Re: Endurance???

["Joe Long" <jlong@mti.net>]

On Sun, 07 Jun 1998 16:28:20 -0700, Softrider Saddles
<softride@cdsnet.net> wrote:

>To all of you that have tryed to flame me!!!  I know alot of people that
>are handicaped
>do YOU want to tell them that riding even 1 mile is not endurance.  I
>know several people that it is an endurance to just get up on the horses
>back!!  Please don't be so strick with what you claim to be endurance.
>To some people it is a major feat. just to get up there.

I don't think anyone's trying to flame you, but most of us disagree
with you.

My wife is handicapped.  She has zero prospects of being able to ride
a 50-mile ride.  A 25 mile ride is beyond her reach unless it is an
"easy" 25 and she's having a good day.  She can't ride alone because
if she gets off the horse she may not be able to bet back on without
someone to help.  She faces greater challenges than most of you know,
including the very real prospect of not seeing another birthday.

Her nature is to compete, and go after challenges.  She became the
first licensed female NASCAR  race car driver in the South, at a time
when women weren't even allowed in the pits!  She had to contend with
male drivers with such fragile egos that they would deliberately wreck
them both rather than be beaten by her (but beat them she did,
anyway).

She was very proud and happy the day she complete her one Limited
Distance ride, and I was (and am) very proud of her.

She is a great and proud lady ... and *no way* would she expect anyone
to *give* her the recognition earned by the fifty and 100 mile riders,
just because her physical handicaps prevent her from being able to
earn them.  Maybe this is one reason I have so little patience with
the whiners ... they *don't* have her handicaps and want recognition
given to them instead of earning it.  And yes, that makes me angry.


-- 

Joe Long
jlong@mti.net
Business Page  http://www.mti.net
Personal Page  http://www.rnbw.com