2009 Al Andalus: Day 3 - El Rocio to Ruinas Italicas

SUNDAY MARCH 29 2009 - DAY 3
Fase 1 - El Rocio - Aznalcazar - 32.60 km
Fase 2 - Aznalcazar - Ruinas Italicas (Sevilla) - 33.40 km
TOTAL: 66 km

Everybody has Just One Of Those Al Andalus days where things don't always go right during the multi-day ride. Mine was today.

Javier and Alberto about gave me the slip this morning, as they almost left the restaurant without me for the start. Apparently plans for my day's ride had changed. He said I'd be riding with Jose Manuel Soto, and when we got to the start, he pointed to the buggy we'd be in. Oh - a buggy - OK... I'd be a little cold, but at least I'd be out on the course and hopefully get to some good picture spots. Although, I never quite knew if they were kidding me or not, or if they were making things up on the fly. But that's all part of Al Andalus too, when you're part of the press... things are sort of rearranged at the last minute if something else comes up.

The sun was not yet up as the pigeons swarmed in the sky around the big white church in the square of El Rocio. Gabriel Gamiz asked me if I'd been inside the church. "Not yet - I didn't even go in last year!" (Said in my Spanglish). Gabriel gasped and grabbed me arm and ran me into the church. In fact, there were many Al Andalus people running to and into the church before the start of the ride, saying a quick prayer and crossing themselves at the foot of the Madonna of the Dew.


Jose Manuel gathered the horses and riders and crews together at the front of the church for one big photo - I couldn't even squeeze everybody in one frame. And then, just as the golden sun rose, off the riders went on the start of Day 3!

I went and stood by my jeep, and suddenly there was a bit of confusion - Jose was not driving this jeep after all, and it was full anyway. Javier's car was full with a TV crew. Other official's cars were gone or full. They scrambled around and said, "Here's a seat! You can go with Rafa!" I jumped in the little white truck with Rafa, and everybody took off in a mad dash after the cantering riders for the trail ahead... except our little white truck. We followed the last rider out of town. I expected us to motor on past once the road widened, but Rafa said, "We follow the last rider." And it sunk in that I was in the 'drag' car - who followed the last rider over the whole course - I'd see one horse butt for 60 kilometers! And seeing as this gal was trotting, and walking, oh dear. This was not good and it was going to be a loooooooooong day of no photos - how many photos would people enjoy of one horse butt?


We stopped at one spot to pull the trail ribbon off a tree branch after the rider passed it, and just as I was about to resign myself to my somewhat humorous Drag fate for the day, just then my savior stepped out of the field where he'd been taking pictures. "Kristian! Save me! Can you please just take me to the vet check!?" From there I'd find another car to at least get to the finish line.

Kristian Fenaux, Spanish photographer for Ecuestre magazine, not only took me to the vet check, but to some scenic spots on the way, and kept me with him the whole day, all the way to the finish. He was clever at planning just where we could go, timing it right to meet the horses, and knowing when to leave so we could get to the next point in time to catch the riders again.

We first went to the same river crossing as last year, where some of the 1,000,000 people on their pilgrimage to El Rocio on the Romeria pass through. Here they wash in the river to cleanse themselves for before arriving at El Rocio. We laughed because the river was quite dirty. I said "I'll keep my sins, it's too cold to wash!" as it was a chilly morning. Not to mention there was all kinds of trash around the Virgin shrine, sadly. She may be revered, but not every day of the year.


We caught all the riders coming across, then drove on to the vet check, where we stopped just to grab some sandwiches (these were usually prepared early in the morning by the hotel we'd stayed at the night before), and iced Aquarius drinks before driving on.

It was a fairly flat trail today through wheat fields and olive tree orchards; and Frenchman Equipos rider Jean Pierre Lerisset was clipping along on Massar at 16 km/h - just below the average of day 1, and just above the average of day 2 - narrowly leading Binomios rider Carlos Escavias on Yaman V. This pair always stood out because Yaman V was a beautiful little chestnut stallion, and Carlos was a very tall boy. I'd heard that Carlos had only learned to ride 6 months ago, and if that's true, he looked like a natural on a horse, and he and his stallion got along very well.

Kristian drove us on to the finish at the Ruinas Italicas where, under darkening skies and a breeze picking up, the finish line was being set up. Antonio Castano, Jose Manuel Soto's partner in this Al Andalus venture, waved Kristian and me to Soto's jeep; we jumped in, and Jose headed for the trail, aiming for the ruins. But as we started, suddenly the two leaders cantered past us, heading for the finish line!


But wait - the finish line wasn't quite up yet! Though the sponsor banners were up, the sponsor signs that defined the lanes were still laying in the grass, and the meta balloon was not up yet. The two riders, Jean Pierre Lerisset and the Iris Marion Janowski were so intent upon racing each other, they were naturally drawn along the dirt road, not the grass lane where the real finish was. As we turned to follow, the two galloped neck and neck down the road... until enough people had yelled at them and turned them around.

We were arriving at the head of the lane as Jean Pierre and Iris galloped back to the head of the lane. They turned the corner at a gallop - Jean Pierre's horse Massar had the inside, and Iris 's horse Eritrea started turning with him - then blew the turn. Massar galloped on to and over what would be the finish line, and Eritrea jumped the signs, once to the outside of the lane, then back over to the inside of the lane and then to the finish line. All that - and then her horse was lame at the finish trot out.


The tall young boy, Carlos Escavias, riding the little stallion Yaman V, was the first Binomios across the line, only 8 minutes behind the Equipos winner.

Since we'd missed that racing finish, Jose turned the buggy around and took us to the ruins, right by which the trail for the horses went - what a spectacular setting! This old city of Italica was founded by the Romans in 206 BC. Two emperors were born here, Adriano and Trajan. The horses trotted right by the old coliseum; the grounds of the old city are extensive, but only a small portion has been excavated.


After it had started out as a dreary day for pictures for me, it couldn't have turned out better. I parked myself by the ruins and caught the rest of the riders coming by on their way to the finish. Some of them didn't even see me hiding in the bushes with my lens because they were entranced by the view to their left.

Three other riders of the 43 starters were eliminated at the finish from lameness; one rider opted not to ride on Fase II. Despite finishing in 7th place today on Hermes, Eduardo Sanchez still held the Binomios lead overall by 22 minutes. The Equipos race was much closer: Inigo Del Solar and his 14-year-old niece Teresa Lozano led the team of Emma Rosell and Maria Capdevila by just 3 minutes over the 3 days.


It had turned cool and blustery; while the riders and crews ate dinner in the erected white tent, horses waited in their staked-out pens, all of them blanketed against the chill. After dinner, the horses were transported the half-hour drive to the stables at the racecourse of Dos Hermanas - the site of last year's ride start.


The hotel for everybody was a convenient 15 minutes away, although it still takes up much of your day if you are crews or riders (or press), after getting your horses settled, you drive to the hotel, shower, get back in your car and drive to the ride meeting at the racecourse (where you at least find out the most important thing: controlled start time from the stables at 10:30 AM), then either stay to imbibe in the drinks and hors d'ouevres (especially the exquisite jamon made by the company of Maximilliano Portes, one of the Equipos riders), or drive around to the stables and check up on and feed your horses one more time before driving to the hotel for sleep.

2009 Al Andalus: Day 2 - Sanlucar de Barrameda to El Rocio

Saturday March 28 2009

Fase 1 - Sanlucar de Barrameda - Matalascanas - 34.36 km
Fase 2 - Matalascana - El Rocio - 30.67 km
TOTAL: 65.03 km

Our hotel was terrific... except even up on the 10th floor, with earplugs in, I could hear some serious partying going on, all night, out on the streets. Did I say the Andalucians knew how to party?

I sent my suitcase ahead with Maaite to El Rocio, and I was bundled into the car of ride officials Guillermo and Eugenia, and we headed to the beach, where the horses would gather to catch the ferry across the Guadalquivir for the official start of Day 2's ride. The streets were wet, and it was heavily overcast... and in a bit of questionable planning, I'd left my raincoat in my suitcase.

The officials had planned for all the riders to gather at 8:30 AM at the ferry for the ride across the river, and that the start would be at 9:00 AM on the other side. It's good to make plans, and it's often hard to imagine, or think ahead of all the potential problems that can arise on a big multi-day ride with so many facets of organization required.


For example, last year, the horses had done this day in reverse: starting in El Rocio, and finishing on the beach on the other side of the river. They'd been quite tired after a long 60 km day in the sand, and none of the horses had any real trouble walking up the ramp onto the ferry for the crossing, because they really didn't care much about anything but eating and resting.

Well. These horses had been in stables overnight, and had only warmed up on the 3 km walk down the beach to the ferry. For some of the horses in Equipos, this was their first day of competition. In other words, horses were not tired enough to care what they were walking up and onto.

Most of them loaded easily on the ferry for the first trip across - and those that didn't want to load waited for the ferry to cross and dump its load of a few of the official's cars, and a load of about 20 horses, and then come back. The entire process took about 20 minutes. It only took 20 minutes when the horses loaded smoothly, that is. Two horses would not step on the loading ramp. Would. Not.


All the others but these two loaded on; I saw one of the horses get a tranquilizer and eventually get loaded; a few bicyclists went on the ferry; and the one horse Off Spring just flat refused. It was a lovely warmblood of Maximilliano Portes. Everything was tried. One person tried to pull him; two people tried with one pulling and one pushing; a group of people tried shooing him on; some people whapping him on the butt; he refused to put a foot on the ramp.

Finally one rider, David Gacinos, handed his horse off to someone else, and he took the reins of Off Spring, and backed everyone off and told them all to quiet down. He tried leading the horse, then he tried just letting the horse relax a bit standing near the ramp. Meanwhile, the clock was ticking, the officials started looking at their watches, it was lightly raining, all the other horses were standing somewhat quietly on the ferry and starting to shiver in the cool air. David then mounted Off Spring and tried riding him up the ramp, still keeping everyone back. Boy, he had more nerve than I did.

The horse was calmer, but he still refused to step on the ramp. After a few minutes of that, David got back off, let the horse stand a bit, then tried leading him again. Horse refused. David picked up a forefoot, and tried to set it on the ramp. The horse was onto him. He didn't back up, but he wouldn't put his foot down. More people quietly moved up to help. David finally got the one foot set down on the ramp. Another man on the other side picked up Off Spring's other front foot up and eventually set it down on the ramp.


The horse backed up. They tried it again, slowly. Ines got in front of the horse with some carrots. Some more men moved in. One slow step at a time, they moved his forefeet onto the ramp. The horse reached for a carrot from Ines. He ate it. David had stepped to the horse's rear. He picked up a hind foot, moved it forward and set it down. The man on the other side moved that foot forward while David pulled forward on the horse's tail. Ines gave the horse another carrot, and he took it and ate it. "Ines!" I called. "Rub his head!" She rubbed his head, he lowered it, he licked his lips, and let his front feet be picked up and slowly put down further up the ramp. Finally, all four feet were on the ramp, and when the horse realized it, heck, he just walked right up there. It had taken about 30 minutes to load the one horse, and all the horses and people on the ferry who'd been standing there the whole time were shivering in the light rain. The horses on the other beach had been warming up the whole time.

As one of the German girls said, "It's hard to practice this - loading a horse onto a ferry - just anywhere! This ride is good for experiences - the horse learns, sees many new things and new experiences."

The rest of us crammed in the end of the ferry and it took us across. Everybody piled out, and as soon as everyone was mounted, the field was sent away, 34 km up the beach to Matalascanas. I was worried some of the horses that had stood so long shivering on the ferry might tie up, but I found out later that nobody had.


The rain had stopped, but the heavy gray clouds remained, shading the Atlantic Ocean a reflecting somber gray as the horses cantered along the sand that was made firm by earlier rain. Guillermo drove on the firmer sand, not in the water chasing seagulls, and not too fast, and I attempted to talk with them in my version of Spanish. We passed two big water trucks that had buckets and sponges waiting for riders to come by, and we passed several of the National Park buses that would be transporting the crews to the water stops and vet check.


As we reached the first condos and hotels on the beach of Matalascanas, we got just a hint of blue skies up there somewhere. Eugenia did a happy dance on the beach as Guillermo searched for a way to drive up off the beach into the town. He was successful in not getting stuck!

Last year's vet check was right on the beach, but this year it was moved to a small stable 2 km away. After their long stretch along the beach, the riders climbed up a bluff from the beach and headed along paved roads to the vet check. It was quite chaotic there, when the bulk of the day's 43 riders were there all together for their 30 minute hold, or coming in from or going back out onto the trail through a rather narrow gate, all at the same time.

Once most of the horses were on their way, we drove on to El Rocio, counting horses trotting along the side of the highway as we passed them. Last year's trail cut through Donana National Park - another 30 km of sand, some heavy at times; this year's trail instead went 30 km straight along the highway directly to El Rocio. And there was plenty of sand here - either you took your chances on the narrow, paved shoulder of the highway, with cars whizzing past by inches (few cars slow down for horses here), or, you took your horse through the sand off the highway.


We arrived at the finish in El Rocio where the meta (finish) line balloon was set up in front of the imposing white Santuario of Nuestra Senora de el Rocio.

Normally a sleepy little town of sand streets on the edge of Donana National Park, bordered by a swampy lake that's frequented by a herd of wild horses, it becomes the site of the Romeria del Rocio on the weekend before Pentecost Monday - the largest Pilgrimage in Spain. A million people crowd into the small town to visit the statue of the Madonna of the Dew, a tradition that began in the 15th century. They come by car, on foot, in oxcart and on horseback, to party and dance and perhaps partake of the magical powers of the Madonna.

We came to watch the finish of Day 2 of Al Andalus. It was a racing finish between the first 3 riders. First across the finish line by two lengths was the Spaniard Santiago Perez on Marlboro Yac, followed by Portuguese Joaquim Cruz, who was a few lengths in front of Italian Stefano Chidichimo.


If there was anyone who epitomized the heart, the pure enjoyment, and the appreciation of Al Andalus, it was Stefano. Wherever he went, there was a cloud of la dolce vita that preceded him and a wave of enthusiastic support that followed him. Once upon a time a lawyer, now doing Horse Management - tourism, events, training - he just BEAMS when he speaks of why he came to ride in Al Andalus for the first time. He looks to the sky and squints, in deep concentration, "It was a dream." He pounds his heart, where the deep feelings originate. He had read about Al Andalus and was friends with Jose Manuel Soto, and he found friends in Spain with horses to ride, so here he is. "I LOVE endurance around the world - the people, the riding." He got a huge cheer when he received his third place award on the stage in the town square.

Coming in 9th, and first Binomios, was, once again, Eduardo Sanchez and Hermes, just a few lengths ahead of 2nd place Binomios Claudia Lorenzo on Camila Av. Then it was an all-out horse race between the next Binomios riders: Ottto Velez and his son Andres Velez. They were clearly having a good time, as father just outlasted son under the finish balloon.

This is Andres' first ride in Al Andalus, but Otto's 4th. Otto's riding his homebred Arabian gelding Pal Partenon, with whom he finished 6th in Binomios last year.

The sun finally emerged from behind the clouds to shine on the town that was now busy with Al Andalus horses coming in, getting cooled down and doing their final trot outs, Al Andalus horses having their end-of-the-day roll in the sand, tourists, horse rides for rent, and a few bitted up Andalusians prancing through the sandy square.


Head veterinarian Francisco Castejon was happy with the performance of today's horses: of the 42 that started, there were only 2 eliminations at the first vet gate, 1 from lameness, and one rider option, and there were no metabolic problems.

The night's stay was at the same place as last year, Camping La Aldea, with convenient, comfortable bungalows right next to stables for the horses. A HUGE meal was provided for riders and crews in the restaurant; there were over 150 people, partaking of at least 5 courses of food, and beer, wine, and soft drinks. More than a dozen waiters efficiently zipped in and out, keeping fresh servings of food and drinks in front of everybody. There was so much food, I didn't know where to put it all, but it kept going down so i kept eating what they gave me. It was uproariously loud, people having a grand time visiting, especially the table of young riders, who were enjoying themselves as much as the adults, with talk and laughter and rearranging of positions for rounds of photos.


While the ride and the big meal of the day were finished, the work didn't stop. While vet inspections were held for tomorrow's Equipos horses who had not been ridden today, other riders and crews were busy with their horses: brushing, picking feet, hosing legs, walking. Maaite the physical therapist was busy working on 3 horses.

The "8:30" ride meeting was in the restaurant in the typically too-small room with too few chairs for too many people, and there was the usual much talking and visiting and little listening! Which is all part of the Al Andalus fun.


The WORST news to come out of the meeting was: Set your clocks back tonight for daylight savings time! The exact same thing happened last year when we stayed in El Rocio - we lost a precious hour of sleep. Another part of the Al Andalus fun!

Jose's Escort Services, LLC

Monday April 20 2009

Need a date? Need a companion for a few hours? Need someone to lean on or someone to help build up your confidence? Jose's your man.

Maybe you are, say, a little gray gal who hasn't been out much and could use a handsome, intelligent, clever, personable, confident, patient escort out on the high desert trails. You're not real nimble yet, and you sure aren't used to hills, and maybe you aren't quite sure of yourself out in the big world, if you've lived most of your life in a small flat paddock.

If that's you, then Jose's your man.


Today Jose politely, quietly, gallantly and willingly (especially with carrot treats!) accompanied Carol's new, rather inexperienced little gray mare out on a trail ride, up a sandy wash, up a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig hill (Jose grazed along the way while the mare stopped to rest and collect her thoughts about this biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig hill), and along a ridge with a great 360* view of the big Owyhee world.


It was a good leg stretching, and easy ride for Jose, after his 25-mile endurance ride on Saturday, and it was a good confidence building trail ride for the little mare, who led a very handsome polite gelding all the way.


All that, and Jose doesn't charge much - a handful of carrots and a bucket of grain, and a few head hugs by his rider at the end is all he needs.

2009 Al Andalus: Day 1 - Jerez to Sanlucar de Barrameda

FRIDAY MARCH 27 2009

Fase 1 - Jerez de la Frontera - Trebujena - 24.9 km
Fase 2 - Trebujena - Sanlucar de Barrameda - 37.78 km
TOTAL: 62.68 km

There were a few bleary eyes and slow-moving people at breakfast in the Ibis Hotel early in the morning, including Jose Manuel Soto: "I'm already tired! And it's the first day!" (These Andalucians seem to get by on little sleep.)


The controlled start from the Centro Militar de Cria Caballar was at 8:30 AM through the busy streets of Jerez, with police on motorcycles, and the lead car of Javier and Alberto (my drivers for the day). It was heavily overcast with threatening clouds, and it started to rain! It was just enough to make the streets really slick, making me wince at the thought of already-slick horseshoes-on-cement. Now was when you didn't want a horse acting silly, on the first day of Al Andalus, on wet pavement! However, most of the horses were well behaved, and there was lots of chatting and smiling amongst the riders at the beginning of this adventure.

Javier, on the other hand, said, "Merri. I'm nervous!" "Why?" "I don't know, maybe a horserace?"


Javier and the police switched off the lead for the riders as we came to roundabouts, keeping traffic out of our way when, suddenly, we took a wrong turn - oh no! Horses were right on our tail, almost poking their heads through out back window - and we sure couldn't turn around (Andalucian cars don't have a reverse gear). Now what! Radios crackled, phones rang, many animated discussions occurred simultaneously while we continued to lead horses forward, along streets, a big bus squeezing by us once, then onto dirt roads, past a construction site where horses had to squeeze by big noisy equipment.


There was still a great deal of discussion going on, but magically, we arrived at a roundabout near a busy highway. All the horses gathered, and eventually, were led off on another controlled half-mile escort until they reached a marked trail onto farmed land, and the field was turned loose.

Off they went! 2009 Al Andalus was officially, by the clock, on its way. Through slight rolling hills of vineyards and olive groves, grass and wheat, riders moved along to an assistance point in a little village. The front runners stopped only for a drink, but others stopped for water, a washing-down, and a little snack for their horses. It was a pleasantly cool morning, 15* C and sans the predicted 25 kph wind.


We drove by road - not on the trail with the horses - on to the vet check at Trebujena at 25 km. A white city closely perched on a hill, it overlooked horse competition grounds where crews were able to spread out their water buckets and hay and wait for their riders to come in. It had warmed up enough to peel off my fleece jacket, 68* with a little breeze, perfect for horses on the trail.

Inigo Del Solar on his big Anglo Arab Zafia had a five minute lead leaving the vet check, and we took off after him, heading for the Guadalquivir River in Sanlucar de Barrameda. Alberto put on some locally flavored Andalucian flamenco, and he and Javier clapped in stereo rhythm, singing out the open windows. The dirt road took us past farmed fields, which gave way to cattle, some with some rather large horns.

The dirt eventually gave way to sand, and then the land surrendered to wetlands and marshes (Las Marismas) created by the Guadalquivir delta, an important part of Coto Donana Espacio Natural that's one of the last refuges for the Spanish imperial eagle and the Iberian lynx. We passed numerous flocks of pink flamingos, and saw crabs scuttling in muddy drainage ditches beside the road. Al Andalus riders cantered through cattle and horses herds roaming the area.


We kept pace well ahead of the first riders, arriving into the backside of Sanlucar de Barrameda. Located at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River and dating back to Roman times, it is home to the oldest horse races in Spain, (dating back to 1845), it was the departure point for world oceanic explorers Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan in the 15th and 16th centuries, and it is home to Manzanilla, a variety of fino (driest and palest of the traditional varieties) sherry. Somewhere near here is also perhaps also the final resting place of the ancient civilization of Tartessos, and possibly the mythical lost city of Atlantis.

We squeezed our cars onto the beach, and drove alongside the river which was about a half-mile wide here. We were free and clear - only a few kilometers down the beach to the finish line, and the first day of Al Andalus was done!

However, this is a multi-day ride, and something unexpected is bound to come up...


...like shipping cables and metal rail tracks stretching from some machinery at the top of the beach to far down into the water, directly across the trail for the horses! These men were working on somethingorother... creating an impassible barrier, all the way up above the beach as far as we could see and all the way to and far into the water.

Javier and the other car stopped, and I jumped out into the sand - "No no no no! Horse can't cross this!" Just in case anybody thought otherwise. Radios and telephones flew out of pockets and they started crackling and ringing. Jose Manuel Soto drove up in his jeep, and we all stared at the railing and cable, the men considering if horses might find a way over. "No no no no!!!" I said, and hurry up about it, because the first 4 horses were now on the beach, cantering our way!

Jose went up and talked animatedly to some of the men, and they started to mechanically haul the killer cable up out of the water, slowly pulling something along the tracks - slowly, slowly... Finally, that obstacle was moved, but the horses still had to cross the steel tracks. They were a bit like railroad tracks, only bigger and scarier.

Javier had waved the horses to a walk, and when they got to the rails, all four of them balked. Three of them were at least considering crossing it though they were nervous; their riders urged but did not rush them over. The three finally made it across, hopping as if their feet were on hot coals, but the fourth horse, ridden by Joaquim Sancho Cruz of Portugal, would not follow them. He refused to cross, danced sideways in both directions, but no, he was not about to cross those horse eating things at his feet. After trying for a few minutes, Joaquim took him up higher, where the rails were partially buried by sand, and what you can't see can't hurt you if you are a horse (most of the time), they made their way over, and were on their way to the finish.

We followed, bumping and bouncing over the rails in our car, and raced down the beach after the leaders. We passed Inigo Del Solar, Emma Rosell, Iris Marion, and Joaquim cantering along, talking and laughing together. As they got close to the finish, Joaquim dropped back, while the other 3 made a sprint for the wire. The last 40 yards were full out, with Inigo's bay getting the jump, Emma's little stallion 1 second behind, and Iris' chestnut 1 second behind her. Joaquim came trotting under the line half a minute behind them.


The first 8 across the finish line were Equipos (teams) riders; the first Binomios rider across the line was Eduardo Sanchez Hidalgo on 16-year-old Hermes. (Originally, I heard Hermes was 14. As the ride progressed, he became 16 : ) .

It was Eduardo's first time to ride in Al Andalus - he's been away at university studying and has no time to ride. Normally it's his brother who rides. It is Hermes' 4th appearance in Al Andalus - and the first time as Binomios: their goal will be to finish every day. Why, at this age, ride every day on a 16-year-old horse? "Because it's a challenge! And he recovers (his heartrate) quickly." And why did Eduardo want to ride in Al Andalus? "It's heard to say! Because I'm Andalucian, and for the adventure."

43 horses started this morning; 4 received time penalties at the finish. One rider opted not to ride phase 2, 2 horses were eliminated at the finish on lameness, and 1 was eliminated on metabolics (the horse's pulse did not come down to 56 bpm in the required 30 minutes).

Loaded cargo ships passed from the ocean to Sevilla and back on the Guadalquivir, as the riders continued to stream in steadily under the finish line. Jose Manuel Soto raised his hands and shook his fists in the sky in victory - they pulled it off! First day successfully completed!


Most of the riders had finished by 3:15 PM. The Al Andalus stage was set up (as it would be every day) - the boys opened up the truck, set up the Kaliber and Cruzcampo beer stand for every finish line, and took it down after everybody left. Aceite de Oliva Virgen Extra de Andalucia set up a green octopus tent where they handed out samples of their divine olive oil. I called it an octopus tent, because at one point during the afternoon, the tent began to collapse, and eventually enveloped the person and all of the olive oil in its tentacles.

Stables were at the same place as last year, conveniently right across the street above the beach. Dinner was also held there - soups and stews with ingredients fresh from the river or sea. To top things off there was an ice cream bar for dessert.

Leonard and Joelle the Belgians, and Miguel the Argentinian had an enjoyable ride on their first day. On one track they'd come to a rather large cow, with rather large horns, that showed no interest in getting up and moving. Joelle detoured off the track to go around it, while Miguel trotted right past it. "He's from Argentina, he's used to cattle!" Joelle was amazed at the Organization's work in putting on Al Andalus and is astonished at what all must go into it. "Of course there will be mistakes," she said, but so far, so good.

I sat with one of the groups of Germans at Al Andalus. Nina Knapitsch is crewing for Annette Nothhaft (riding 2 horses) and Heike Blumel (riding one horse). Heike's horse Lens Armstrong KL is an 8-year-old trotter who was once a racehorse, but "he was too slow." It's Lenny's first year in endurance. Al Andalus was Heike's dream for 2 years, and now she's here, to see the countryside of Andalucia and to experience this 8-day ride. Nina used to ride in endurance, and in fact rode in the World Endurance Championships in Kansas in 1988, but now "my horse is not interested in endurance." (Kind of sounds like my horse at home...). She's no longer interested either in the commitment to ride at a high level of endurance, but she still loves the sport and enjoys crewing. When she heard these gals wanted help crewing, Nina jumped at the chance.


While the vet control was held at 5:30 for the new Equipos horses that would be ridden tomorrow, I found and bummed a ride to my hotel in town. What a hotel it was! We were on the 10th floor (my roomy was Maaike Vanhoutte, the physiotherapist asked to come to this year's ride) with a great view over the city. What was even better was the cafe I discovered on the 7th floor that provided the cappuchinos I needed so I could work on my photos. That provided a 360* view of the city, the beach and Guadalquivir, the ocean and the sunset.

My evening text message from the Organization - the clever way all participants were informed of schedules - indicated the evening's meeting and awards would be at "8:00 PM" in the Pedro Romero Bodega. It was within walking distance. But to find which Pedro Romero was the challenge of the evening. Many doorways said "Pedro Romero" but none were open. One pub said Pedro Romero, but the meeting was not here. Many people pointed the way for us, but we seemed to keep backtracking and spiraling inward, block by block. It was a good way to see the town. We saw some assistance cars, and finally we ran into several other people looking for the correct Pedro Romero.


We did find the one with the open door by 8:15. Not to worry, because "8 PM" in Andalucian time is somewhere around 8:30, more or less. Usually more. The first half hour or so were always taken up with visiting

"Tomorrow will be a difficult day for assistance," said Jose Soto. (Mostly in Spanish... some of the meeting got interpreted into other languages). While the horses would take the ferry across the Guadalquivir river into Donana National Park, and then travel in a straight line along the beach for 35 km to Matalascanas, and from there 30 km to the finish at El Rocio, all the assistance cars woudl have to drive over 200 km to get to El Rocio, by backtracking to Sevilla first.


Only a few official cars would be allowed on the beach; one person would be allowed on the ferry to crew for 2 horses, and would be transported by National Park buses to the vet check at Matalascanas. The organization would provide water stops along the beach. The rest of the meeting sort of descended into friendly chaos.

The awards were handed out to the top 3 riders in Equipos and Binomios to great cheers, then the meeting adjourned to wine and sherry provided by the Pedro Romero Bodega.

2009 Owyhee Tough Sucker

Saturday April 18 2009

Owyhee Tough Sucker

They don't come to this spring ride for the frills: the showers aren't working, there are no catered meals; ride awards are not donated by sponsors and are somewhat improvised. You might find that trail pie plates with arrows on them pinned to sagebrush have blown away, or half blown away so that the arrows are pointing the wrong way (so watch for the ribbons, and bring your map), and you might find ribbons pinned to cow pies instead of stakes in the ground. And if you show up a day or two early, expect to be recruited for chores: marking trails (use the rides to condition your horse! Or bring your dirt bike!), getting the lawn mower started (sometimes you get to mow the lawn too!), fixing an outhouse, putting out water troughs or setting up pens - just depends on timing and how lucky you are.


They do come here for the thrills: perfect weather (this year!); excellent trails; easy first ride at the start of the season (for most horses); a choice of 3 distances: 25 miles, 50 miles, 75 miles; and just the great company here in this part of the Pacific Northwest.

I was going to get to ride John T's horse Rushcreek Mac in the 50, with Steph on Rhett, meaning we were going to go FAST! But Mac colicked on Thursday night (!). Mac was fine on Friday, but riding him was out of the question. So, I pulled Jose Viola off the bench and took him on the 25 mile ride. Jose hasn't been ridden much since September, and by December he was already out of riding shape (like me). I knew he could handle the 25, but I didn't want to push him, or let him go too fast like he'd want to on a 50... there's always more endurance rides down the road.


When you do an endurance ride, do you choose to ride with somebody, or by yourself? There's good and fun reasons for both. And I did both today. Jose and I (and the Raven) started off near the back of the pack with a group of 4 horses - I knew Jose would want to go faster than was good for him, and he's better about rating with a group. I sure didn't want him to get in any hot-shoe race with any fast horses up front. He's such a good horse; he always listens, and even when he does get excited (which is not too often), he doesn't pull.

The first 15-mile loop for all distances led onto the northeast flats, following the rim above Bates Creek canyon. What a perfect morning: 55* and a slight breeze, not a cloud in the sky, snow on the Owyhees to the southwest, an enchanting layer of green all over this desert, the occasional deep pink Indian paintbrush and the yellow arrow-leaf balsam root, and a couple of purple flower carpets along the way.


Jose and I hung with this group for a while, then moved on ahead with Tammy and Ali for a while, crossing Bates Creek road and trotting our way back up onto, and along, the southwest flats. Then we went on ahead by ourselves, me and Jose, moving along at his choice of pace and gait, until we got to the top of Pickett Creek Canyon. I got off and walked him down into the Canyon, and then I got back on and let him go the last 1 1/2 miles back to camp. He trotted big, he cantered, and I only slowed him down right before we came in to the vet check. I figured it would take him a while to pulse down, but as soon as Regina checked him, she said "Oh, he's down!" Well - good for Jose! Maybe he wasn't that out of shape after all.

We had a 30 minute hold, and just as we were going back out on our second loop of 10 miles, Rhett and Steph were coming in off their 3rd loop. Oh darn! Jose whinnied after his buddy for several miles as we went along the trail away from base camp. But nevertheless, Jose is always quite willing to do what you ask, so we kept moving along by ourselves, seemingly the only people out here in the desert, trotting slowly but steadily until we got to the little climb heading up onto the scenic Hart Creek Rim Trail. Jose had a bit of sweat going on under the breast collar, and though I knew we weren't moving too fast for him at all, we slowed to a walk all the way up the hill.


Once up top, we saw a couple of horses ahead of us, and Jose decided they needed passing. We steadily caught up to and passed the first pair, and while we set aim on the next single horse, I swear Jose was enjoying the view off to our left of Hart Creek Canyon. He's a looker and he likes to take in everything around him. He especially likes to stop on the tops of hills and gaze around. He's a feeling soul, that horse, and I know he appreciates the scenery.


The trail took us back onto Spring Ranch road and Jose caught up with Carrie and A Little Jazzy, on their first endurance ride. After staying with them a while, Jose chose to move onward as we turned for home the last time, along the ridge above Pickett Creek. The cool wind blew my hair in the Owyhee sunshine, and Jose's hooves clipped rhythmically and confidently along the dirt road. I thought of how lucky I was to be here today, with my buddy Jose, a strong and willing and sure-footed partner carrying me along the trail on a day like this.


I got off for the walk down into Pickett Creek Canyon again, and when I got back on Jose, I let him cruise home again. Jose is just the coolest horse! We cantered much of the mile-and-a-half back, never breaking a sweat, and his pulse was down as soon as Regina checked him at the finish. AND we'd come in 5th place, only 11 minutes behind the winner!

"Geez Jose, we coulda done the 50 today after all!" But there's always more endurance rides.

You just didn't hear too many complaints from people today - even from the 2 riders who got lost (Steph went out on the ATV to search for one) and were overtime. "I always count it a good ride if I came away with no bruises!" "It was a good ride because I didn't fall off!" Those were words of wisdom from some experienced riders. Then there was an overdose of "It's a beautiful day!" and "The people here are just great."


It was a pretty easy ride for 58 Owyhee Tough Suckers - it really couldn't have been any better.


The only thing I have to add is: the Raven and I love Jose. Thanks for the great ride (again).