This past weekend I was riding in a two-day event and the person I was riding with asked, "Why do you do endurance?" It was Thanksgiving and I was away from my family. In addition, on one of the days an intense lightning storm with hail had moved in 30 minutes after the ride started. I was soaked, cold, my boots were full of water, and there were still 47 miles to go. My horse wanted to turn his butt into the rain, and I thought, "Good questionÉ"

I think the answer to this will differ from member to member but each of you will have some of the same reasons I do. The particular day I was asked this, my first thought was, "I'm goal oriented." My horse was completing his 4,000th mile at that ride and, while he didn't know it, it was an accomplishment more valuable to me than finishing first in a number of rides. I like to place well in my weight division and having placings gives me achievable goals even though we usually place in the bottom third. Goals for other riders may be international competition, top 10, simply finishing with a sound healthy horse, to staying on for the whole distance. Endurance . . . provides a focus and motivation for getting out and conditioning when the weather is bad.

But other reasons are just as important to me. Another person I rode with that weekend said she liked to do 100-mile rides. I've done some but one of my reasons for doing endurance is meeting friends and talking to people at rides. For me, this doesn't happen at 100s. You go to bed early, get up in the middle of the night, and finish when most people are gone. I like the social aspect of our rides which, for me, happens most on 50-mile rides.

At many rides, I ride in areas I'd never get to if it were not for endurance. This particular weekend we were called back by the ride manager because of the storm and restarted two hours later. In late November, that meant finishing after dark. I rode a section of trail along a stream at twilight that looked completely different in the sunset and was one of the most beautiful loops I had done in this region.

And finally, endurance gives me another reason for having my horses. It provides a focus and motivation for getting out and conditioning when the weather is bad and it would be easy to stay inside and sit in front of the computer.

These are a part of why endurance and my horses are a big part of my life today. Try asking your next riding partner why he or she does endurance.