         | Saturday June 30 2007 FLORAC 2007 Out of bed I staggered at 3:30, threw clothes on, and walked down to the start of the Florac 160-km ride. Seventy-four horses and riders were out walking around, trotting, making last minute tack adjustments. It was pleasantly cool, in the 50's with a slight breeze, clear sky, full moon just setting. All horse collars were checked to make sure they were giving off an electronic reading; at least 1 needed replacing. Announcer Herve was still very enthusiastically speaking (in French). With four minutes to go, motorcycles revved up – you could hear them in stereo through the microphone framing Herve's deep voice. Horses circled around and around behind the line: “Du minute!” “Un minute!” The big crowd lined the start/finish line, trailing off into the dark out of the lights, pressed five and six deep right at the line. “Cinq – Qattre – trois – du – un – they're off!” (or the equivalent), boomed Herve. Jean-Paul, organizer of Florac, in a car led the start out of camp, back up on the street to the main paved highway through Ispagnac. Out of the camp venue lights, it was a grand parade of warm excited equine bodies, bobbing headlamps, loud snorts, a few human yelps, clattering trotting shod hooves ringing on pavement of the town. The trail took them past (closed) outdoor cafes, narrow streets of 3-story apartments, along the Mimente River to Florac, and beyond. As the horses left camp, the cars started up, and sleepy little Ispagnac looked like a professional car road race through one of those little towns, as crew people raced to the first vet check to await their riders. The last horse followed some 15 minutes behind, followed by a motorcycle escort. I caught a ride around the course with Nicky Freud and Richard Allen, Brits living in France training endurance horses, and here at Florac to cover the ride as photojournalists. It was a 33.5 km loop for the horses and riders to the first vet check, where the sun was just coming up, and it was a chilly 44* with a stiff breeze blowing. All the horses were warm though – plenty of climbing for them already – and all the horse crews were putting water on the horses. The first hold was 30 minutes. Next we raced – along with a thousand other cars, it seemed, on winding mountain roads to the highest point on the trail the horses would climb to – Mont Aigoual, at 1565 meters. It seemed we were on top of the world up here, with a 360* view around the planet from our perch. After the first 10 or so horses passed, we jumped in the car and raced along to the next vet check – along with a line of cars in front of and behind us, whipping around corners, winding up and down narrow one-lane roads, through medieval villages and spectacular scenery, with towering cliffs above the road, or a long drop to the valley floor far below. Looking out over the big mountains and valleys, it reminded me exactly of the Tevis Cup – beautiful, majestic – and TOUGH. The second loop was 40.7 km, the vet check in the village of Camprieu. Announcer Herve was here, still keeping up the musical commentary for the spectators and the crews waiting for their horses to arrive. After this stop we raced again to the busy village of, I think, Meyrueis, where the riders would ride right through the center of the village on their way to the next vet gate at La Citerne. We heard the riders wouldn't be coming through for an hour, so we sat down for a cappuchino at one of the sidewalk cafes. It was very refreshing... but I must say that was the TINIEST cappuchino I'd ever had! The riders passed through, dodging traffic and tourists, and then we jumped in the car again and raced to the next vet gate. It was up on the Causses, a high rolling grassland plateau – a different world from the forested mountains the horses had just passed up out of. There were two vet gates here; after passing through the first time 23.9 km from the last, the riders did a 16.1 km loop back through this gate. Then came not so much climbing, but a long loop of 34.5 km back to the venue at Ispagnac. Again, we joined a cue of cars, strung out along the winding roads as far as I could see in front of us and behind us, racing like bats out of hell, first to a long flat area where a little single engine plane was pulling gliders up into the air, then to a random junction in the 1-lane roads where the horse trail crossed the road. It was pleasantly and humorously crazy! Cars parked on both sides of the one-lane road, some parked leaning at a 45* angle to get off the road far enough, people everywhere, buckets set up, chairs, coolers, and along comes a tractor trying to squeeze through. When the horses came people ran alongside them, handing off water while the horses kept going. Then we all got in and raced on back to Florac. We did stop briefly to look at a herd of Przewalski horses, descendants of the original species rediscovered in Mongolia in the 19th century. We got back to Florac and the venue around 5:15 PM to wait for the horses to come in off their 5th loop, then go out on a final 12.1 km loop out of camp and back in for the finish. It was warm, about 82*, with 48% humidity. A large number of people were hanging around, waiting in the crew area, or waiting under the big tent with the horses during their holds, or hanging out at the bar tent, drinking beer and French wine and waiting for the finishers. At 6:30 PM here she came: local girl Cecile Demierre, galloping across the finish line, serenaded by big cheers from the big crowd and by announcer Herve. The winning horse, Shaman, was by Persik. Some 7 minutes later 2nd and 3rd place finishers, Catherine Boisseron and Pierre Souchard raced in neck and neck, to roaring approval from the crowd – some of whom almost got run over! It was quite the exciting finish. Finishers steadily came over the line, including the Swiss girls Anna and Nora Wagner, in 9th and 10th place, cheered by mom, whose enthusiasm brought many observers out of their chairs in the bar area to the finish line to cheer them over. South Africans Mariaan and Gillese crossed the finish line with their horses, and held their breaths while they vetted through – hooray, they finished! Last finisher came in around 9:45 PM, just before dark, escorted by motorcycles. Not so many people were still around, but of those who were, a big cheer erupted as the horse crossed the finish line, and consequently passed the vet check. The South Africans said this was probably the hardest ride they've ever done – and now they have an 8-hour drive pack to Paris, where they hop on planes, long flights and layovers, then get home Monday, drive to a ride, and climb on horses Tuesday for a 3-day ride! A nice late dinner was served for everybody; ride winner Cecile Demierre got a great big cheer as she carried her plate of food to her table, much to her embarrassment. 29 of 74 riders finished; it's a matter of good preparation, skill, and luck to complete such a ride. It was very enjoyable to get to see Florac – very similar to the Tevis Cup in America, from my point of view – the horses, scenery, trail, atmosphere. Congratulations to all the lucky (and skilled) ones! |
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Florac 160 km Ride 2007
Magnifique Florac
      | Thursday-Friday June 28-29 2007 In the heart of the Cevennes is the setting for one of the best-known, toughest rides in Europe: the 160 km Florac endurance ride. The base camp, or venue, for the ride used to be in the little village of Florac, but, as happens many places, the ride has gotten too big and the town too small to accommodate it. And so, the venue has been moved 10 km down the canyon to the smaller village of Ispagnac. And a beautiful setting it is – big green open space in the middle of a valley surrounded by big green mountains, and set right beside the le Mimente River. It could have been in the middle of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado – I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful base camp. There were stables and a big area for electric-fenced horse pens to be set up, a very wide lane with a long gallop to the finish line, and several big tents for meals and a bar, and registration. Another big covered arena was set up for the horses to pass their vet check times in the shade, and another set up for the vets and the trotting out, with plenty of room for spectators anywhere. There weren't any huge live-in horse trailers like are common in America. Most were 2 or 3-horse trailers, with the riders staying in convenient, inexpensive hotels, or camping in tents in the campground next door. Every time I walked through the ride camp, I was amazed at all the good looking horses I saw. I mean, ALL of them looked strong, substantial. I guess you have to be for a tough mountain ride such as Florac. I saw one skinny one, but that's the only criticism I could come up with! The Florac ride is steeped in history from the beginning. Whereas with the Tevis Cup in America, where the name Wendell Robie is synonymous with that race, here it is the name of a horse, Persik, which is famously known. We were, in fact, in Persik-land – and the riders would be wearing jerseys with their number and “Persik-land” on them – because Persik was the winner of the first two Florac rides in 1975 and 1976, and was one of the most influential endurance sires in the world. Many of his offspring won Florac and placed in the top ten. (We'll look at Persik later.) As with any ride, there are great stories, such as one of the man back in the 70's who rode his horse 2 days to get to Florac, rested him 3 days, then won the Florac ride, then rode 2 days back home. Riders continued arriving throughout Thursday, including Mariaan Liversage and Gillese De Villiers from South Africa, here to ride for the first time in Florac, on Stephan Chazel's horses. The evening's rider meeting was very enthusiastic (and all in French); after long talks by officials, every rider's name was called, enthusiastically as if they were coming down to participate in a game show: “Jean-Phillipe, Come on down!” The riders came on down to get their rider number vests to warm applause and cheers from officials and participants. While there must have been some nerves about the upcoming ride, the atmosphere was festive – like one big horse camping party. The ride would begin at 4 AM on Saturday; at 3 PM on Friday the vet inspections began. The horses were all put into stalls, and the vets came around to each stall to examine the horses. Around 4 PM the horses all made their way to the trotting lanes, where, in numerical order, they were all trotted out for the vets. When they passed, and were cleared to start the ride, the horses were fitted with electronic collars, which they would wear throughout the ride – all the timing at the vet gates would be done electronically through these collars. A very sophisticated system which makes things much easier for officials and for riders! Meanwhile, everything is going on around me in French, which we all know I don't understand at all. Alice is introducing me to so many people, and between trying to understand the pronunciation of their names, (I have to write them down), and remember who is who, what they look like, what they do, where they are from... my head was spinning. I think many people were amused at my lack of comprehension. And tomorrow when the riders are wearing helmets, I knew I wouldn't recognize any of them! All I could do was laugh at myself! One important thing I did learn to say was: “coke avec glasso” - a coke with ice! There were a total of 74 entries, with participants from South Africa, a mother and 2 daughter team from Switzerland, Spain, and the Netherlands. One can never get enough sleep at these big rides, and so, as per usual, I went to bed about midnight, and set my alarm for 3:30 AM for the start of the Florac ride! |
4 Rides - 4 Continents - 1 Rider
    | Tuesday-Wednesday June 26-27 2007 In the evening I left with Stephane, driving out of Sanippooleedufwuah (Saint Hippo) to a big old hotel/restaurant surrounded by vineyards. There for dinner, outside in the fresh cool French countryside under a bright coming-full moon, we joined for dinner 3 Brits, who are here in the area to horse-shop at La Masselle. Joining us were Chris Yeoman, a gung-ho British endurance rider (she's waiting to hear which one of her two horses will be picked for the British team for the World Championships in Portugal in August); her brother-in-law David Yeoman (he and his brother were previously polo players); and his partner Lesley (when I asked if she rides, she said, “Oh no, I crew for David”). David was looking to buy an endurance horse from Stephane. Over a nice dinner, with French wine, scrumptious dessert and espresso, we talked horses; telling stories of endurance rides, unforgettable endurance horses, and memorable places to ride, like the UAE. Stephane sometimes takes horses over there for the winter to train. His training methods over here are pretty darn successful I think, but, he says, “I go over there to learn. Not necessarily to copy them, because I don't agree with everything they do, but to watch and learn from them.” Every weekend in the UAE there's a ride – 1 week Abu Dhabi, the next week Dubai, back and forth. It gets boring because the course never varies – same flat groomed racetrack picked clean of stones by hand – but there is good prize money. I ws curious about spooky Arabians in the desert in the UAE – do they spook there, when there's nothing but 160 km of flat sand? “Yes, at camels! And their shadows!” All of us there believe in the “To Finish is to Win” motto of endurance riding. If the FEI wants to make endurance riding into a spectator sport, says Stephane, they're going about it all wrong. It shouldn't all be about speed, and Formula One finishes to end the rides early. In some rides this can have a place, but in others it IS about finishing the ride, and that is how the sport should be promoted. Maybe someone has dreamed about riding 100 miles in one day. (Chris wanted to, ever since she was little). That there is the story. Then, in keeping with this To Finish Is To Win idea, he had a great idea to promote the Four Rides on Four Continents concept. An award, or recognition for the rider who has completed the 100-mile Tevis Cup in America, the 160-km Quilty in Australia, the 160-km Florac in France, and the 160-km President's Cup in the UAE. He thinks there may be one rider from the UAE who has done this, but perhaps no other. THAT takes some kind of horseman to be able to complete the 3 hard mountain rides, and the UAE flat speed ride. Next morning the Brits came out to La Masselle for David to try a few horses. One was Jasmin, the gelding the Raven and I rode yesterday. David echoed my comments, “his canter's terrific – it's like a big rocking chair!” Jasmin is a half brother to Chris's horse Farouk, who just won a 120 km ride last weekend in England. David really like the little gray mare he tried (“wow – she's like driving a Ferrari! Not that I've ever driven a Ferrari...”), and another gray gelding Stephane was planning to ride at Euston Park in England the weekend after Florac. David tried to tempt Chris into riding, but seeing as she has 17 endurance horses at home, this was a mini-vacation from riding for her. And, she didn't want to be tempted - “I don't need another horse!” Lesley took pictures of David on the horses, and waited to see which horse she'd be strapping at a ride next. :) After a hack off into the countryside with 2 of the horses (Stephane accompanying him, while talking on the phone), David decided on the third gelding. He and Stephane shook hands on the deal over coffee on the patio. (By the way, Stephane is building a Bed and Breakfast just below, so horse visitors don't have to stay far away in a hotel.) David's eyes lit up like a kid with a great new Christmas present as they all discussed possible rides for his new horse. I expect I will see them at some ride in the coming weeks! |
RAVEN II RIDES FRANCE!
     | Tuesday June 26 2007 RAVEN II RIDES FRANCE! After another divine breakfast on the divine patio overlooking La Masselle, I grabbed my riding gear – chaps, helmet, and Raven-in-a-bag, and Stephane Chazel took me on a horse ride in France! My horse was a gray gelding Jasmin, a 10-year-old Anglo Arabian who's finished his last 3 160 km rides, and his mount was Label, a gray mare he's riding in the 160 km in Florac this coming weekend. His mare was “just a baby,” 8 years old, and Florac would be her first 160. Stephane chose this tough ride for her because she's a big feisty in the rides, and this will show her she has to learn to slow down! We rode off La Masselle and to the winery across the road. “So,” says Stephane, as he nods at the Raven smiling away in his bag attached to the saddle. “Tell me about your Penguin.” Penguin!? Anyway, I quizzed Stephane as we headed up into the hills. He said there are two kinds of trainers – those who train hard and fast and often, and when someone buys their horses, they don't perform; and there's those who train enough to get fit, and when they're sold, they are ready to peak because they haven't been overridden. Stephane's horses that are in training for, say, the qualifying rides (here in Europe a horse must complete one 40 km and one 60 km ride at 12-15 km/hr, then two 90 km and one 120 km rides at open speed with a 56 heart rate before they qualify), they may go out 3-4 times a week for a 2-3 hour ride, mostly walking (it's quite rocky around here). If they're going to a flat ride – i.e. a fast ride – they might do one 35 km canter at the beach where the footing is good. He used to take his horses onto a racetrack to condition, but he found it wasn't good for their minds, so he doesn't do that anymore. Of the horses Stephane brings along in training, the mares are usually bred first, getting 1-2 foals out of them (as was done with Label); they are broken in at 5 or 6, then started in endurance. This way, if they turn out to be good after they are sold, Stephane and his breeder partners still have th bloodlines to keep on breeding. The geldings are usually broken in at 4 or 5, and they spend some time with a friend of Stephane's who runs a horse trekking business. It's good for the horses – they get ridden in the mountains, get used to working and riding around other horses; it's good for the friend's trekking business; and it's good for Stephane who doesn't have to feed them or pay people to ride them at home. Stephane prefers doing 160 km rides, and the mountain rides – like Florac – are much better than the flat races – they're much more of a challenge for the rider. He did Tevis at age 16 in 1984 (“it took us 22 hours!”), and he'd like to ride it again now, exchanging a horse in the Tevis for one of his horses in the Florac 160 km. Anyone interested? In general he prefers riding purebred Arabians rather than Anglo Arabs. “The Anglos don't always have as much up here,” he said, tapping his forehead. And the Arabian has better stamina. And, what about electrolytes? I'd read an article that said the French don't electrolyte their horses during rides. Stephane said No – no electrolytes. What he believes in is first, good breeding, and second, good training. He feeds grass, barley, some alfalfa, a little grain, minimal vitamins, and no electrolytes. “Wild horses ate grass,” he said, “that's what the horse is meant to do.” He's had no problems with metabolics or stomach irritation since he stopped giving electrolytes. One year he took 4 horses to a ride in Jordan where it was 45*. The clients wanted to electrolyte the horses, but Stephane refused. They argued about it, but Stephane was adamant. “You pay me 50% now, and 50% after the horses complete the ride.” He took the horses there 5 weeks early, and only did a minimum of training, with only 1 day of a long fast training ride. People thought he was crazy, but all four horses finished the ride in the top ten. Stephane loves this area here – it's good for training for the horses. There are plenty of hills (though it's quite rocky), the beach is 1 hour away, skiing is one hour away, town is close, and although it can get hot in the summer – 40*+ - winters are mild, you can ride forever, there aren't too many people (you can't build new houses here), plenty of land to turn horses out on, nice pastures, “And,” I added “wine across the street!” Our 2 ½ hour ride took us up into the green, rocky hills, past vineyards, olive tree orchards, fields of green grass (“Grass is good this year”), old old farmhouses, and the ruins of a castle on a little hill. We looked at a few of his turned-out-growing-up horses, yearling to 4-year-olds, turned out with a 26-year-old retired babysitter endurance gelding. We had a little canter up a field, and Jasmin had this very controlled, huge rocking chair canter stride. Wow, I bet he's fun in an endurance ride! Although I could have gone on forever, and it certainly looks like the trails do, we made a loop and rode back onto La Masselle. So now add France to the growing list of Raven-ridden countries! |
La Masselle
      | Monday June 25 2007 I woke up... in France! Caroline brought me coffee (merci!!) and breakfast out on the patio overlooking La Masselle, and I sat like a princess sipping and eating, surveying the farm of horses, stone houses and barns, and remains of old stone walls, beneath me. Caroline is from Germany. She came from the show world, met Stephane in a show 9 years ago, and he got her into endurance. She's never done showing since. She doesn't care for that world anymore; endurance people are much more friendly and down to earth, and it can be such a family oriented sport. Stephane joined me on the patio for breakfast. He's been riding since he was little; it was his mother that got this family's endurance sport going. They had horses when he was growing up, but it wasn't until his mother went to a ride in Florac in 1977 to watch, that she decided to convert to endurance. They sold all their horses, and bought 2 Arabian mares and an Arabian stallion. Stephane's mother had a serious injury in 1980, and so Stephane took the endurance riding reins. The family bred horses for endurance and show, and they bought and sold horses. One of Stephane's first horses he bought and trained was one of his best: Oumzil Tobiha. In the same season, Oumzil was Reserve National Champion in show and winner and Best Condition in a 120 km endurance ride. Stephane sold him to the French National stud in 1993, and he is still a top sire. Stephane's place now is bringing endurance horses along. He breeds a few of his own, though he's cut back on the breeding because it's too much work. He partners with several breeders, taking the horses and training them and developing them into good qualified prospects for sale. Rarely does he have 1 or 2 of his own top level competitors, because his clients buy them when or before they get to that stage. In his paddocks Stephane has horses with many generations of pure endurance breeding. And he says when he rides them, he can often feel those different bloodlines in them – this family line has the same type of recoveries, or the same way of going – you can feel it on their backs and through the reins. So, what is the secret to the success of the French in endurance? “It's two things,” says Stephane. “First, you have the breeding.” Two of the best stallions to come from France were Persik in the 1970's and 80's, and Siroco Sky. In 1974 the National Park of Cevennes set up a breeding scheme to produce pleasure and show horses, and Persik – a purebred Arabian born in Tersk in the Caucasus in 1969, was bought. He was a great endurance horse, and a superstar sire. He won the first major endurance ride created in France – the Florac 100 miles, which he won in 1975 and 1976. He was the world's best producer in 2000, the year before his death at age 32. His great lines carry on: roughly 50% of his offspring qualify on worldwide 120 km and over rides. Through 2004 he'd produced 2 World Champions, 2 Reserve World Champions, 1 Reserve European Champion, 1 ELDRIC Champion, and 8 National Champions... and the legacy continues through this day. Siroco Sky (Crabbett and Polish breeding) did not compete in endurance, and while his offspring were strong, had good bones and good feet, they were maybe not so good in their metabolics. The second generation of Sirocco Sky, however, were very good. Gosse d'Avril was another National Park of Cevennes stallion that contributed to the successful breeding program. There's also the fact that for 100 years in France, the solid foundation under the endurance horse breeding is that they were flat racing horses – in other words, working horses, not the fragile spindly legged ornamental show horses you sometimes find. Breed a horse that can't work as an athlete to another like horse, and you're not going to get a good endurance horse out of it. “The second secret of the French endurance success,” says Stephane, “is its big base of endurance riders.” There are some 4-5000 endurance riders in France, old to young. More young people are being brought into the sport, learning endurance, so as your base of riders grows and improves along with the breeding, the entire sport can only improve. |
Luin to France
| Sunday June 24 2007 French endurance rider Stephane Chazel and his wife Caroline (also an endurance rider) and their two adorable little horse-ridin' daughters were ind enough to let me visit their place in southern France between Assisi and next weekend's ride in Florac France. I hitched a ride with Stephane's groom and long-time assistant Gaelle, and Audrey, owner of one of the horses we were hauling back home. We talked some along the way, them understanding me when I spoke slowly, me understanding not a word of French. I always admire those who speak 2, 3, 4+ languages, and always apologize fore my English only. “Habla muy poquito espanol,” I said. “If you speak a little Spanish, you will understand French, it is very similar.” Well, no, not to these poorly trained ears! I do't get French at all – the sounds, the spelling. They said, “This is a long drive. I think by midnight, you will learn French.” I did learn about 20 words, one of which was “luin” - French for “far.” The drive would be “luin” - almost “mille kilometres.” It was a long drive, and hot. I stuck to my seat and myself. Beautiful countryside – green everywhere. From central Italy we drove through Florence – Bologna – Genoa – along the Mediterranean coast, to Nice – Marseille. It was a bit cooler along the coast, with a glimpse of the blue sea to the left, and the rather dramatic landscape inland to the right – plunging ravines and steep green mountains. The Italians (and French, over the border) have built a straight road through here – meaning bridge – tunnel – bridge – tunnel (and every one has a name, even if they're 100 m long), high over the ravines and straight through the mountains. Little towns clustered in the ravines, or up on the hillsides, houses hanging off the steep hills, their tall foundations built into the hill – no backyards for playing in here! Gaella has worked for Stephane Chazel for 7 years, grooming, paperwork, some riding, and LOTS of driving. “Every weekend we go to a ride. This weekend Assisi. Next weekend Florac (2 hours away). Next weekend England.” Stephane either rides his own horses, or breeder clients. “Sometimes I think I'm too old to do this anymore, but when you love horses, it's hard not to live with them.” Audrey is a small breeder – 4 mares in training, and the mare who went to the ride is one in training with Jean Phillip Frances, whose stables we were headed to. We stopped for gas twice (crossed into France at 4:30 PM) and got to Les Ecuries de Venelles (I practiced saying this many times), Jean-Phillip's stables. We offloaded both horses, the gelding to rest, the mare to stay, and unloaded Jean-Phillipe's gear. Then we re-loaded the gelding, loaded another, and continued on down the highways (almost all of them toll roads) another 1 ½ hours, till we left the highways and bigger cities for the French countryside. “San Hippolyte du Ford,” said Audrey. Now for the few people out there who like me, can't make heads or tails out of French, it comes out more like “Saneepooleedufruah” and ya gotta say it as fast as you can. I practiced this many times, I'm sure to the amusement of my instructors. (By the way, Audrey's name is something like “Oudr' “). We drove along a narrow tree-lined road, into the open rolling country under the bright ¾ moon at 10 PM, and pulled into La Maselle, horses in paddocks along a dirt road leading to old stone farmhouses and barns. We let the horses out, walked them up the road to snack a bit, then put them into the stables. Gaelle showed me my room and I promptly fell on the bed and passed out. |
Bab Al Shams Assisi 120 km Ride
     | Saturday June 23 2007 ASSISI RIDE The Bab al Shams 120 km FEI Assisi endurance ride began at 6:30 AM under partially overcast skies. In fact, low misty clouds obscured Mt Subasio in the direction the riders were headed on the first loop. I skipped the start and stayed up in the village and waited for the horses to ride by in the Plaza del Commune. Police had blocked off streets, and ribbons had been hung on the old stone walls to guide the riders. Around 7:10 AM I heard the clomping of shod hooves-on-pavement. I'd pictured the herd clattering on through the town at a brisk trot, and in fact the past few days I'd pictured the ancient town hundreds of years ago with horses and wagons making their way up and down the cobblestoned streets. What hadn't occurred to me was the speed at which it was done. The clomping of hooves on stone came, alright, echoing off the high stone walls of the narrow streets, but at a walk – the streets were slick, and many riders were off their mounts walking. After they passed, I took time for a cappuchino (okay, two), and then walked down the hill to wait for the riders as they eventually returned through Assisi town and back into the valley. Most all of them came trotting down the hill on the paved road. It must have been like driving on ice – you can't hit the brakes. Any attempts at slowing down at all were met with skids. The paved roads -much of the ride was paved roads - looked as if they'd take a toll on the horses – and they did at the vet checks because of lameness. The day was mercifully cooler (though still hot) than yesterday, with a breeze, and while there were also a number of metabolic vet-outs, it was certainly less than it would have been with yesterday's heat. Most foreign riders brought their own horses to ride, and that included the Slovakians, Germans, Swedes, Danish and Norwegians. Gunn Carlson, crewing for her daughter Gunilla Carlson, said it took them FIVE DAYS to drive to Assisi. And her daughter withdrew her horse after the second loop. He'd passed the vet check fine, but it was just too hot for him, coming from a cooler climate. All that way for riding 65 kilometers... but Gunn, and others I talked to, were still happy to be here, enjoying the company and the beautiful setting of the ride around Assisi. The horses that stayed on the front end most of the ride continued to look strong as the day wore on. Every loop started out with the riders having to pass the stables (and coming in also), and several times horses tried to duck into the stables, sometimes at a canter! One white horse I saw just would not go past the turn. He backed up, down a steep embankment, several times, until someone led him forward. He still wouldn't go on, knowing his stable was RIGHT THERE, until the rider got off ot lead him. When the rider got back on, the horse wouldn't go forward. The rider got off again and led him on foot. I looked up a bit later, and the horses was in a field. The rider got off to lead him again, till I could see them no more. I wondered if he had to lead the horses on foot the entire loop. The first horse to cross the finish line around 4 PM was India, with Italian rider Patrizia Giacchero. And so, with the Formula One finish, the out vet gates closed at 5 PM. I was in a field of big sunflowers when, across the field at a full-out gallop, comes a very familiar-looking white horse. The human at the corner of the field was there to direct the riders – finish towards me, beginning of loop 5, the other way. This horse and rider stopped to confer with the human, then along they came past me, the little white horse that preferred his stables, at a flying gallop. “HEEYAH!” I thought, Oh good, the little white horse gets to finish and go to his stable now. A bit later I happened to look towards the finish line, and there's the little white horse (backing up) engulfed in the sunflower field. His rider was jumping off to lead him out of the field, back PAST me – the human had directed him the wrong way (or the rider gave the wrong information). The horse still had a final 11.8 kilometers to do, and in so doing, he'd have to pass by his stables one more time! I did finally catch them crossing the finish line, and the horse had the most disbelieving look on his face, “Oh, sure, this is the end again, yea RIGHT!” I think the horse was having a bad day. The Italians had a good day, Patrizia Giacchero winning, and Italians sweeping the top 10 placings (and most of the rest), except for Spain in 5th place, and 3 young ladies taking the top 3 spots. The vet out percentage was quite high. There was just too much pavement, said many riders. One said after completing, “If this were my horse, I'd ice his feet – for 48 hours!” Riders that did not get to go out for their 5th loop due to the Formula One cut-off time still had a final vet check, and either vetted out or passed and received a placing though not a completion. Peter Chantler from South Africa was very pleased his little horse carried him to a placing, finishing loop 4. I asked one of the vets if he thought this Formula One finish was successful. He said it may have been this time, and it may work well in certain situations, especially in cases like this where the weather is extreme – e.g. Too hot, when there's really no point in a tired horse going out just to finish a last loop when he won't be competitive. But only time will tell. “Endurance is changing, and we have to be open to change and consider it.” One horse owner, whose horse vetted out lame, said it wasn't an endurance race, “it was a show.” She wasn't up set, and was in fact pleased that her horse finished loop 5 – but vetted out lame at the finish – just pointed out that so much pavement is not good for a real endurance ride. Another vet said the same: “It's not an endurance race when the first loop is 13-14 km/hour.” I heard no one at all complain of the beautiful setting, or idea, of an endurance ride around Assisi, even riders that came from far away. The evening's entertainment was a buffet, and after the awards ceremony – a big concert, which must have had attendance in the thousands. You could hear the show up on the hill in Assisi, and cars were still clogging the streets trying to get in at midnight. Quite the show for a sleepy town that the Pope just visited a week ago! |
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