Re: RC: LD

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 11/7/99 9:30:02 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
rides2far@juno.com writes:

<< I believe I've only done those 3. >>

My list is a bit different but the message is about the same:
1)  Junior when he was 4 and had only been under saddle at all for about 8 
weeks.
2)  Junior again when I had a bum knee and couldn't ride any further without 
agony.
3)  Junior again, to babysit a novice rider through his first LD.

There is no question in my mind that on the last two, at least, the HORSE 
could easily have done 50, but it was MY CHOICE to go to those rides and NOT 
do 50.  And of course, there is always the possibility that had we done 50, 
he would have found a rock with his name on it and not completed, either.  
That risk is part of what makes endurance what it is.  Sure, it would be 
"nice" to have those 75 miles, especially since Junior is blind now and is 
not far from his 3000 (we're still chipping away at it, as most of you know). 
 But those LD's do NOT involve the commitment to do 50 or more, or the risk 
that I mentioned previously of having something go wrong in the 2nd half of 
the ride.  No regrets here that they don't count, in spite of the sadness of 
having a blind horse.

We also started my husband's stallion Bo with two LD's--he needed the 
socialization as part of his training.  On his first one, he had been ridden 
a total of 6 times before the ride, after living the previous 8 years in a 
box stall (he was 15 at the time).  He "won" his first LD (yeah, he finished 
30 minutes ahead of the other 4, who took the maximum time) but let me tell 
you, he was a pooped puppy, and NO WAY could have gone on for another 20 
miles!  It was a great lesson for him, though, that being an idiot was not 
energy-efficient.  His second LD he had things figured out a lot better and 
did better, so we waved goodbye to LD's and stepped him up to 50's.

Heidi


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