My message is simple. Riders must learn to "endurance ride" before they race. This column was prompted by the following quote from a letter received by the AERC office: ". . . I know the motto of endurance is Ôto finish is to win,' but all involved in this sport know that it is not true. To win is to come in top 10, with our horses in optimum shape."

The quote above disturbed me and really got me thinking about endurance riding as contrasted with endurance racing. And, yes, I will confess to enjoying the competitive aspects of our sport and having been fortunate enough to win more than a few 100s and BCs. But I do believe that "to finish is to win." And I also believe finishing near the top with a horse in great shape is winning. And I strongly feel that one must do the former before the latter, that is, learn to endurance ride before racing.

Why? Endurance riding and, in particular, racing can be dangerous to your horses. Compare that to a human foot race: a runner does not endanger others. We as riders bear the responsibility for protecting the horse, and for having our horses trained and under control so they do not endanger others.

Can one imagine an inexperienced driver entering the Daytona 500 or a rookie biker being part of the peloton in the Tour de France, racing down the Alps? However, almost all AERC rides have no qualifications for an adult rider and only an age qualification for the horse.

We must learn to protect our horses and ride well. Reading, listening and learning from others can help. Most experienced riders eagerly share their wisdom. Those of us who have asked our horses to do things that we should not have consider ourselves fortunate to have not gotten into more serious trouble. We want to help others avoid those mistakes. But ultimately riders must learn by doing.

One must really learn how to "listen to" and "read" the horse by riding many miles of endurance riding -- that is, long distance at a moderate pace, learning your horse's capabilities. And when the horse finishes strongly with an eagerness to keep going, you have earned the right to ask a bit more and keep learning. And when the horse does not finish well or does not finish at all, one must ask what went wrong and learn.

Our horses also must learn, i.e., be trained and conditioned by doing endurance riding before endurance racing. Dr. Matthew Mackay Smith, former AERC president, points out that it takes years to give the horse the tendon and ligament foundation to go fast over long distances. By contrast it is easy to condition the muscles and heart quickly. But without the structural foundation the horse will break down.

The best riders -- Becky Hart, Valerie Kanavy, and [the late] Maggy Price, my mentor -- all endurance ride their young horses or even do competitive trail rides long before they ever race. As Matthew would say, you learn to "never hurry, never tarry."

This column ends with a plea to all -- but to experienced riders in particular. In order to protect our horses and our sport, we must foster frank discussions among both new and experienced riders to champion the philosophy of individual responsibility that is integral to AERC. We must educate all in the value of endurance riding first and endurance racing only later.

Learning "to finish is to win" comes before racing to win.