Last month, members of the Southwest Region were discussing membership growth and retention, among many different issues. These discussions on our regional e-mail list took place because we were one of two regions participating in the recent regional director elections.
To that end, we were fortunate to have four exceptionally talented and deserving candidates -- a win-win for the Southwest Region and AERC. In the course of our discussions, the subject of limited distance, distance riding, and mutual respect came up and I thought it might be interesting to share a short comment on the subject.
I once read an article by one of our past presidents that said, "We are all distance riders -- but some of us ride longer distances." I took that to mean that every person and equine, no matter the distance they rode, deserved unqualified recognition because the challenge of long distance riding is ultimately a personal one. It's not John Doe vs. Betty Smith, but John Doe and Betty Smith competing against the trail and trying to better their respective prior accomplishments against the trail.
When I look at someone who has just finished 25 miles, 50 miles, 100 miles, or a Pioneer ride, I believe I am looking at someone who has accomplished the goal they set for themselves and that is good enough for me.
It is easy to settle into the debate of what is the greater accomplishment, one distance vs. another distance: 25 vs. 50, a 100-mile ride vs. a five-day ride, but I don't think there is a right answer if we try to compare accomplishments in the terms of mileage. It isn't the nature of the challenge, it is the challenge itself that is the common denominator.
For those physically impaired (by age, injury, etc.), finishing a 25-mile event is just as physically challenging as the completion of a longer distance. I remember quite vividly my friend and AERC Hall of Fame member, Maggy Price, who was the ultimate competitor -- an accomplished and very respected rider with many 100s, including Race of Champions and international rides, under her belt, and one of the toughest competitors AERC has ever had. In her later life she developed cancer and she asked me to take up the cause for LD, an event she didn't give much thought to in her healthy days.
In her later days she entered some LDs so she could keep in touch with the sport and friends she had dedicated a great portion of her life to. She knew it would be tough before she entered. Completing the event caused her to truly realize and experience how difficult the challenge was just to complete a 25-mile event under the conditions she had been dealt. In fact, Maggy found that completing a 25-mile ride in her later life was even more difficult than finishing a 100-mile ride.
Maggy always recognized this was a sport of personal challenge and each person should be applauded for taking up that challenge. She felt there was room in AERC for everyone in our "big tent."
We should all take Maggy's experience to heart and realize that riding any distance has its own challenges and rewards. When all the fat is boiled away does it really matter what distance was completed? Or is it more important that the distance ridden was completed with a sound and happy equine, and a rider who feels they have accomplished their goal?
I am for sharing our experiences and celebrating our accomplishments under the big tent -- not one against the other, but all together -- because we are all distance riders, just some of us ride a longer distance.
Below is an excerpt from our Articles of Incorporation, recorded and filed several years before AERC had a written 50-mile minimum rule. They state "the specific and primary purposes" of our sport are defined as "the riding of horses over long distances, presently known in the Western United States of America as 'endurance riding,' and encourage the riding of historical trails and to preserve such trails for future generations." A specific mileage was not included in our original founding -- isn't that interesting?
From AERC's Articles of Incorporation:
"The specific and primary purposes of this corporation are:
"a. To promote the sport and pastime of endurance riding, to act as an information center and clearinghouse of information concerning endurance riding, and to encourage better care and prevention of cruelty to animals and to receive (either in trust or otherwise) and maintain a fund or funds, and administer, apply and expand the income therefrom and the principal thereof, for the purposes above stated, with the United States of America.
"b. To gather and disseminate information pertaining to the riding of horses over long distances, presently known in the Western United States of America as 'endurance riding,' and encourage the riding of historical trails and to preserve such trails for future generations . . ."
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