professional & amateur divisions
Laney Humphrey (laneyh@mbay.net)
Thu, 12 Dec 1996 13:06:40 -0800
Teddy - My post relating my friends tale of what happened to ocean sail
racing may have crossed this one of yours. What Steve (my friend) said,
better than I did, was that within a few years, there was no way amateurs
could compete with the pros because the amateurs didn't have the bucks to
buy what it took to be competitive.
In our sport, I would translate that into such things as the support
of large, well trained, well paid crews (including perhaps farriers and even
vets); several saddles per horse to be switched at every vet check;
sophisticated vet, physical therapy, farrier, nutritional, etc. care for the
horse (& rider) between rides; top of the line travelling accomodations for
horse and people just to name a few ideas off the top of my head.
I have almost never had the benefit of a crew when I have ridden. I
certainly don't kid myself into thinking that I am playing on the same field
as the riders whose crew rushes up to take over when they dismount, while I
am trying to hold my horse and use the "porta potty" at the same time (no
kidding! she seemed to know she shouldn't wander off!)
It has been my pleasure to ride and own some very good horses that
have never been ridden to their potential because the owner (including me)
decided to ride within the limits of our support capabilities in order to
preserve the horse. But that doesn't mean that we haven't wondered just how
high we could have placed if we had a few more bucks to spend.
I agree that the vast majority of endurance riders are great people
and will continue to be that way. I'm just looking for a way to protect and
encourage that while accomodating the desires of those who want the reward
of a lot of money. I think the idea of "professional" and "amateur"
divisions has some possibilities as a way to do that but someone in this
list will probably come up with a better idea!
Laney