Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

From: Sharon Meyers <montbrae@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: November 6, 2008 1:07:57 PM GMT+08:00

Thursday: Late Wednesday afternoon Matt and I went out to the beach  
road section of the Australian team’s training track to capture some  
of the Aussies there. We were lucky enough to photograph the King of  
Malaysia riding with Brook and Matthew Sample. Then we headed back to  
the hotel where we had ten minutes to get ready for the Opening  
Ceremony.

We travelled out to the venue in a coach supplied for the media. The  
traffic was heavy as there were thousands of people driving to the  
stadium. Next thing, out of the blue appeared a policeman on a  
motorcycle, he stationed himself in front of our bus, put the siren  
on and spearheaded through the traffic, waving cars off the road as  
he escorted us to the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium.

The stadium was huge and I believe it holds around 30,000 people. I  
was surprised to find the media were allowed out into the arena, so  
Matt and I stationed ourselves there. It was amazing watching the  
stadium fill with thousands of locals.

We were entertained with a band, singers and colourful dancers before  
the flags of the competing nations were paraded. Immediately after  
this the nations marched in front of the huge crowd. It was a  
colourful and memorable spectacle. One of the surprises of the  
evening was when Lorenzo, the Flying Frenchman appeared with his  
magnificent white horses. He put on a stunning performance standing  
on the backs of two of them while driving another four horses in  
hand. These athletic and brave horses galloped around the centre of  
the arena jumping several obstacles – certainly a crowd-pleasing  
spectacle. The evening was capped off with an amazing firework  
display. The opening ceremony was televised live on RMT1, the  
Malaysian national station and ESPN. The Malaysians did a sterling  
job with the opening ceremony and I am sure it will be a memorable  
event for all who attended.

It took sometime getting back to the hotel and it was about 2am  
before I went to bed. I was up again at 5.30am to get ready to go out  
early to the ride base as the Australians were fronting up for their  
first veterinary inspection at 9.00 am. As I mentioned earlier, the  
venue is 45 minutes from our hotel.

The Aussie horses looked terrific and it was a huge relief when the  
entire team vetted through successfully. The horses were then  
numbered: 19 Derek Armitage – 20 Kristie McGaffin – 21 Brook Sample –  
22 Matthew Sample, 23 Penny Toft and 24 Meg Wade.

Later today we are going out to inspect the only area on track that  
photographers will be allowed to photograph at. There will also be a  
technical briefing at 3pm local time and a sponsorship presentation  
tonight.

In my last report I mentioned seeing cats with part of their tails  
missing, well I have finally found the answer to that little mystery.  
Apparently these cats are a local breed. For a minute or two I  
thought they had an encounter with those rumoured crocodiles!

I have forgotten to mention a few things I found of interest here.  
The cars used to transport officials and crews have a colourful logo  
of a horse’s head on them (quite Arabian looking) – which brightens  
them up no end. I don’t think I have ever seen so many black cars at  
one venue – everything from BMWs through to expensive 4WDs. There are  
also a few topiary bushes in the shape of rearing horses dotted  
around the place with two at the entrance to the venue.

Tomorrow the media have a tour of Terrengganu at 9am (maybe I can  
even have a sleep in!). Looking forward to the tour, as I am keen to  
learn more about the history and culture of this area of Malaysia. I  
have enjoyed the Malaysian food on offer at our lunch venue and even  
tried Keropok, a popular fried snack made of fish meat ground to a  
paste and mixed with sago. The variety I tried was thin and crispy  
and I believe it’s called keping.

And of course tomorrow is the big day, the day of the ride.  
Excitement is mounting. Until tomorrow.

Cheers,
Sharon Meyers



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