Abu Dhabi: Young Rider/Junior World Endurance Championship Updates
December 8
Kelly Kimbler (USA)
All members of the team and crew have arrived including Carl, Camey & Tessa. Tonight was a great party in the desert. Tomorrow we vet in at 2, so lots of last minute details in the morning. (We are ten hours ahead of the central time zone.) The race starts at 6:30 am on sat. So that will be like 8:30 pm central time friday night!
December 9
Kelly Kimbler (USA)
Long busy day preparing for the race tomorrow.
Cody vetted in great with all A's. Really ready for race day. Just about to start the ride meeting, then dinner and bed. I will not be able to update tomorrow during the race but a friend commented in my status from yesterday that there will be live updates and listed the webpage. If you go to that link on the top bar go to endurance + results. Then look at the left side for YR championship phases 1 - 5. They should be keeping it updated as the race progresses. We are 9 hours ahead of east coast time and the race starts sat. @ 6:30 am. So that will be Friday night at 9:30 pm for east coast or 8:30 central. Camey is going to post a picture of the team after the vet in. Kyle's horse was a little sore and sadly will not be allowed to start. They have made the course very technical so they will have to ride smart and careful in order to finish strong. Go USA :-)
Maura Leahy (Canada)
Checking out the trail... Fish tailed in to a scrub brush trial and poped the tire off the rim.... Bill diving to fish hut may be a non issue and has nothing on driving in the dunes
Veto in is today at 2:00pm, 6 hours from now. Summer is looking great!! The Team is doing Great and working very well together. Last night was an outing to the desert... had told Ariel MacLeod a few days ago that she was not to ride one of the road side camels untill after the race, but if we found a tourist type camel that she coulds... we they had camel rides at the event last night :). All my worring about the road side camel ride was nothing compared to the drive from the bus to place where the event was... 4x4 through the dunes at high speeds, fish tailing, going close to other 4x4's and fences, being on two wheels.... OMG and guess who was thrilled with the trip... for thoes who know me well you know what the trip was like for me. Will post from the vet in this afternoon.
Ariel MacLeod (Canada)
Summy passed vet in like a boss! :p
Yara de Boer (Netherlands)
Sand, sand, sand etc. But i'll never get bored here!
Glenn Sinclair (Canada)
So much to say and so little time to say it! Once this is all over I will go over all of the posted photos and flesh them out with a little explanatory text, but for now a few updates will have to suffice. The big news as Maura just posted is that our mare got through the first inspection with flying colors . She got all A's and her pulse was a very low 32..this after a long windy walk into new territory and being the only horse by herself waiting for the US to vet through prior to aloowing Canada's sole entry into the very hectic and crowded vet gate area. Canada and US are in the same quarantine barn together so we moved back and forth together and I was able to see the US horse's trot as well and for my money Summer had by far the best trot. Unfortunately for the US one of their 4 riders was eliminated for lameness and will not be allowed to start. What a huge disapointment after coming all this way!
Our barn quarantine man "Osama" has taken a particular fondness for Summer and has given her an Arabic name "Al Anoud" which is apparently the name of a very famous racemare and although I can't find an online translation he says it means beautiful mare. Now that this process is done its going to be a difficult night to sleep for what few hours we will be allowed. There is a rider's meeting at 7 pm followed by a Vet meeting then dinner then getting up in the wee hours to prepare for a 6:30 am start. Apparently the first 2 loops are very technical with alot of deep sand so the horses will need to go slow but after that it becomes more of a speed course.
We are allowed to take a 4X4 onto the course in designated areas where we will be allowed to get ahead of Ariel and Summer and pass relay style a bottle of open water to Ariel in motion with which she can drink and pour water over Summers neck. Dehydration of horse AND rider can happen since the wind cools you and makes you feel dry and comfortable meanwhile you are cooling thru the evaporation of sweat that hasn't had time to form on you so you don't feel hot or sweaty.
WE got rid of building tension and anxiety last night with an evening trip to the desert for dinner and entertainment. After a long bus ride we were loaded into SUV's and were taken kamikaze style through the dunes at breakneck speed experiencing what appeared to be one life-threatening manoever after another and I came very close to wetting my pants!
You know you have had an extreme experience when there are people waiting at the other end asking you if you are OK when you get out. There were drinks and a cash bar then a buffet and free hooka pipes called "shishous" sp which actually contain various flavored tobaccos and after 32 years of being an ex-smoker I actually shared a black licorice one with Tara and it was delicious and fun. Didn't taste remotely of tobacco and smelled beautiful and luckily I have absolutely no interest in doing it or any other tobacco ever again. Next there was a belly dancer who after doing a couple of numbers invited people on stage and before long it turned into one big fun dance party! Ariel was surprised that there was another side to me than the "stick" that she is used to (meaning me) and I told her that if she knew me when I was her age that she would be surprised that I am even alive today. Yes you too can overcome a rough teenagehood especially if you get into horses!
After the dancing they sent us back through the dunes with a little less dramatic flair and then a bus ride home where people from all nations chatted amiably together and friendships were struck.
I forgot to mention the Camel rides which I chose not to participate in but I was fascinated by their conformation and anatomy. The camels that get down and up alot have huge callouses over their elbows stifles and breast bones. When they go down the lean forward on their elbows and slowly stretch their skinny little hocks behind and land on their stifles and breastbones. The party did serve to tire us out and hopefully we do get some sleep tonight and have a positive day tomorrow. There are many more pictures out there and as I said I will try and tell you a bit about them after this is all over. So wish us well and godspeed to Ariel and "Al Anoud"
Yours as always
Double n Glenn
