I am glad the weight issue reappeared because I have an interesting side note to add.
In Time Magazine this week, there was a chart of the Body MAss Index(BMI) of Miss America since 1920. The trend line was a 45 degree angle downward. Not too surprising, except for teh addition of a line which is the WHO’s cut off point for undernutrition. Since about 1965, only four Miss America’s were above that line. The only positive note is, it appears 1998 was the second heaviest Miss America ever and 1999 was one of the ten heaviest…
The report came from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
Wow, CTT, you never cease to amaze me. You are truly a special person. Thank you so much for sharing your story, hard as it must have been. 
Hallie, thank you. Weight is a difficult issue for all Americans, male or female, riders or non-riders. It seems that this realization has yet to make it to the horse show world. There was a pretty good article in Practical Horseman last year about body size & shape, discussing top riders such as Margie Goldstein Engle. I think the horse show publications such as Prac Horseman ought to pick up more on this topic. George Morris is a fan of fitness, but not of emaciation – perhaps the Chronicle could ask him to address this topic in a coming-up Forum. I respect George’s tough attitude towards things like turnout, fitness, etc. – I may not always agree with it, but he is always fair, and he challenges us. It’s up to us as individuals to know our limits of dedication and of our resources – both time and financial.
Regarding judging, how about taking a good hard look at the horse’s reaction to its rider – for example, you can easily tell if a rider sits too heavy or makes the horse uncomfortable. Shouldn’t this be a better indication of riding ability and effectiveness than a rider’s weight? And, if a heavy rider has a better seat than a skinny rider – you tell me whom you’d rather have school your horse!
First I want to say to CTT that, if the idea of speaking in front of groups doesn’t scare you, I wish you would consider being a youth leader or speaker at high schools or youth organizations. It is most definitely a personal and private battle you have fought so being in that public role may not be appropriate for you, but thank you so much for bringing your story to the BB.
I also want to second what you have said about the effect that improper nutrition and crash dieting has on the metabolism. I struggled with bulimic behavior as a teenager and was CONSTANTLY on a diet. I really believe that all the starvation and super low calorie diets I was on affected my unltimate ability to lose weight. Ironic isn’t it?
Pep Talk, 20-50 pounds is A LOT of weight, and it is too much to lose in just 3 months. I have lost 50 pounds myself in the last three years and have managed to keep it off and build up good muscle tone–but, believe it or not, I eat ALL DAY. I eat lots of fruit, low fat cottage cheese, almonds, veggies, meat–everything. I just do it in a bunch of small meals to keep my metabolism up. I once starved 24 pounds off in six weeks for a horse show, but gained it all back after the show because there was no way I could sustain that level of not eating.
If you really feel you need to do something to prepare for this show, work on your fitness. Look at the thread on cross training or the one from a couple of weeks back about rider fitness and concentrate on that. And don’t be a slave to the scale! So many people, trainers included, think that there is a magic number that we should be and concentrate on that even more than on what a person actually LOOKS like.
This is perhaps the most valuable thread I have read on the BB. Thanks Dennaj for starting it and to all who have contributed their stories!
