Tough Hombres

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will."– Vincent Lombard

I agree with Secretariat and Penny that the vulnerable horse has to be protected however, I would like to point out that the one hour hold for the horse was established by the veterinarians on the Tevis. Not only that, but this arbitrary number was not based on equine research then or now. It was based on their judgment but not necessarily their experience in competing in that particular event.

The sport I like the most is Ride & Tie. In this sport, there is a veterinary check but no arbitrary hold of any length of time. There’s a starting time and a finishing time. The fastest team wins. It was during these events, that I learned more about world-class runners. On a very hot and humid day, the 2 human partners do so much better than the horse. Take for example one ride and tie world championship, in Southern California mountains when I teamed up with Diana, a young Western states Runner on Gypsy. Even though there were a number of teams that had  faster runners than our team, we came in the top 10 as a result of those teams receiving a  DNF  because of either lameness or respiration problems with their horses. Another example was the Cool Ride & Tie when I teamed up with a young outstanding college runner. Joshua brought Gypsy into the vet check and left her for me to get her evaluated. That day was also very hot and it took my horse at least 10 minutes before I could bring her to the vet since her pulse and respiration were elevated. While I was waiting at the vet check, Joshua’s out there running the trail. I might add that we did win that race. I bet the Secretariat would bring up two humans versus one horse. He knows that the longer the distance, the hotter the temperature, the worse it is for that vulnerable horse. Also, when Jonathan and I won the 100 mile Swanton Ride & Tie, I took take care my horse without having to undergo one hour holds compared with the endurance riders.  She finished   and our team one. She was tough too.

From Secretariat: I am glad to see Frank saying his horse is also tough. And that the horse realy does't need the hour holds to finish the distance. Thanks Frank for finely admitting that the horse was just as tough as you.

We humans have evolved into tough hombres. Maintain your toughness by keep moving as your life just might depend on it. If you don’t believe me just ask Secretariat.  Yesterday a group of us (Chris, Randall, Diane, Secretariat and I ran a 14 mile loop at the Cronan Ranch. Secretariat and I are planning a trail run today. Tonight I’m hosting MNF with Chris, Secretariat, Lon and Perry.