Hi again, This fabulous ride was run under AERC rules, but since it is not "offically sanctioned", horses/riders do not get the official milege. It was by invitation of the researchers, had no entry fee but we did have to pay for (great)meals, and riders agreed to either feed the specialized feed for 3 months, or use the research electrolytes on the ride or both. In addition all horses were blood tested at the pre-ride vet check, at each of the vet checks, at the finish, and 2 hours post finish feeding/electrolytes. If you think your 40 minute hold time is short, try having your horses blood drawn, being assessed for behavioral changes, and being weighed in addition to the normal chores of P & R and vet checks. Not to mention that all checks were all tack off (for weights). When all is said and done, it was a great chance to see how the "horsey elite" live and play. We even got to ride through "David's playground", where olympic gold medalist David O"Conner trains his eventers (did I mention it is a green grassy mountaintop with a 360 panoramic view that dwarfs most of the Skyline drive scenic views?). The entire ride was on private estates that have NO public access. Kudos to Jeff Crandall for the great karma to get all these private owners to allow us to ride here. Since this ride was also sponsered by Kentucky Equine Research, hopefully we all will benefit in the future due to the results from last years, and yesterdays research rides. Becky
===== Rebecca Supinger [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.com/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=