> Oh man. . . not what I'd hoped to hear.
Renee, I have fantasies too :), but from living vicariously thru my friend Susan, I think it would be better to start out with competitive trail riding with the NATRC before getting into endurance. Its a way to learn the rules and ride a conditioned horse on a beautiful trail at a comfortable do-able speed in competition with others, without going all to the wall if you know what I mean! I have a friend who entered her paso in a fifty mile race and altho she was conditioned she got "wet tendons" and she hasnt been able to ride her six months. I frequently ride with my friend susan as she trains and conditions her horse and i would just love to go but I cant seem to ride enough to get one of mine in peak condition, where it can gait or trot nonstop for a half hour or so without being completely winded. I would hate to go to all that trouble and expense and get pulled from the race,... but from simple trail riding on a regular basis all my horses do the obstacles just fine... Janice -- even good horses have bad days sometimes.
