The first thing I need to do is thank Leonard Liesens for making this trip possible for me. As his official groom I was entitled to free travel and first class accomodations, and a closely involved perspective of the event. His family and Belgian team-mates were absolutely wonderful, and gave depth - and warmth - to the experience. Thanks Leo!
I must also thank the UAE and General Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and Minister of Defence. His passion for the sport of Endurance and for the Arabian horses must indeed be terrific for him to take on the responsibility of hosting this event. The expense was incredible - but more than that, the time and energy and commitment were unfathomable. This man is not just an idle wealthy royal - his position as Minister of Defence is something that I really hadn't appreciated fully. I can't even think of a parallel here in the US - not only is this man powerful and crucial to the UAE government, he is also loved and revered by his people - in the way that only a Crown Prince can be loved. On the day after the race, the front page headline in the Gulf News was of Shaikh Mohammed meeting with other heads of State discussing the impending oil crisis - and probably the turmoil with Iraq. And this guy just rode in an Endurance ride! Unbelievable.... Thank you UAE!
This event was the largest Endurance event ever -and in some ways it was too large. The horses were spread out in separate barns for quarantine and health reasons. The riders and officials were also spread out amongst the various resorts - so it was difficult to find people, and difficult to know just what was going on. The information 'chain' was long and certainly inadequate compared with what we're accustomed to. We were always asking questions, and rarely getting answers. The organizing committee didn't have the answers either. Delays and postponements were the norm, and there was just nothing that we - the guests - could do about it. I think the cultural difference was very manifest in this respect - the answers were there, and would be divulged to the public in good time - "if God is willing". We must wait.
The days before the ride were so full of energy - trips to the barn, excersizing the horses, inspecting the course and the vetcheck area, strategizing, bonding with team mates, making friends with the other nations in the barn, bumping into friends from home - and friends from abroad, exploring the city, gorging on the exotic cuisine.... it was all fantastic, and for most of us the good times, and great accomodations made the frustrations and lack of information tolerable. Though I'm sure that those higher up in the organization were gritting their teeth and wringing their hands on a regular basis! The magic came to a climax at the pre-ride party and the wine and anticipation made us all giddy with good will and excitement.
After the party everybody seemed to withdraw, and focus, and the concentration and intensity increased. Strategies were finalized, the course and vetcheck were open for inspection. Frustration mounted, rigs were stuck in the desert, more questions, not enough answers... tempers were getting a little short. At the pre-ride meeting, most of our questions were answered, but there was still an air of tension. The Shaikh was present - he had the answers. I was quite impressed with him - his composure, and wit and ... 'royal-ness'. A very powerful and confident man. And it was apparent that he was the one in control.
The day before the ride was a blur of preparation. Horses had to pass inspection, riders and crews finalized plans, packed rigs, manes were braided, tack was cleaned ... nervous energy in the air. We went back to our hotels, had dinner and went to bed knowing we'd be up again in a few hours. The lucky ones actually slept!
I've never crewed before, so this was a new and different experience. Leo and I had done Tevis and Outlaw Trail together - so I was pretty confident that I knew how to crew for him - and could provide the care that he and his horse would need during the ride. Plus his son, Luke, and wife Nathalie were there and had crewed at all of Leo's other rides. I think we made a pretty good team. The Belgians rode together all day, so it made it very easy to crew. The logistics and timing were shared, and we were able to help each other when needed.
The vetcheck was a flurry of activity - as would be expected. The design and layout were perfect, so it never felt crowded or confusing. There were adequate vets and gates, no waiting. However great difficulties arose with the timing. The computer system crashed late in the morning (the army had shut down the power for a split second to do maintenance somewhere and the system's disk got trashed.) - and there was chaos for a while. Riders were ready to go out, but couldn't get an ok from the timers, riders coming in wasted time trying to get their time - it was pretty ugly. The timers recovered somewhat, and went to a strictly manual method of recording time - but they never fully recovered, and the result was that we were all kept in the dark regarding rider status. The team Chef d'Equips were totally frustrated since they didn't know how their teams stood at any given time. All was guesswork, and some mistakes were made in trying to hurry that last rider, or not hurrying enough when just a few minutes might have made a difference. The fiasco with the Belgians receiving (and then losing ) the Bronze team medal was an example of the confusion and miscalculation that occurred during the day. It wasn't until late the next day, just prior to departing to the Gala Awards in Abu Dhabi that the actual results were released... and then only to a few people. Very frustrating.
The race itself was pretty classic - a large spread between front runners and finishers. There was a huge tv screen at the vetcheck which had scenes all day of the front runners, and other competitors at various points in the ride - scenes filmed by helicopter and ground crews. We were able to watch Valerie and the Shaikh galloping side by side for miles across the desert. And yes, they galloped. This was not a "to finish is to win" ride. In fact, the Arab version of our beloved AERC motto is "to win, you must finish". Nice subtle difference...
The race to the finish was spectacular. We could see two gray horses galloping side by side approaching the finish, and then at some point - about 500 yards from the finish - it was as if Jedi switched to warp speed - he literally left the Italian horse, Faris Jabar, in the dust. How a horse can find that much power at the end of a very fast 100 mile ride is beyond reason. I get chills and a lump in my throat just thinking about it.
There was incredible suspense for the 30 minutes after Valerie's and Fausto's gallop across the finish - they had to get the horses' pulse down to 60, and pray that they were sound. The teams took the entire 30 minutes - presented the horses - and yes, they passed. Incredible cheering by all.
The rest of the day was more crewing - meeting the horses, taking care of them, preparing the crew area for next time, etc. There were tents filled with tables and food - coffee, hot soup, etc. Time to visit with others, time to contemplate this crazy sport... The Belgians finished around 10pm - they galloped the last 12 km loop and finished with great enthusiasm. The horses looked great, everybody passed the final inspection and when we were told we took the team Bronze I'm sure they heard us all the way across the Persian gulf! What whoops and hollers! (but....that's a sad story).
After the horses had a chance to rest and eat it was time to send them back to the barns. There were still a lot of horses out on the course, but the activity had subsided, and mostly it was crews hunkered down at their vet areas, waiting sleepily for their riders. Before we could send the horses back, they had to be held in the large vetting/hospital tent. This took hours... blood was drawn, and had to be analyzed, and there were several horses being treated, or under observation so the priorities shifted. The veterinary staff was superb! I'm sure their care and attentiveness, and thier policy to pull any horses that were even marginally in distress contributed to the overall well-being of the 175 horses that started the ride. There may have been some problems with the ride logistics and organization, but the horses always had the very best of care - always.
We finally got the horses out of the holding area, and loaded them in the ambulances for the long (2+ hours) ride back to the stable. Across the desert - bumping along, slogging through the sand - until we hit pavement. Those poor horses had to endure a very stressful trailer ride, and on top of the tough course they just finished it was a rotten thing to put them through. One of the vans actually got stuck in the sand and was stranded in the desert for hours until they got help. (this is the reason the BC judging was delayed for 2 hours). Room for improvement there I'd say.
The morning was spent resting and caring for the horses, and more waiting and wondering... the 10AM BC judging was moved to noon (horses stranded in vans in the desert) and then seemed cursory and anti-climactic. Immediately after we 'heard' that the awards in Abu Dhabi were at 7PM but we had to meet at the Jazirra hotel at 3PM since we had to be transported to Abu Dhabi by bus. The buses finally arrived at 4:30 - everybody was a bit disgruntled by then, but we stuck it out. Not enough buses, so many of us had to drive. Hordes and hordes of people at the stadium, confusion, crowds, military guards, it was wild! We were herded here and there, and finally found our way to the VIP section where we searched for places to sit - and tried to find friends and team-mates that had been separated in the arrival chaos.
In spite of the confusion and and hours spent being shuffled around, I really enjoyed the awards extravaganza. It was a production of enormous dimension - thousands of costumed dancers, light show, fireworks, camels, Arabian horses, haunting and frenzied Arabian music performed by orchestra and singers. It was like nothing else and I simply enjoyed it for what it was. (An awards ceremony - as we know it - it was not!). It must have taken most of the year to prepare for this - the intricacy of the dances, the timing of the lights and music and projected images, the coordination of the parading animals - and there were even perdiodic skydivers appearing through the top of the open-air stadium and landing in the midst of the activity. Just amazing. I was totally overwhelmed - engulfed - by the enormity of the entire week.
The stadium was packed with UAE nationals - mostly white robed men - some children, very few women. It was a bit daunting to be in the midst of tens of thousands of nationals - whose enthusiasm was solely for the accomplishments of the Shaikh and the UAE team. It was sort of like being the visiting team at a huge football game. The boos and hoots and hollers which erupted when the winners were announced were unmistakeable - and almost as deafening as the cheers that accompanied announcements of the UAE achievements. This ruffled a lot of feathers, and took all of us by surprise... but it was apparently not mean spirited - simply enthusiasm for the home team.
There was another 'traditional' awards ceremony back at the Jazirra afterwards, although a lot of people went back to their hotels instead, having not slept for the past two days. The riders were presented with completion buckles, all participants were named and credited, and it was more like the awards that we are accustomed to ... except that it started at midnight!
I can't help but thinking that this was the 'big one'. More than an Endurance event - this was over 40 nations, coming together in one fantastic place to participate in a race of 100 miles, across the desert of Arabia. Could we ever have imagined?? Horses from Russia, Malaysia, Uruguay, New Zealand, South Africa - what an incredible thing. And the spirit of Endurance was there in every way- people helping each other, countries helping each other. The race was competitive, but the bottom line was caring for the horses - help was there for anybody and any horse that needed it. This event may have had more glitz and comfort than anything before it, but the spirit of caring for each other was as strong as ever. This comradery is the essence of Endurance - and what makes this sport unique among Equestrian events. And it was there - in every language, in every way.
Steph