Notes from the Field
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Arrivals
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The Hay Experience
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ArrivalsWell we made it - arrived last night to Abu Dhabi around 1am. I flew to Belgium on Sunday to begin the adventure as groom for my Belgian friend, Leonard Liesens, and his beautiful gray horse Arazi. A couple days in Belgium, trying to arrange travel, pack and prepare Arazi for his first big trip. The communication with the OC for this ride has been a little sparse... [More ...] |
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Settling InIt's Sunday here, Februay 15, 4 days till the ride. A few more riders/grooms are trickling in, but it still seems pretty quiet and low-key. We're staying at the Al Dhial Gulf Hotel in Abu Dhabi (very very nice!) and it's a 40 minute drive out to the barn. They gave us all rigs as soon as we arrive, our is an Isuzu Trooper - since I'll be driving the course alongside Leonard while he rides I did some testing of it out in the desert - so far so good! [More ...] |
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Quiet InterludeThe last two days have been pretty mellow. I went out to the stables in the morning alone, Leonard and family sleeping after returning from the airport around 2am. Turned out Arazi, cleaned the stall, did the Steward/Vet stuff (temperature, blood drawn) organized the tack and feed a little, took Arazi for a walk. Arazi is a real spooker so I'm opting to hand-walk him rather than ride him (I can just see me on the ground, Arazi disappearing into the desert). [More ...] |
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First Veterinary EvaluationAll of the horses are on the premises now, the UAE barn is quite far from ours though so we haven't seen much new activity. The first veterinary inspections are this afternoon, and tomorrow will be final inspections and trot-outs. [More ...] |
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The Hay ExperienceWe've been trying to find a source of local hay for a few days now - the grass hay that they raise here - primarily for the camels. It's nothing special, some sort of brome mix, higher in fiber, lower in sugars. The horses really seem to like it though - I think they're spending more time in the stalls, a righer diet in general (excellent timothy, grain rations) and are just craving some plain old high fiber grass hay. [More ...] |
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Off to the RacesIt's 3:20 AM, drinking cold coffee (ordered from room service last night) and trying to get my eyes to stay open. I'll meet Leo, Nathalie and Cesar downstairs in 20 minutes and head out to the stable. [More ...] |
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Fast Fast FastWinning time was 7:20, for real. I didn't see the winning horse at the finish, but at the last vet gate he looked very good - strong, lively. Truly amazing. I look at the palaces and tree plantations and grand mosques and super-highways and think: this is the best that money can buy. Well, I think the same applies to their equine athletes. The UAE is able to purchase 'the best' and from this pool they can then determine 'the very best' and voila, you have a 7:20 100 mile winning time, with a horse that is most certainly fit to continue. Plus the best trainers, the best training facilities, the best veterinary care, the best farriers, etc, etc. [More ...] |