BEFORE dawn breaks, when
the mercury is at its lowest and the urge to stay under the covers is at its
strongest, Anne Jones will emerge bleary-eyed from a makeshift bed inside the
horse float that she has dragged to a clearing at Peak Crossing, west of Ipswich
in southeastern Queensland.
She'll wander over in the dark to give a pat
to her seven-year-old gelding, Cavalier, put the coffee on and start thinking
about saddling up. By 5.30am, Jones and Cavalier will be at the starting line of
a horse endurance event that will not have a winner until about 10 hours later.
Jones is a champion rider, but she and Cavalier will face some stiff
competition. In the chill winds of pre-dawn Peak Crossing, about 90 other horse
fanatics will line up with their helmet lights on in the hope of winning HH the
President of the United Arab Emirates Australian Championship, part of this
weekend's Endurance Horse Festival.