WEC and a Canuck Crew Person
Monika Smith
First, I'd like to thank the UAE for hosting a fabulous event. To do it, in short notice, and with a whole country backing the event, deserves a big round of applause.

Second, I'm very proud of our Canadian Team. We got there with 6 excellent horses and riders ready to really ride, and a crew to die for. We had some bad luck, maybe a couple of things coulda been done better...hindsight is 20/20! I sure learned a lot.

I'm sooooo proud of Christy Janzen. She rode so well. She managed her horse beautifully! Her crew did everything so well. Just to finish this race was an incredible accomplishment...we came from a real winter...and very short days...shaggy horses that needed to adjust from below freezing temps to over 100 on race day in a very short period of time. A steep curve of adjustment. To those riders that didn't complete. My hats off to you: Myna, Linda, Len, Larry and Barb. You gave it your best and I'm proud of your efforts and commitment!

Arriving in Dubai meant 'I don't think we're in Kansas anymore'. Yes this was a foreign country...but seeing bilingual signs...English and Arabic everywhere and going into malls that would be familiar here (including modest Christmas decorations) were an eye opener. And the overwhelming courtesty. I didn't see any graffiti, suffered no harrasment, no loose dogs. As a single woman, this was a city I felt safe in,

As I also paid my own way, I had to find alternative lodging and food...and found that the group rental of a villa, coordinated by Roberta Carleton (thanks!) was the way to go! Very inexpensive, lots of room, kitchen, living room, dining room, lots of bathrooms, shuttle buses, AND a washer for dirty clothes. Food shopping at the local coops was easy and prices reasonable. But, had to really search for 'local' food. I had the BEST orange juice ever, which came from...Florida. The dates were local and delicious.

I was also one of the folks running around for a badge to get to the stables, but 2, 1/2 days of patient waiting, modest nagging, and hauling in the artilary once in a while, got what I wanted. (Maybe I nagged a touch too hard, you should just see my picture on my pass!)I also ran around videoing and photographing our team. Attrition start early. One horse showed lame early on and could not even vet in; another had a slip and fall and inspite of excellent intervention and vetting through, ended up pulled during the race. Yet another horse, sound throughout, showed lame at the vet in. A big bunch of disappointments!

One of the big treats I had was helping Gayle Ecker, Guelph University, who has done invaluable research for endurance. After a brutal training program . I gave her a hand in working up the numbers from blood samples taken from the horses before and during the race. That research was fascinating...and could become a very useful management tool for teams that want their hot shoes to finish well.

Race day was amazing. ESP was required to get to the vet centre and it was an adventure to scoot across the dessert, in the dark, at rally speeds, bouncing over the washborard camel tracks (?) and watching cars sink real deep if they read the sands incorrectly. And clouds of dust...this was NOT the type of dust to use your windshield washer on...instant concrete.

We got there before dawn, and set up our rest area. It was cool and I enjoyed it, 'cause I had a sneaking suspicion that it would be HOT (during the day, there were times I felt stupid with heat outside the rest areas, like how on earth did our riders do it?). I looked around the site which was set up in expanding circles, like a bullseye. In the centre was the vet check area, with an arc of vet-in 'toll' booths, a wide traffic lane for the horses and riders around that, then the circle of rest areas and the time-in/out booths at the 'front'. In the 'back' were the vet tents for problems. Lots of elbow room. Looked like line-ups were non-existant or short. Some good planning set this up...ensure that crew and competitors could keep as cool as possible and be able to do their jobs in the shortest time possible. The rest areas had thatched roofs throwing lots of shade. Each country had their own station, flag on top, with a huge misting fan at the back that really dropped the temperature. A tight squeeze if all horses were in, but doable with two/three at a time. There was also a horse shower feature if you wanted to do a monsoon and soak your horse to a prunelike finish. Bags of ice were delivered; food and drink were freely available throughout the day. Chairs provided. Even trailers of toilets were set up.

Announcing was done in English, but later on, a helpful translator (German) was also on board--never heard one word of Arabic! Of course the computer crashed after a power outage which really spiked stress levels into the ozone. But, ER being what it is...we cope, not lynch! We react on our feet! Not enough markers? follow the rider in front. No rider to be seen? look for hoof prints (good thing camels don't have hooves!). I think we can all learn from what worked and what didn't.

Of course, everyone was waiting for the finish. And watching the end, during daylight, was thrilling. To see Valerie Kanavy come galloping in flat out, closely followed by a very determined Italian and a 'dark-horse' Japanese competitor a couple of minutes later was amazing. Twenty minutes later, two UAE competitors raced in together--doing their country proud. What a finish!

I also went to the closing ceremonies and I saw an incredible display of national pride. At first I was taken aback by the booing. But, I also know what happens at other big, international events when the home team doesn't win...even in North America. And, while I had NO idea what was happening because it was 99.9% Arabic, I really enjoyed the sound and light show. We were even able to hang our Canadian flag over the balcony!

One of the most FUN moments was going to the stadium. As we bussed into Abu Dhabi, Nationals, with their cars full of UAE flags, were driving around like mad, hoking horns, hanging out of their cars, laughing, yelling and waving at us! And we waved and yelled back; what a welcome!

This was an international event. People and horses arriving from all over. The fun of mingling, laughing, competing. Discussions on training, breeding, past races...! The ups and downs of communication in this diverse group. The stresses and disappointments. The joy of completion. But, was this really all that much different from the races at home? This was a community I am familiar with. From this experience, I know that ER is truly international and can't be owned by any one person or country, it belongs to all of us!

A big cheer for all the horses!

Monika Smith
A proud crew member of Team Canada

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The view from the pits
Heidi Smith

As with most adventures, my Dubai adventure began before even arriving there. I had to dovetail the trip with a veterinary meeting in Baltimore, hence had to figure out how to pack for business meeting as well as being part of a desert support crew. Was pleased that I managed with just one suitcase in addition to my carry-on duffle. I arrived in Baltimore with some extra time, and had the pleasure of making a side trip up to New Brunswick, NJ to meet ridecamper Sarah Ralston at Rutgers University--heck of a nice lady.

My first jolt came when I was perusing my flight schedule the day I was to leave Baltimore for Dubai--somehow I had been scheduled onto a commuter that gave me only 40 minutes to transfer to an International flight at Dulles airport in Washington, DC. Was able to dash out to the airport and get on an earlier commuter on standby, which turned out to be a godsend as all the commuters were running terribly late. My transatlantic flight to Frankfurt was uneventful, with a lovely early morning view of western Ireland before we hit clouds over Europe. Ironic, when one thinks about the fact that the UAE was hosting this event because the planned '98 WEC in Ireland had to be cancelled...

The "endurance" part of my trip began in Frankfurt. I had a very short layover, and came galloping off my plane to use the restroom before heading to the gate where my Dubai flight departed. I blew my nose, and presto! had one of the worst nosebleeds of my life. Could not get it stopped for anything, so in true endurance fashion, I packed both nostrils and headed for my gate, feeling like some version of Frankenstein's Monster, but not willing to miss my plane! Got aboard, and got a stern lecture from the flight's purser and first aid officer about how if it was not stopped, they would have to land, and it might be better if I waited for a later flight! Guess these guys don't understand that endurance riders don't wimp out over a little bit of hemorrhage... Did try to unpack it about halfway through the flight, but it started up again, so repacked it, and had the embarrassment of getting myself through the Dubai airport, customs, etc. with a grotesque packed nose. (One person politely asked if I had had nose surgery... Most were kind enough not to stare...)

At the airport, I got my first taste of what sounds like "marvie moshkollah"--haven't the faintest idea how it is spelled, but it means "no problem"--a phrase I think we all came to love, hate, and endure during our stay. There were no drivers with signs for the Oasis Hotel, where our support crew was staying, and having been assured that I would be met, and being too innately Scotch to hire a taxi if there is a cheaper mode of transportation, I persisted until I found a lady with a badge for the ride. She was to pick up a group of people associated with the ride who were also staying at the Oasis and nearby hotels, and took me under her wing. Did not realize that this would mean FOUR HOURS of waiting, but what the heck, they knew where I was going, and I didn't, and the price was right. Turned out that we had more people in a Japanese contingent than she had planned for, and also picked up a gentleman from India who was coming to the ride as an FEI delegate--had a mixup over his bag, and one of the Japanese had lost a camera, and so it went. She eventually rang for a second car, and the gentleman from India and I were ferried away to our various accommodations. Was never so glad to see a bed in a hotel room in my life!

When I woke up the morning before the ride, it turned out I had landed in a room on the 10th floor of the Oasis with a balcony overlooking the beach--wonderful view of the Gulf, and we were able to listen to the ocean all night through the open door.

The first day was taken with getting one of the infamous badges--at most FEI events, only those credentialled to get into the barn area have badges (officials, riders, grooms, chefs, team vets, etc.), but at this ride it had been decreed that EVERYONE would have a badge. Fortunately, most had already gotten badges, but I heard tales of people waiting hours on multiple days before getting theirs. Teddy Lancaster had already scoped out what needed to be done, hence I was able to get my badge in a mere two hours of waiting in line--some sort of record, I gather.

The horses were stalled in a barn at the Ghantoot Race Course--an absolutely phenomenal facility. To make the quarantine situation more workable, North American horses were housed in one area, South Americans in another area, Europeans in another area, and so forth. If someone from Europe had a North American horse leased, or some other combination, that person became a bit of an orphan as his or her horse would be housed in the barn from its own continent, and had to vet in with them, etc. A bit awkward at times, but it boiled down to the fact that by doing so, the various agricultural people from various countries would then agree to let the horses come home with very little quarantine time--well worth the hassle.

I had been pre-assigned to work on statistics with Teddy Lancaster, but upon my arrival, I was drafted by Nancy Elliott, Mike Foss, and Rick Stewart to be a part of a "road crew"--one of many who would crew for the riders at various predesignated p-stops along the trail. At 3 a.m. on ride day, the road crews assembled in the parking lot of the Oasis, were sorted into our assigned vehicles, and off we headed for the desert. We arrived first at the central veterinary check, and were able to watch the first few horses arrive before we piled back into our rigs and sallied forth. I had the good fortune to be paired with Lucie Hess from Missouri, who turned out to be a delightful lady. We had a Pakistani driver named Rias (no guarantee on the spelling) who spoke reasonable English, was a devout Muslim who stopped to say his prayers at appropriate times, and who was a self-educated deep thinker, thrilled to discuss comparative religion, family life, etc. with two wacky lady American endurance riders.

Enroute to our first stop, we got stuck in the sand, as did many other road crew vehicles. We all managed to get extricated with a little work, less air in the tires, some pushing, etc. We held the fort at the first p-stop on the second loop as an earlier crew went on to catch the front runners--first Shirley came to us, then Patty, then Ona and Darla. Ona had had some early bad luck with a broken bridle, and Darla had stayed with her to effect repairs and help her get to the first vet check without having a complete wreck with RC trying to chase everybody to the check.

Endurance rides are really the same everywhere--our next problem was a faulty fuel pump, followed by a flat tire--we managed to keep restarting the rig and get it back to camp, and fortunately the flat was at another p-stop where there was another American rig, as ours did not have a spare, so we were able to borrow theirs and get our rig back to camp. We were assigned another rig, so had to transfer all of our stuff, and then go out to the highway and fill it up, most of the gas cans were empty. We got back in time to be the p crew for the "neck" of loop 4--riders came by us a few miles after leaving the vet check and again a few miles before returning to camp. By this point in the ride the desert was beginning to take its toll on those who had hurried too much; loop 3 was deep sand and rather difficult terrain, even worse than loop 2 had been. Our riders went by in good order on the way out, and Valerie and Wendy were obviously among the first few past on the way in. This loop had better footing, and Darla and Ona were making a move--they had passed Shirley and Patty, as well as an awful lot of other riders, and Rams Z in particular looked like a million bucks going past us. RC looked great on the way into us, but was shivering a little, and did not want to keep up with Rams Z when they left--no hint of the lameness that would stop him at the upcoming vet check, but had the awful feeling that something was brewing. Wish I could have had a video of Rams Z galloping off over the horizon, though--what a horse! Was so sorry to learn on the phone that she was pulled at the check, but was also relieved that it was for a stone bruise, not for any major problem. We had really hoped we could have the opportunity to complete all 6 of the squad, and it was tough to come just 7 miles from that goal. Also, Ona's pull meant the difference between gold and silver--but on the bright side, almost no teams still had four riders in the hunt at that late point in the ride, so we were still in the medal chase providing Shirley could finish. According to stats, we were at that point 4th and 5th in the medal chase with New Zealand--UAE was ahead of us, along with France and South Africa, but all of those squads were down to three team horses, and all were eliminated from team competition late in the race. The bad news was that Shirley's horse had slowed down, was not eating, and had poor gut sounds at an earlier p-stop. Lari Shea's road crew had helped her there, and Patty Pizzo had stayed with her, showing how an individual rider can still make or break the team effort. Dusty made good use of his rest time at the previous p-stop--after walking to us, he had B gut sounds and an appetite, and stayed a bit longer with us to make sure that all would be well when he got to the vet check. Meanwhile, a call to the check assured us that despite Ona's pull, we were STILL IN THE MEDAL HUNT, so we passed the word on to Shirley to "make haste slowly" and to just do her best to finish! She got through the check in flying colors, and we were able to be at the finish line to greet her and Patty when they came in together and to see them through the final vetting.

It was the general concensus of those who have been to several World events that this was the most team-oriented squad we have ever sent. They worked together the entire pre-ride time, worked on strategies, and supported each other throughout the ride. Patty had the heartbreak of a tie-up after the haul to Dubai and bowed out of being a team member as a result, but rode a smart ride and got through; her help to Shirley illustrates how important EVERY squad member can be in bringing home team medals, be they team members or not. Our silver medal is a tribute to outstanding horsemanship, smart riding and hard work in the face of adversity (Sam's tie-up, RC's stone bruise, Dusty's problems on the trail) and is quite an accomplishment considering that no less than TEN teams posted team times, and many more were in the hunt for team medals right up to the bitter end. I know the team rankings are likely somewhere on the Net, but for those of you without Net access who might be curious, the ten qualifiers, in order, were: 1) New Zealand, 2) USA, 3) Australia, 4) Argentina, 5) Belgium, 6) Brasil, 7) Great Britain, 8) Jordan, 9) Sweden, and 10) Germany. Personally, I think EVERYBODY that managed to complete a team deserves hearty congratulations. (UAE, France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, and Poland all posted 2-rider times.)

The BC judging and the Closing Ceremonies have been pretty much discussed by others, and I have already put in my .02 about the closing ceremonies. Will only add here that the pageant was certainly different than what we would expect from a similar happening here, and was quite interesting if one did not try to judge it on the basis of a Broadway production. It was as much of a treat to watch the crowd at times--primarily a black-and-white panorama of UAE locals in their usual garb (men in white, women in black). The UAE is "progressive" in the sense that men and women are not segregated. (I swear, though, I was about ready to deck the next American who said anything about civilization only arriving recently in the desert--these cultures had irrigation systems, lighted streets, and codes of law when my European ancestors were still wearing skins and trying to keep the fire lighted in the cave in the winter. Am still hard-pressed to make up my mind which were more "civilized" in Dubai and Abu Dhabi--the folks in their dish-dashes, head covers and sandals or the obese "pink people" lounging in the deck chairs at the resort hotels with no clothes on, marinating in suntan lotion. No contest as to which were more polite, I am ashamed to say.)

Spent the following day with Teddy Lancaster and Heidi Siegel visiting the Camel Souk and touring downtown Dubai--the Gold Souk, the clothing merchants, etc. What a fascinating place, and what an opportunity to simply immerse one's self in another culture and enjoy. Every nook and cranny of every street and alley contains a tiny shop, bargaining, bargaining, bargaining... We each came away with a few small purchases to remember our trip. Most have signs out in English, and all have calculators and know the daily exchange rate--the downtown merchants actually give a slightly better rate than the airport, and a MUCH better rate than the hotel. My favorite sign was at the Camel Souk--a feed store with the English subtitle "Live Stock and Fooders."

Had planned a trip to Hatta on our last day, but unfortunately Teddy L was ill and also had still not run her passport to earth (her visa did not come through, so they had taken her passport at the airport)--with considerable help from Jim Bryant, she finally got it late in the afternoon, so was able to come home on time. I spent some time on the beach (hadn't had time to do that earlier) and pretty much relaxed for the day. I hope I have the opportunity to return to the UAE sometime and explore the historic areas inland--fascinating place.

After checking out of the hotel, Teddy and I spent some time at Creek Park in downtown Dubai, and finished off our tour at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant having fried rice and tea, waiting for our middle-of-the-night plane departure--one problem in a hot country is that it is very difficult to land or take off in large planes when it is extremely hot (no air density) hence most flights are scheduled to arrive and depart in the middle of the night.

I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to share in the tremendous success of our USA squad at this event as well as to see such an interesting place.

Heidi Smith, DVM--Sagehill Arabians (Oregon)

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Romania
Darolyn Butler

Hi everyone, finally getting our wits about us. Talk about a long shot, .... that amazing Laura Stoicescu!!!! Tried to get Laura to think about doing the WEC last summer. Way paid.... maybe this was the chance of a lifetime.... & as kids will, (she's 18 years old). She gave it no more thought until a few weeks before the event. This was her first semester at TX A&M & to her, (and maybe rightly so), it seemed more important than the WEC. Now we all know how it feels when the ride date gets closer & closer, & we say, maybe I should reconsider & go anyway. Well its one thing to pick up & go to a ride a few hundred miles away with your own rig & horses, but Laura was determined to go half way 'round the world & find a horse in the mean time.

I had just returned from Brazil (clinic in Sorocaba) on Nov. 23. Left for the Carolina Ride on 25th, Returned on 30th, & Laura's making serious noises about needing me to Chef d'Equipe for her at the WEC. Monday thru Wednesday it was touch & go.... I'm afraid I didn't offer much encouragement, but when it appeared the officials were going to welcome her at this late date, I was able to find out Bill Smith's name & number from Connie Caudill, and Laura gave him a call in hopes of securing a mount. Now... to find 5 people, who #1 had a passport, #2 could leave on Monday Dec. 7 for a week, #3 & of course be willing to be a slave for a day or two or three!!! Not so difficult.... Laura's mother, Angela, Ann Pfeiffer (of Animal Tacker), Sharon Saare, and Kirk Caudle, (the most wonderful farrier, pinch hit pit crew in the world.)

1st snag, we all thought we would fly out of IAH, (N. side of Houston, 10 min. from my house, at 4 on Mon. then found out at 8 AM that it was at Hobby, hour drive south at 2:55. Problem, Sharon didn't arrive from Denver until after 12.pm ... no way. Hour on phone, flights changed. whew!!!! Remembered at airport, no stethescope, no heart monitor,.... someone ran it over to gate from my house at the last minute. whew!!! No glitches to Atlanta, no glitches to Zurich, glitches to UAE!!! Ann's visa had not been approved.... 8 hrs later, they got tired looking at us... kept passport... let us thru. Now at Base (Racetrack/Jizera Hotel) we have about 18 hours until race time. Must get badges, (4 hour process), meet horse, vet check, weigh in (that was yesterday) uh-ho.... get pennies, trot out, shoe horse, fit tack, acquire feed for race day, mix feed and assort so it will fit into one small car with 5 people & extra saddle. Prepare tack, fanny packs, & on & on. Laura (and the rest of us were suffering from jet lag & lack of sleep), but hey.... Endurance riders can do anything.

6:00 off to Final (and only for me Chef d'Equipe meeting...) discover Laura's "Rider's Penny" is not in sack.... ask them to give her one, off to meeting.... meeting incredibly slow, (but I did get to ask all the stupid questions people had asked days before), waiting on the slash cards, car stickers & vet cards to be delivered. Finally thru, grabbed a bite to eat, went by to say goodnite to Laura, (she was at Jezira, we were :30 min. away near Dubai), NO PENNY!!!! Back to the office... finally at 10:30 received a #190, (not her #174.... just tell them Jim Bryant said it was Ok!!! OK.......

Bed at 12:00, whoops, forgot to leave wakeup call for Laura, can't get thru to Jezira, answering machine, no problem, just leave a little earlier.

Barn, 3:00 AM race day.... smoothest part of the day, saddled up, put rider up, took picture, left to join caravan.... hmmmm... this is gonna be okkkk..

Joined caravan, 1/2 of caravan split, that 1/2 lost,/... Kirk struck out on his own. hmmm... pretty good guy. We eventually found ourselves crossing the desert with a lot of other insane people in the dark, dust and sand dunes. What an adventure, 5 in a car/plus saddle, & not a 4 wheel drive.

Arrived VET Check... very IMPRESSED!!!! Restaurants, bathrooms, private crew areas with horse showers & fans.... not too bad!!! Riders in, hoping Laura would be about 1 hour or less behind... not so, what's wrong? Wave was suppose to be in shape for heat & humidity... big nice Anglo, in from Australia 3 weeks before. Finally she's in... BIG PROBLEM.... we broke #1 rule about trying something new. Caged, leather covered stirrups, heavy & too much torc for ankles, on a fairly new saddle. Laura's crippled & in a #9 pain threshold. Change stirrups, massage feet & ankles, Ck #2, still a problem, more massage, change shoes, helps a little... Ck #3, Danielle Kanavy's out, she's nice enough to loan us her saddle,( its well broke in & helps a ton). Ck #4 Laura's holding her own. She leaves just as Valarie wins the race.... that helps with adrenalin!!!

Ck #5... "I can't post anymore" she says... got lots of horse, but no legs & ankles left." "Ok," I sez," canter 3 minutes & walk 1 ... You can do it!!!" Sure she can... & out she goes for the last 9 miles or so. And in she comes just a little after 10 PM. Hurrah!!!! She can't walk, or think real good, but she knows she's done it & she's proud. Darolyn goes with the horse to the final check & on to the "hospital" for the final ok & lorry ride home, Kirk, Angela & Sharon escort a weary Laura back to the hotel. Actually, since our Hotel was on the way, Angela & Sharon, were let out there & Kirk continued on to the Jezira with Laura. Since the car was so crowed, (we now had 3 saddles), Ann had caught a ride hours earlier with the Portugal team, who had decided to explore the desert for a few hours. They passed the same stuck jeep at least twice, and didn't arrive home until 2 AM. Back at the Jezira, Laura spoke to Jim Baldwin, & Kirk a few moments, toddled off toward her room #407, but as she passed 402 she became naseaus, threw up a wee bit, knocked on door for help, & whose room should it be but the hotel doctor. Now, you know what we all look like after a 100 miler, & remember Laura can hardly walk due to the ankle thing, & her throw up was almost black due to the fact that I had been pouring KM down her all day, (very dark colored herbal Potassium supplement), so Dr. devines that she is bleeding internally & has taken an overdose of Ibuprofen.... (only 6 in 20 hours... come on doc, most of us take that over two vet checks. Wants to haul her hospital. Kirk is called, "Please don't!! Let me call her mom or get Darolyn!"" He rushes to barn where I have just pulled up in Lorry with horse, who was a scrambler & has managed to fall down only 4 or 5 times during the trip home, I'm worried sick about him, but then Kirk screeches to a halt, yells at me that Laura's getting hauled off to the hospital, I jump up, hit my head on fur down of Lorry cab & almost knock myself out. Jump out & in to car, speed to hotel, too late... she's gone to Central Hospital in Abu Dahbi. GROANNNN!!! Almost got in fight with Dr. cause he sent her, almost with desk cause they wouldn't tell us how to get there. Finally nice Allison, calmy called hospital, got us directions & off we went. Falsely hoping to intercept ambulance & get her back. No such luck. 1.5 hrs later we finally arrive in emergency room... Laura's sitting up eating a pita bread sandwich, IV's in her arms & ankles wrapped in gauze. No amount of conjoling, arguing, crying could convince them to turn her loose, so at 5:30 AM settled down on a couch & chair for a nap.... Finally broke her out around 7:30... no mean feat even then. Back to Jizera, put her to be, down to our hotel, consoled a worried mom, ate breakfast, collasped into bed. Ann, Sharon & Angel took car to go back to Jizera & left Kirk & I to sleep finally. Marcello Grilo, (Chile Team Vet) had looked in on Wave on arrival, & Dr.'d what I hope were superficially cuts, Dr. Baldwin checked him again in the morning & said he seemed alright.

Didn't know or understand schedule that afternoon, thought one of the Ladies would come back after us & take us to awards.... notttt... they called & woke me at 2:21 to tell us, ( Kirk & I) to catch the 2:20 bus as they wouldn't have time to come get us & get back by the 3:30 bus leaving the Jerzira. Call the desk, hold the bus, run to bus with shoes & make up in hand.... whew!!! Got to Jezeri,... literally dressed, melted & poured Laura into her clothes & into the bus for the ride to the stadium... hmmm. looks familiar... exact same route to hospital night before. She was still a little green around the gills, thought sure I would loose her under hot stadium... fanned her til arms got tired. Finally we march, sit, offer food & drink....not so bad....neat dancing girls, horses, camels, fireworks. I told Laura, those Sheiks were probably saying, "They'll forget all about that timing glitch, once they see all these fireworks!!! NOT!!!! ;-) Back to Jezira, nice pool party, placing awards presented, She's 54th, she's also asleep. She's mad a me next day for not waking... wait, I just barely heard them above the noise, just barely made the diaz myself to get it. Left early, (at 3 AM before the baptizing started in the pool).

Played catch up Saturday, got airline tickets straightened out, found time to do a desert safari, (Laura felt great then), rode camels, visited an Oasis for dinner... tra laa... back to hotel, packed in record time, put Angela & Ann on bus, kirk & I (in car) dropped big saddle bag by Jizera for laura to bring (she was on flight 6 hours later) & off we went. Non eventful ride home.... lots of sleeping, arrive 5:30 pm Sunday, luggage is one flight behind, not a big deal, went to eat, collected luggage, call at 11:00 from Laura's mom. No saddle bag!!! It had been put in a private car of a friend who was going to take her to airport... he was fogged in, didn't show, she caught bus & saddle & all that gear is still sitting in Dubai.... Anyone have any ideas????? Please e mail me privately if you do.

End of Romanian story.... wouldn't have missed the trip... but might have changed a few things in the bargain. Great show there... I agree with most.. just cultural difference in booing issue... we were not offended... in fact I was very impressed when immediately after Valarie's win, 3 of the top guys, locked arms & made a very purposeful trip over to Valarie's camp to congratulate her. Everyone treated us just fine!!!

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Romania
Laura Stoicescu

Photo of Laura
Hi, everyone! Just finished my semester's finals towards my Biomedical Engineering degree at Texas A&M University, so I thought I'd drop you a line and tell you about my experience at the 1998 World Endurance Championship (160 km), where I finished 54th place out of 173 horses with a time of 14:01:17, on an a 9-year-old Anglo-Arab named Wave.

Although my home is in Houston, Texas, I am Romanian by birth, still speak Romanian, and was able to represent Romania with the permission of the Romanian Equestrian Federation. While I was in Romania this past summer to visit relatives, I met with the Secretary General of Youth and Sports to show my desire and potential for riding in international endurance events. He complemented my riding ability and was impressed with my AERC rider mileage record. This would be the first year for Romania to compete in any international endurance event.

Let me tell you, this race was something totally different from any endurance event I have ever done! More teamwork than ever before. You have to remember that you're not riding for yourself anymore, or for the fun of just being out there -- you're actually representing a country! I was introduced at the World Championships as "Romania," and while I was in Dubai I made many friends in different countries all over the world.

The race was one of the best things that could happen to an 18-year-old University student, and it taught me many things that just can't be taught in a University. I've learned what the other side of the world looks like, how many different ways things can be done, and how important preparation is. I've always been able to do my studying one or two days before the test and still make a 4.0 GPR. That can't be done in Endurance -- you have to be organized, prepared (mentally and physically) and, most importantly, be ready to ride under any extreme condition. I had a great crew to help me out in this race: Kirk Caudle of Houston, Texas is one of the best farriers in the world and also one of the nicest people that I know. Sharon Saare is the famous saddle maker of the popular Sharon Saare endurance saddles, and helped me decide which saddle to use. Ann Pfeiffer is the owner of Animal Tacker, and she was kind enough to provide the tack for both me and my horse. Darolyn Butler, also of Houston, Texas, provided me with many helpful connections and assisted me with lots of last min preparations. I hope I can one day repay them. My mom came along to help with the media and report back to Romania all the news of this prestigious event.

While in Dubai, I met some of the nicest people I have ever met in my life. Jim Baldwin is a great guy with lots of information, Jim Bryant did a lot of work in connection with even making it possible for me to do this ride, and many local UAE residents spoke wonderful English and helped me and my team learn about this fascinating country. Bill Smith from England is also someone to whom I owe many, many thanks; he provided the wonderful horse Wave -- owned by Sheik Mohammed -- for me to ride.

I have made many great memories from the race and I am glad I was able o do it.

Sincerely,
Laura Stoicescu
stoicescu@tamu.edu

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WEC and Me
Teddy Lancaster

What happened to my shipment?

Best I can surmise is lack of "expediting" from the freight forwarders named, aptly "Expediters, International"

The shipment arrived in Paris on December 4th only to have the Dec. 5th flight canceled (Ok, I can live with a day's delay), but for the next three days, I was told every day that the shipment had not been put on the next flight (evidently ONE a day)and would be on the next. When Tuesday evening rolled around and I was again promised it would be on that night's flight, I told them to send it back. It would have arrived in Dubai on Wednesday evening and since Thursday/Friday is their weekend, not get customs clearance until Saturday when all is said and done.

Unfortunately, someone screwed up and the shipment got sent to Dubai (to arrive on Thursday) instead of home. It sat there until Tuesday and is now on it's way to Amsterdam on KLM, hopefully to be transferred to Detroit by Thursday and on to a truck Thursday night for arrival in Columbus Friday AM...then customs clearance and delivery to me.

Sounds like I will be able to make Christmas deliveries to my customers, but it will be VERY tight.

Still considering a suit for lost sales and exposure as well as futures, I am NOT a lawyer and cannot understand "fine print", so time will tell.

Thanks a million for your concern and that from a great many other people. Roger and Ann Pfeiffer evidently had great sales with the small amounts they brought, I was bombarded daily while over there and felt awful about not being able to help. I send 1000 pounds of just about everything except saddles, pads and girths. Lots of electrolytes, glo-sticks and many other endurance "needs". I also shipped a big tent, bought banners, made special flyers, made special T-shirts, etc...

I hung in well until that Tuesday night when I KNEW my stuff would not arrive on time. I went to the Party and ride meeting at the Jazira to 1.) tell everybody the bad news, 2.) not be alone so I would not cry, but I did anyway.

But, with nothing I could do any further, I dove into my laptop, set-up the stats for the team competition and got ready for the "big day". I had a ball, was exhausted and got blisters on my feet from all the "snooping" that needed to be done after the computer system (Smartvision's) broke down. It was exhilarating, exasperating and exhausting. It was also frustrating.

I picked up every newspaper I could find that had stories before and after the ride and took 7 rolls of film. I was (and am) VERY angry at the fact that I spent 4 days in the hotel waiting for phone calls instead of being able to meet people from around the world and go on tours.

Then, after the fiasco (my opinion) of an awards ceremony which took far longer to get to and get back from...not to mention being trapped at the Jazira hounding the UAE Secretariat about my passport and waiting for a bus, and after having gotten up early the day after the race to see BC judging which was postponed repeatedly, I was exhausted.

The fun trip with Heidi's Smith and Siegel to the Camel and Gold Souks was a blast, but we were too tired to go to the USA Celebration party that night. I woke up feeling sick Sunday AM and threw up - something I do once every 20 years - and spent the day in bed, barely daring to even eat yogurt and waiting for phone calls from Jim Bryant who, beyond my belief, not only remained calm and cool throughout all the hassles of the event, but was extremely concerned and helpful. We got the hotel to extend our check-out until 6 PM (plane flight at 3 AM). I got my passport at 4 PM. By that time, I was feeling better, but very weak.

So, the Sunday drive to Hatta was not to happen. I am not a city person and was longing to see the only mountains of the UAE. The tour photos were more than enticing. So, even though the trip was a disaster in many ways, it was truly the experience of a lifetime.

Would I do it again? Ask me next month...

Am I writing a story...you bet!!!! But, even with over 300 journalists there, few of whom will say a bad word, I feel it is important to tell the world about the REAL problems. Pats on the back are great, we all need them, but unless we face our short-comings, we will never improve. In my opinion, the USA did a good job, but far from a great one. I see the world "catching up" to us. Like Dylan Thomas said: "He who is not busy being born, is busy dying".

Later, and a hug to all who cared. My problems were nothing compared to Dominique Freedman's to whom my heart goes out.

Teddy

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Leo's Report
Leonard Liesens

Hi there

!!! please disregard the spelling or english errors !!!!! I'm still in the air so increadibly happy about our team result; well a little bit disapointed about nor getting the bronze as announced by the organizing committee at the finish.

The whole computer system has been a total mess and everyone was deseperatly looking for information. Would we have known about our position relatively to our competitors, then we would have speed up a little bit in place of loosing time at the vet or on the trail. But the race is gone and it's too simple to re-ride it...

Anyway

We choosed as tactic to start carefully and try to walk in the dunes and canter as often as possible. Orfeo was cantering at a HRM value ranging from 100 to 115 on hard sand (maybe we could navigate faster without spending much more energy... but who knows :). Our horse were not drinking for the whole first loop; they only start drinking at the first vetgate.

I remember the wait for the start being close to Val and Danielle and their horse start peing; seing this orfeo did too... thanks Val!

At the first vet, we took only 2 min to be ready at 60 beat per min.

At the second loop, we where sppeding up and covered about the whole 35 km at the canter, stopping at each water point for letting the horse drink and taking water from the pakistani helpers (thanks guys, you did a great job... they where really very sympathic!!!). The water they gave WAS MINERAL WATER packed in 1,5 liter bottles!!! Amazing isn't it???

During this loop we were catching and passing a lot of riders. We were only concerned about our 4th horse, Jezabel who was panting very much. At the 2nd vetgate, she took a long time to recover, pass the vetcheck, but her crew and our vet decided to pull (good decision for her wellfare). Orfeo and Krizzia (half sister and brothers - same sire) recovered very fast; Greece took more time .

At the third loop, we were loosing about a quarter discussing about the new tactic : would we go in front with Krizzia and Orfeo, leaving Greece behing ? No, we decided to keep the initial team tactic and eventually slow down for Greece.

Third loop was announced as very difficult. the first 15 Km were only hard sand that we covered by cantering all the time. then we got lots of sand dunes that we manegd to pass by trotting in the bush, looking for harder sand compared to the trail. I think this was a good decision because we passed a lot a riders. at the end of the 3rd loop, we could catch and pass the whole british team which had choosen for the same tactic (stay all together). Temperature was VERY HIGH, but dry (about 40/45 degrees celsius) Again, we had to wait a little bit for Greece (he is a half trotter, half arab and didn't probably managed the heat as well as our arabs).

Fourth loop... again hard sand for 15 Kms with lot of canter and trot. Orfeo was in great shape pullig the others. Then the darkness... very few markings (only one floashing light every 2 Km, placed without any consistency sometimes at the left sometimes at the right part of the 'trail'. We had to do cross country with all the risks. We where loosing a lot of time because we could only trot very slowly. We catched once again the british team (they departed in front of us... don't know why... recovering time ??? or probably we starter too late ... don't remember) who was in the dark without any flash lights and we covered the rest of the loop alltogether, chating and joking (belgian men and british women ... :))))

Thenjust before departing for the last loop, Marja Perringerard (french team ... arrived at 11th place) told us that we where competing for the bronze. We left the vet at full galop. I'm sure Orfeo was knowing this was the last effort and the last loop. We was incredibly spirited (What a horse). I had to wait all the time for the others. We were accompagnied (like the other teams) with a 4x4 of our crew lighting the trail and could trot and canter in order to keep enough distance with the british team which was behind.

at 3or 4 km from the finish, we cath a rider (danish) that I learn afterwards (by Steph) it was Len Hollander (not sure of the spelling). Her horse was fully exhausted but she tried to follow us.

I heard that she was pulled at the finish (poor woman).

The last 500 meters was covered at full galop, hand in hand withour 3 horses.

Incredible moment of my live!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Orfeo was checked the last... everyone keeping his breath and when the vet made the positive sign, this was the explosion... we where thinking we got the bronze (this was even confirmed by the secretariat, but they were wrong).

Steph was as happy as we were. Thank you Steph, you did and incredible job taking care of Orfeo and keeping everybody cool, together with Luc, my son.

Finally Belgium was 5th and first european nation. We have at this time only 5 100 miles horse in our country and no more than 30 riders doing 50 or 75 miles rides. Not bad!

Best regards
Leonard, from Belgium

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Marcy Pavord from England

It was an incredible event and I think we'll all be talking about it for a long time to come. It provided food for thought in many respects and I think everyone who was there learned one **** of a lot.

First things first! The vets worked incredibly hard, both before the competition, working out how best to control the event to prevent problems and during the event to make sure that every horse got the best possible attention. There was a team of I think 22 commission vets, of which Tony was one. He also went out two weeks early and did day and night stable duty, looking after the horses pre-ride. They had quite a few problems, most of which can probably, if a little speculatively, be put down to riders doing too much work with them before they had recovered sufficiently from the journey.

A few of the less experienced countries did not have their own team vet, or the vets did not come out till nearer the competition. There is also an important research study being done on the effects of travel/competition and stress, going to a hot climate, etc. The results should be interesting. The commission consisted of half FEI panel vets and half vets working locally in the Middle East. There was a training seminar for the whole commission before the ride to make sure they all understood how they had to carry out the vetting procedures and what standards to apply. In addition there were several local vets operating as roving vets on the course and a full team of treatment vets, running the clinic that was specially set up at the vetgate. Every horse, pass or fail, was cleared by the clinic before it travelled back to the stables at Ghantoot.

There were a few hiccups, such as the transporter that got stuck overnight in the desert with I think 9 horses on board. However, the horses were all looked after...

One horse was put down after the race, but the post mortem showed that it had a pre-existing problem with its heart valves, probably due to an earlier illness. This was an American horse on lease to the Brazilian team. A couple were detained at the clinic in Dubai for a few days but were recovering well when we left. Given the number of horses competing and the inexperience of some of the countries this was a pretty amazing result. The whole vet team did a wonderful job.

On to other things.

I did a couple of talks at pre-ride workshops along with Valerie Kanavey. Talking about rider tactics she said that she always kept her horse's heart rate under 130 for the first stage of the ride, that this was going to be a free for all in the early stages and riders should be careful not to go too fast, or get carried along, just because other idiots were going too fast in front. Not her exact words but that was the gist of what she said.

So what does she do when it comes to the competition? Gets out in front with the leading bunch and not only stays there but runs Sheikh Mohammed and a whole bunch of others right off their legs. Don't let anyone ever tell you again that championships are not won from the front!

I have to say - yes I have to! - that the Kanavey team are extremely professional and boy was that horse fit. He didn't look any more particularly wonderful than any other horse and he was what Tony calls 100 mile sound at the finish, but you certainly couldn't have eliminated him for lameness. If I had to guess what their "secret" is, I would say, they are on to every detail that can improve their performance and are 100 per cent on the ball. Also they are out there to win. Having the money and time obviously help (!) but even so you can't do it without determination and a lot of hard work.

The Americans in general were undoubtedly the best prepared team - what they didn't have in their kit was not worth having and who they didn't have in their back up team was not worth knowing. There were at least three vets in addition to the team vet that I know of, plus a huge number of people detailed to man specific crew points and keep track of statistics i.e. how the competition was doing, so they knew what their medal potential was at any given time, despite the breakdown of the ride computers. They even had their own generator and water sprays which they set up in the vetgate the night before the race.

New Zealand on the other hand had less experience and less ballyhoo but were incredibly nice, down to earth, sensible people and their horses and riders (average age I think around 48!) were all extremely hardened and fit. Several of their horses earn their keep looking after stock on their sheep stations back home. They rode a tactical race, concentrating on getting their team round in gold time - and succeeding! All the horses, along with the Aussies are due in Britain for the quarantine period before they can go home and they arrive on Friday at Heathrow. Both the NZ and Aussie horses were really impressive.

The other horse that took my breath away completely was Ratzia d'Alauze, a French mare by Persik bred by Denis Pesce, which won Florac in 1997, bought by Sheikh Mo and ridden by his son Sheikh Hamdan. She finished in fourth place, trotted up beautifully and presented within one minute of finishing, pulse 56/56. All day, she just walked straight into the vetgates, what a mare!!

Well, what about the Brits performance. OK, to finish four out of five starters in a race of that calibre must be a commendable effort. I wouldn't want to take anything away from that and every horse that finished that race successfully, in unaccustomed going and conditions deserves tremendous respect.

But why didn't they do better? We've taken the intermediate team to Belgium for several years and beaten them hollow every time - how come they overtook and beat us en masse?

And Brazil? Argentina?

Someone said oh this was a contest between horses from hot countries and cold countries and you can't draw any real conclusions about the differing performances... so New Zealand is a hot country then? I think not! It has extraordinary climatic extremes of hot, cold, violent winds, etc. Belgium is hardly hot either.

Brazil and Argentina may be hotter, but they've hardly the experience that we have.

Somebody from New Zealand said to me with great satisfaction, "We just trotted round quietly, looking after our team." So did the Brits I guess - just a lot more slowly!

Please don't take this as a gripe against our horses or riders. The four that finished did so in great condition and I'm sure they were riding to their team orders. I just think they could have done it faster. Another comment I heard was "You need to be in there with a shout - if necessary, you can slow down later or pull the horses if they are tired." I think this is the crux of it.

For some countries, just finishing is important at a world championship, e.g. for Brazil - they were over the moon. But for us, who have been there and won team gold twice, there isn't a lot of point in that IMHO, and I stress this is only my opinion.

If we don't have a shot at a medal, I really don't see much point in being at the starting line. All this is very speculative, as I wasn't involved with the team or how they were doing during the race and they weren't even at our end of the vetgate, so I didn't see them at all. I think we need to have a think about our philosophy though.

The French for example gambled and this time they lost. The first gamble was not travelling their horses until a week before the ride. That proved a mistake. The second gamble was in trying for a team medal. Only two finished, but they finished in =11th place.

In any other ride, I would say, yes, to finish is to win. In a World Championship, I don't think so.

Nevertheless, all congratulations to Jo, Carrot, Jane and Anne. They went there and did the job they were told to do and their horses are still in the top 50 in the world.

Best condition: This was won by Cameo Zaire, the horse that pulled out of Shropshire Hills 100 because "the sky was leaking too much" then went on to pip Silver Leaf for the Spirit of Sherwood 100. He finished seventh individually, ridden by Musallem al Amri and he trotted out next day with big floating trot that would bring tears to your eyes. All credit to the trainer Ali Al Amri. I had a long talk to him in the bar on our last night and I'm really impressed with his attitude to his horses and his ability to bring out the best in them.

Ali had two horses in the race and he pulled the second one, Lionheart, because he was tired. He didn't wait for the horse to be spun.

Nelson and Sheikh Mohammed. Nelson was not at his best, for one reason or another. He put up a brave show, but in trying to keep with Valerie Kanavy he took too much out of himself and had to be pulled at the last vetgate. Disappointing for Sheikh but I'm sure he'll learn from the experience as he does from everything. They have the Middle East Championships ahead of them in February. Sheikh Rashid was also in their team and his horse pulled out somewhere on the course, so that they only finished two of their four, Sheikh Hamdan on Ratzia and Abdullah Bilhab on an American horse called Cass.

There are other interesting things to mull over, especially some of the discussions among the vets as to ways to improve the safety of the horses, etc. ....

Marcy

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Ramblings... Steve Shaw

I have a lot to say about the happenings in Dubai and it will probably take about a week and a half to get them all out. I hope dribbling them out will be easier on all of you instead of one long missive that puts me to sleep too in writing it.

But here is something that relates to the AWARDS CEREMONY and the booing that occured.

Michele and I thought it rather inconvienent to have to take a bus three hours early to go the one hour drive to the awards ceremony in another city. They wanted to show off the Sheik Zar.... Stadium and stated that there would be 30,000 in attendance (yeah, right we thought). So we drove ourselves and I figured, in typical virgo fashion, that we could get there 10 minutes early and still it wouldn't start for another two hours like everything else that had happened up to date over there. BIG WRONG.

As we neared the stadium they started shutting down the streets around the parking area. Little did we know that they had already filled up the stadium? and were not letting any more cars in because they were not letting anyone into the stadium any more. The young officier who told me that we would have to drive away wouldn't recognise our American flag on the car, nor our credentialing badges or USA shirts. He just motioned and said "move on." Well he made a mistake at looking at the car behind us and stepping that way one step. So I stepped on the gas and Michele kept her head down half expecting a barrage of bullets. I actually knew that he wouldn't come after us because to move his vehicle would mean to lose control of the intersection and the rest of the traffic that wanted to get in.

Well we made it to the stadium and there was plenty of parking but many white robed young men milling around all of the 26 gates trying to get in? We couldn't figure it out. Each gate had four or more army personel manning them and two to four rows of locals standing there to get in. You can imagine the contrast of Michele and I, both 5'9" tall in our American flag short sleeved shirts amoung the white robed locals. We pushed our way to the front of the nearest gate and tried to talk our way in. They didn't speak Enlish put we all settled on Spanish, they wanted to speak French first. After much pointing of my cell phone, dropping Sheik this and that names, American team, "credentials", ceremony to start, etc., an officer far in the background motioned to the guards to let just us through. It was strange when the locals just parted to let us pass instead of mobbing us like Michele thought they were going to.

Now to find the particpants sitting area. Not to be. There was another gate in the interior that we simply could not talk our way through. So we headed up into the stands. An army guard motioned us over and pointed to two seats, the ONLY two seats, left in a literal sea of white robes. I swear the entire crowd up there grew silent as long haired and long legged Michele and I tried to discretely find those two seats. Once settled Michele was looking around to find only two other women in the whole section and the men near me started up very freindly conversations. They wanted to know all about us! Four feet away was this eight foot fense with barbed wire around the top, separating us from the honoured guests on that other side. Low and behold, there was the American contingency just on the other side of it! There was Wendy Mattingly, Pete Fields and Grace Ramsey and others to save us if this group turned ugly!

Now comes the whole point to my story. These stands were filled with nearly 44,000 locals. They were enticed here with the promise of a show with fireworks and displays of their heritage. As the lights went out they lit cigarrett lighters and threw paper airplanes down onto the field. It was really just a big political ralley. They take it as part of their custom to support the home team. Their booing was filled with laughter and smiles. Anytime a UAE was mentioned they cheered to honour their Sheiks. We were right in the middle of them and I can tell you they were feeling no disrespect. They were simply having FUN, like at a melodrama. It is how their culture is. We had a fun time with them up there and they were interested in us.

The show was quite impressive and displayed their customs and heritage and had absolutely nothing to do with endurance riding other than handing out of awards to a bunch of non Emmirates. They simply wanted to get on with the show. When the ruler of the country finally showed up late and at the very end, they put on the whole show again just for him, sans the fireworkds and awards. It went on for another hour after we had all left but I imagine that most of the locals stayed to see it over agian and to see their ruler.

We couldn't tell who won best conditioned with all of the noise and mistakes, but that whole fiasco is another story.

...The BC Judging

Just another example of our frustrations at the Dubai WEC.

Best condition judging was slated for 11:00 AM on the Friday after the race. It was to be held at the polo fields stadium at the Ganntoot facility which is in the midst of the various barns set up to sequester the different countries. There is not a real way of walking to this area as the facilities do not have sidewalks or paths or such. Everyone there drives or is driven. It is about a ten minute drive from the Jaziera Beach Hotel which for all practical purposes was the main venue site. Jaziera Beach Hotel was the main gathering place because that is where you had to get your coveted credentialing pass which for this person took only a day and a half to get. (Simply because I am so focused in vet checks!) I think that getting visa's or smuggling Teddy's goods into the country would have been easier than what we all went through to get these passes. The officials were being so picky and had so many problems with the computer and lost pictures and priorities. The funniest thing was that when one of the road crew support volunteers finally got his pass the day before the race, he got one of the best green badges because they had run out of yellow. Green badges gave you total access to any of the barns or internal workings of the vet check on race day. They meant you are "somebody." Not to say that Bob Padget isn't somebody.

Now you need to understand that really to get to the best conditioned judging you had to drive nearly 40 minutes simply because only about a fourth of the spectators or participants could stay at the Jaziera Beach Hotel, there were not enough rooms there. Three quarters of the spectators had to drive from the Raddison, Oasis, Meriden and other hotels on the "strip" which is actually in another Emirate and a $20 taxi fare from the polo fields. People on the strip only found out about the change in BC judging time, from 11:00 to 12:00 by word of mouth.

We all finally get into the stands and here is what best condition judging amounted to. Six horses trot around in a circle one way and then the other. Then an official speaks in three different languages saying that three have been chosen to progress to the next phase of judging which we won't see. These are numbers 5, 11 and XX. Not all of the horses have numbers on them by now and they never mentioned the names or riders of the horses. We will be told the winner at the awards ceremony that evening. (You all have already heard that it was in Arabic and turned out to be another horse anyways.) It all takes about ten minutes max. For this we all drove out and spent two hours hanging out. Well at least we knew the colors of the horses chosen.

In major rides and at all Ride & Tie championships best condition judging is a chance to educate the spectators and participants about the endurance horse. What is import to keep the horse ready for showing after a day of racing, how the scoring takes place, how finishing time factors in, weight parameters, soundness, scores during the day, what current metabolic parameters are significant What is the background of this or that horse. Something that we can take with us to judge our own horses by at the finish of a 100.

Needless to say I was disappointed and wasted a morning that I could have spent towing one of the USA team's support vehicles out of the desert (which I got to do in the heat of the day and all afternoon instead.)

One of the best BC judging takes place at the TEVIS. It is a real show and you actually learn something.

...Why the BC Judging was Postponed

Late, late at night they were finally shutting down the race site and vet check out in the middle of the desert. By the way this site for all of us was a hour and twenty minute drive with absolutely no signage on how to get there. On race day it didn't matter because the dust was so thick and in the dark you wouldn't have been able to see the signs any ways. But it was not too hard to find the vetcheck, you simply followed the path of cars stuck in the sand, many abandoned with their flashers on. It only took my car two hours to find the vetcheck/race site and I had been there once already. But back to the race officials shutting down the vet check. All of the last vets, timers and officials were ready to leave for the hotels and barns. Jim Bryant says "I know the way on the new road' and I'll lead you out, it will only take a half hour." So twenty vehicles with three to four in each take off across the desert. Halfway there the groups get separated and the lead group turns around to find the laggers, some of which are stuck in the sand. In the mess of getting everyone turned around they get disoriented and can't find the road. The French vets have two bottles of wine and Juan has a flash of rum. They all settled down and waited until dawn when they could figure out where they were. The convoy finally made it back to the barns close to 9:00 AM and that is why they postponed the BC judging.

Actually everyone was quite glad that the officials did not miss the experiences that the rest of us enjoyed throughout the week.

Steve Shaw

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Kiwi Story

Kiwis have gold -- (Dec 11) New Zealand has surprised the endurance world with a teamwin in the World Endurance Championships in Duabi, which finished this morning (NZ time).

It is the first time a New Zealand team has competed at the games.

. The 160km desert marathon began in the dark at 5.45am on Thursday (Dubai time) finished when the last New Zealand rider finished at about 7.45pm.

The United States won the individual gold for the third consecutive games. This result has tal(en the endurance world by storm as New Zealand has never Competed at a world championships before.

Four Kiwis finished the event; team riders John Stevenson (Tirau) riding Taralea Kaja, Jenny Hearn (Whakatane) on Simbar, Alan McCaughan (Tauranga) riding Tonka, and Kevin James (Timaru) on Glendaar Sarita.

Individual Ray Tylee, of Owhango in the King Country, was eliminated from after the first 40km lap. His horse Minstrel stood on a piece of broken concrete in the dark shortly after the start. The other individual competitor, Timaru's Ainsley King, retired her horse Malik after he came down with colic at the end of the third lap after 111km. She says the horse had been coping well with the desert conditions.

The team's oldest member, 61-year-old Alan McCaughan, and his part Appaloosa gelding Tonka led the New Zealand contingent from the start, pulling along 49-year-old Jenny Hearn's Arabian gelding in the later stages of the race.

John Stevenson rode his own race, while further back Kevin James and Ainsley King rode together until Ainsley withdrew. The riders said after that riding in the soft sand was like having lead attached to their horses' hooves. That and the grueling desert heat made for the toughest ride of their lives.

The individual winner was Valerie Kanavy (USA) riding High Winds Jedi. She took the world champion title from her daughter Danielle, who had earlier dethroned her mother in the 1994 championships.

Italian Fausto Fiorucci was second riding Faris Jabar, and Daisuke Yasunaga of Japan claimed bronze, just three years after taking up endurnace riding. Back to top