There was a
movie this year, Hidalgo, which told the story of a man and his horse competing
in the centuries-old long-distance horse race, the Ocean of Fire, an epic
contest across burning Arabian sands in 1890 with both horses and riders at
risk. This was a 3000-mile survival race for a prize of riches.
Now cut
to present-day Owhango, near Taumaranui, a 20-year-old farmer, Mark Tylee, and
his horse Jamahl. Like Hidalgo's supposed true-life hero, Frank T. Hopkins
(played by Viggo Mortensen of The Lord of the Rings fame), Tylee is an
accomplished rider.
He speaks with the simplicity and sincerity of a New
Zealand farmer - not unlike the "howdy all, don't hurt my horse" style of the
iron-jawed Hopkins in the movie. And Tylee and Jamahl will take on the world's
best as part of a New Zealand endurance riding team in a gruelling world
championship in the heat of the United Arab Emirates deserts on January 27.
