Angie's TrailBlazer article

[Carolyn Stark Schultz <carolyn.stark.schultz@mail.utexas.edu>]

I read Angie McGhee's TrailBlazer article last night and my stomach hurts
today from laughing so much and shouting "Yes!"  While I was packing for my
first Tevis last year, my father stood in my garage and watched me pack and
repack my crew bags and organizing everything.  He said "You have spent a
lot of money on this sport, haven't you."  I stopped, and looked at my
coffee can used as a feed scoop, my garbage bags used as crew bags, my
biothane-not-leather tack, and started to say something smart-alecky.  Then
I realized it was just a case of not understanding.  My father has probably
spent more money on golf over the years than it took to send me to college.
 I gently pointed out that endurance is "my" sport while golf is "his"
sport.  A small glimmer of understanding shown in his eyes, and his
attitude about what I was about to undertake changed.  Unfortunately, the
depth of his understanding didn't go so far as to actually volunteer to
crew, but then I just couldn't see my parents in the dust and heat of the
Tevis experience anyway.   It is terribly unfortunate that our non-horse
friends and family are unable to be spectators in our sport, and in this
way begin to undertand why it is so exhilarating and fulfilling.   My
non-horse friends and family were sympathetic when they heard I was pulled
at Francisco's after 83 miles - saying they were sorry I just couldn't get
those last 17  miles.  But my horse-friends slapped me on the back and
congratulated me for getting so far!  This is not a case of the
glass-half-full or half-empty.  Endurance people know what it took to get
to Francisco's, and how excited I was to have gotten there.  Endurance is a
difficult sport to describe to non-horse people, and telling them it's like
marathon running seems to do a disservice to the partnership we feel with
our horses and crew to finish a ride.  So, I usually just pull out my
picture of my best friend Mariyn Russell going over Cougar Rock and they
start to understand.