On the 9th May, KICS Riding Club held the first ever endurance ride in Sudan. Of course we had big plans to hold it out on a farm about 80kms out of Khartoum, but unfortunately due to last minute problems we had to hold it in and around Soba. We managed to change the plans at the last minute and still have a succesful weekend. The riders and horses were:
Iain Shortt - EnnahaliEva Tesfaye - Caramel
Zach Schuurs - Domino
Billy Brenchley - Silly Filly
Lars Wiltberger - Cinderella
Yolande Schuurs - Mocha
Karim Salah - Nyala
Christy Henchie - Chami
The endurance consisted of two legs of 22kms each. The going ranged from deep beach sand to hard rocky ground. Each rider had a groom (friend) to help them get through the compulsory vet checks before and after each leg. Friends and parents of the students helped out with catering, photography and time keeping! All of the horses were barefoot and true to character, Chami was the only one who went lame leaving me a 3km walk home! 3 kids fell off, but nothing serious... I am still waiting for my chocolate cake! Fun was had by all....
A little bit about the riders:Iain is a teacher at KICS (head of the PE department) who is a new rider but very keen... and he loves Nali so we like him!
Eva is in Year 5, very quiet but full of determination and she always brings me chocolate cake when she falls off!
Zach is in Year 10, Australian and obviously supports the wrong rugby team but we still like him.
Lars is in Year 8, the most experienced of our riders, and our old room mate!
Yolande is Zach's sister, who used to be afraid of Mocha but is now about the only kid who can ride her.
Karim is in Year 8, and prefers horse's to school. I quite agree!
Karim is in Year 8, and prefers horse's to school. I quite agree!
All of these riders have never undertaken anything like this before and I think they should be very proud of themselves! I think they were all in a bit of agony at the end but they still managed to smile!
We have big plans for the next semester... look out everyone, here we come!
2 comments:
Mabrouk on your first ride. I hope that endurance stays a fun sport in Sudan rather than the rather grim competitive long distance flat racing that the FEI and the UAE have brought to Egypt. That stuff has killed more horses here than I care to think about. We are still trying to establish a fun endurance model here.
Congratulations on what sounds like was a fun ride! If you're ever in Australia I would be happy to host you at an endurance ride here.
Jay Randle
SPLENDACREST ENDURANCE TRAINING
www.freewebs.com/splendacrest
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