> horses id and there HAVE been rides when I got DIMR and my horse suffered
> because of it..not enough to be pulled, but enough that I did not feel good
> about the finish.
>
> We all have been or will be there sooner or later. One of my loves in this
> sport is the fact that the majority of us really do care about our horses and
> the "thrill of victory" does not necessarilly bring the inward good feelings.
> Some of gthe best rides I've had were simple completions when my horse still
> felt like a million bucks!!!
I've only been pulled a couple of times with my gelding and pulled myself
twice. Once not quite at the end of 18 plus hours in the saddle, but at
Franscico's as the horse was clearly laboring and it was way tooooooooooo
dark for me top feel safe the last 10 or so miles, give or take a few. One
of everybody's favorite riders, who'll go unnamed, the the S.W. region who
constantly top 5s is well known to find problems with her horse long
before vets and is known to pull her steed more often then any vet would.
To me that's the mark of the true sportspersonship/horsepersonship.
Clearly to finish is to win, but to walk away with a sound horse, not
overridden is victory as well.
Okay I strayed from the thread's general line a "tiny" bit. :)
t
Tommy Crockett <tomydore@goblin.punk.net>
Los Osos, California 93402-2715
"it won't matter what you're saying when
the damage has all been done"
Mary Chapin Carpenter