In a message dated 2/5/08 9:15:02 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> I think icelandics, most good ones, would be great NATRc horses tho!
> But that is based on finesse and good trail habits/sense and altho
> timed, reasonably timed where a horse can walk, trot, gait, walk etc
> and not have to be hot and lathered up a lot of the ride... I think
> my Stonewall would be a good candidate for an endurance horse, he is
> so hot hot and loves to go. But unfortunately that type situation
> makes him insane with excitement and he is useless except as a suicide
> horse. I always tell my husband if I was ever going to kill myself I
> would just sadlle up stonewall and take him on a endurance ride with
> lots of arabs.
>
Have you ever actually attended a NATRC ride and an endurance ride? I agree
with you that most owners of Icelandic horses would really enjoy competitive
trail rides at NATRC events and have made that point on this list many, many
times. Your attempt to so strongly contrast competitive trail rides and
endurance is mistaken, however, and merely repeats a common misconception by
those
who lack experience with both kinds of events.
I regularly ride point for the local ctrs. The open class riders ride at a
faster pace than the back of the pack endurance riders. Open class courses
are often tougher than endurance courses although shorter. At an endurance
ride, as many riders seem to be competing for last place as are competing for
first place. Most are just out to ride a long ways in beautiful scenery with
their human and equine buddies. Since longevity is so highly celebrated in
our both kinds of distance riding, people like me ride as carefully as possible
to preserve our horses for another day, and year, and decade. The hot and
lathered horse you depict as typical is not going to last very long if it can
even finish a ride. At any ride the horses soon spread out so much that the
pace is really just a relaxing trail ride, but at a pretty good clip. Starts
may seem scary to beginners but that is why we always advise to just start at
the back or even wait ten minutes after everyone else has left. Starts at
multi-days can be so mellow that you sometimes can't even tell if the ride has
started yet or not.
The main difference between ctr and endurance is simply the distance and the
average condition of the horses. Many people do both sports. Many people
start their younger horses in ctr and then use them in endurance. As I have
preached over and over again, most Icelandic owners who have done any
significant trail riding could enter a novice class ctr and have a ball.
People who
do both ctr and endurance regard them as different branches of the same sport;
it seems that the people who don't have the experience are the ones who want
to play up what they imagine are the differences.
John Parke
Solvang Ca
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