New Mexico one chilly morning and hot afternoon deep in
the Picuris Pueblo area.  Their trails challenged the novice to the self-
delusional...endurance can be HARD and FUN, and not in some masochistic way
(though a little of that is always welcome).
     That first Penasco ride that we attended, I think around 1990, made me
realize that if I am going to ask a horse to carry me "out there", I need to
ensure the horse is ready, but more importantly THAT THE HORSE HAS THE TALENT
AND DESIRE to do this sport.
    That said, I realized that my tack could either help my horse or hurt my
horse, and that there truly were no "grey areas" where that was concerned.
    I'll shut my fingers down now, but I just wanted to interject something
where PRICE of the horse is concerned.  
    Please don't ask any horse, regardless of what you pay for him/her, to do
this sport without YOUR support.  
    If you're going to show up, please ensure you have "put up" BEFORE you
arrive at the ride site, i.e., matching the horse to job, the tack to task,
level of conditioning to endeavor and goals to reality.
    Thanks Crockett and Sharon, I miss Penasco and what I found there.  (And
THAT was more than just the Fried Bread!)

     Frank Solano.