Re: women in the UAE

["Howard Bramhall" <hwb67@msn.com>]

From: guest@endurance.net

Sent: Monday, September 24, 2001 1:11 PM

To: ridecamp@endurance.net

Subject: RC: women in the UAE

 

Jennifer Nice jenn_nice@hotmail.com
Up until now, I've kept pretty quite about all the UAE-related posts. Mind you, I am an American citizen and American endurance rider living in the UAE. I've found that so many of the posts I've read, particularly those by Angie, to be inaccurate. What compels me to finally comment is this post by Angie:

"I've got to admit that I can't enjoy the Endurance World Magazine because it irks me so bad that there are SO many women in every photo except those of the Middle Eastern teams.  Where are their wives? Daughters? The men are having an awful lot of fun...you can't tell me there aren't just as many horse crazy girls there as anywhere else.  It's
just wrong."
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Jennifer, so nice to hear from an American living there.  I have lots of questions.  My interest in UAE has perked quite a bit lately.

I won't comment on the UAE women thing.  I'm still trying to figure out women who live in my own country; especially the endurance types.  I'm confused, clueless, and I quite often find myself out on the trail, totally lost, without a compass, when it comes to this subject. 

I do find it interesting that the UAE kept ties with Afghanistan, until recently, so the Sheiks and royal family could travel there to hunt.  I'm not sure if this was on horseback or not, but if it was, I'm wondering if some of them plan on volunteering to help us find bin Laden, who, evidently, is a horseman (this bugged me to no end when I first heard this). 

Last night I had a dream.  I dreamt the Sheiks, American, European, and Australian endurance riders were all out there, in Afghanistan, working towards one cause.  In my dream we had put all this together, hunting on horseback, realizing that our endurance horses would be able to smoke out this madman, quicker and faster than most other ideas I've heard discussed. No mass bombing, no loss of innocent lives.  Talk about taking Renegade Riders to a completely higher level.  Not only were we all trespassing, we were hunting without a license.

As most of you know, I am a dreamer.  I imagine things, most of them not possible.  But, wouldn't it be cool?  To go over there, and follow one of the Sheiks, to smoke this evil bastard, bin Laden, out of his cave? On horseback, endurance style? And I would follow them, if they would show me the way. 

Anyway, Jennifer, my question to you is this.  How far will they (the Sheiks) and their countrymen be willing to go to get this guy?  Are they with us, or not?  I've probably been watching too much of "60 Minutes" over here, cause it really does look like we don't have very many Arab friends left.  Has the Third Millennium gone back two thousand years and revisited the Crusades?  How crazy is this thing going to get?

I'm leaving for The Biltmore in three days.  I've never needed to go to an endurance ride like I need to go to this one.  It will be Erica's first ride.  We plan on going very, very slow; to take in every moment, view every tree, walk down every hill.  I just know I'm going to fall in love with this part of our country and not want to leave.  My maternal grandmother was born in North Carolina and she used to tell me all about her life there (hey, I told you I had Southern blood).  She passed away four days after the attacks.  I miss her so.

I'm bringing along my new horse.  I've taken away this nickname, Mohammed.  It just doesn't seem appropriate right now and it's no longer funny to me calling him that.  We call him by his given name, which is ironic as hell, considering the circumstances.  My half Arab horse's registered name is "War Cry."  And that's what I now call him.

 

cya,

Howard  (I'm with you George; I still miss Bubba, but I'm with you now)