New Zealand Horse of the Year Show Weekend

Sunday March 18 2007

Saturday about 2 dozen endurance riders mounted up and headed over to the main jumping stadium at 1 PM for awards and a bit of a closing ceremony. They all entered the stadium to the always-played tune “Stand Up For The Champions” (the same tune that Namibia played over and over when Steph was there last year - it's a catchy tune that sticks in your head) and trotted around the big jumps as the announcer talked about the endurance ride. Then all the riders lined up in front, and the BC winner was announced – the gorgeous chestnut Highlander ridden by Lois! The team placings were announced (winners were the Kiwis), and everybody had a good trot ‘round the stadium again.

The group of us got some lunch and sat in the beer tent; Paco and the Raven (who came along to enjoy the festivities) got on well. Paco said the chef d’equipe of Spain thinks that Ravens are good luck (well of course!), so Paco figures the Raven helped him win his medal. Paco wants a Raven if I ever stumble upon one again (don’t think they are made anymore). I said I’d bring the Raven to Spain… because it looks like I may be going to Spain for a ride this summer.

Then we had a day to play at the showgrounds with the thousands of other people here. It appeared to be a very successful and popular 54th Horse of the Year show. My eyeballs were popping out all over the place at the magnificent horses walking all around me. You know how I always want to touch things, well, I wanted to reach out and touch all of them that walked by me! But I figured that wouldn't go over so well.

There was so much to see! Some fantastic dressage, more jumping, driving classes, and those oh-so-fun mounted games (I want to do this!) on crazy ponies. We missed the cross-country, but we stumbled upon trick riders in the main arena - these guys and girls were crazy! A path was roped off outside of the jumps, and these trick horses sprinted flat out around this path while the riders flipped over both sides, upside down, hanging off the side, 2 riders at once, one backwards, one upside down. When the riders would be waiting to take off, the horses couldn’t stand still; they’d be wheeling and rearing and spinning and leaping, till they shot forward, heading for that first corner, ears flat back, racehorse-sprinting, leaning into the turns (usually with a rider hanging backwards off the side), dirt clods flying up in the air. Texas cowboy music was playing in the background, like the Yippee-Ay-A song, and the announcer was hollering into the microphone like it was an old Wild West Show. He said the horses were headed for the meat market before they were saved and recruited for this trick riding. One of the girls fell off when her saddle slipped - she ran after the horse and he was resaddled (while another horse and rider sprinted around), and she jumped right back on and did her death-defying hang off the side of the runaway horse (saddle firmly in place this time). They were pretty excited horses – they'd rear and bounce on their hind legs till they were turned loose to run, and when they’d sprint the circle path, instead of making the fourth turn to go round again, they’d go straight ahead and crash into their waiting buddies. One especially hyped up horse, leaping and spinning, made his way to the front of the crowd, and suddenly calmed down to do his trick: he went down on his knee and rolled over and played dead. The rider climbed all over him, laid down and rested on him; 3 young girls from the audience were brought out and sat on him; the rider laid out full length on top of him, and the horse never twitched, till he was asked to get up, at which point the rider jumped on, and he amped right back up and took off like a shot, tearing around the ring again. Crazy horses and riders! My favorite was Charlie, who had some draft horse in him – he ran as hard and as fast as he could, but it wasn’t such a fast death sprint. Charlie was more my speed – maybe I could have stayed on Charlie’s back! The Raven had a great time watching them.

Sunday was more entertainment, the same classes, different classes, and the exciting Mounted Games; and then there were Clydesdale riding classes, pulling classes, show classes. Stand on one corner, and watch big warmblood jumpers on one side and pony jumpers on the other; draft horses pulling sleds on the other and paint show classes on the other.

There were also shops of everything Horse you could imagine or want: riding clothes, raingear, hats, helmets, Zilco tack, show gear, saddles, hoof products, vitamins, feeds, magazines, leg boots, cool vests, horse blankets, Dick Wicks (I am not making this up - they make magnetic blankets), photos, paintings, drawings, tea samples, elecric fences, trailers, adopt-a-grayhound, solutions and advice for your problem horses...

Seeing all this magnificent horseflesh, and missing Stormy, I naturally wondered about shipping him on over to New Zealand next year and entering him in and winning some of these classes. He already knows how to wear the ribbons he'd win, as he's carried trail marking ribbons before and thinks he looks pretty cool with them fluttering off his neck and breast collar. Now we'd just have to pick the classes we'd want to win.

Hmm, wouldn’t that be a kick if Stormy and I could look as good as some of these great horses doing dressage... Stormy can bow his neck real good, that's half the battle, right? Although I think he'd have to do a little more than eat with his neck bowed in the arena. I think we'd both have to work too much for dressage - Stormy’s dreadfully lazy (he’s convinced he’s retired from everything but eating), and I just stink as a correct rider. Plus, to think of the years and years of walking and trotting and cantering in an arena… nope, couldn’t do it (me or Stormy). I’ll just enjoy watching it and appreciate the years the riders and horses have put in. Maybe we could enter the Clydesdale riding classes... Stormy's not quite as tall, but after a good summer and spring, he can easily match their roundness. The Clydesdales were about Stormy's speed - slow motion. But that was only because they're big, and Stormy's slow because he's lazy. High stepping, the big draft horses leisurely wound figure 8's around cones and turned wide corners through ground poles. Stormy would make the same big slow and wide turns because he's lethargic. The Clydesdales did have beautiful big feathery legs, which Stormy doesn't have. I know Stormy could win all the halter classes - he's obviously The Most Beautiful Horse On The Planet. He knows how to pose (for a camera), and he actually does know how to stand still. But, on second thought, he HATES to be groomed, and all those horses looked shiny and polished, and not one extra long winter hair on them. And on third thought, those horses looked very trim. Stormy wouldn't be able to suck his gut in. Guess we'll skip the halter classes too.

Those Mounted Games (the most popular event on Friday) looked the most fun! I'd have to get a pony for that, because Stormy would just refuse. I don't think he can sprint anymore, and he sure can't turn on a dime. I don't know if I could stay in the saddle myself, leaning halfway out of it to pop a balloon or spear a bucket or ring at a gallop, but one day I want to give it a try! I'll just leave Stormy at home wearing his Most Beatiful Horse on the Planet ribbons in his unkempt mane, bowing his neck to eat another bale of hay.

Kelt Capital Horse of the Year Endurance Ride

Friday March 16 2007

The van carrying our riders was supposed to leave at 5:15 this morning, giving our riders plenty of time to get to the venue at 6 AM, for the 7 AM start. Leonard and Carol's alarm didn't go off, so they woke up at 5:35, and were in the van with hopefully everything they needed at 5:40. Steph and I caught a ride with New Zealand vet Kate, and with Dr Bala and his wife at 6 AM.

There were about 35 starters in this FEI CEI** 100km ride; a team of South Africans, a team of Kiwis, and a "world team" which was Paul's team of himself (a Kiwi), Leonard (Belgium), and Paco and Cecilia (Spain), and the others riders rode as individuals. The ride would begin on the showgrounds in Hastings, ride through Cape Kidnappers (wonder what the story is behind that!), cross the Tukituk River twice, through apple orchards and residential areas, and finish in downtown Havelock. The ride started in the main stadium, where 35 riders and horses warmed up around the show jumps as the sky turned pink in the east. An announcer was broadcasting the start over the grounds. At 7 AM a police car led a rider with a flag and the rest of the field out of the grounds and onto the trail (road) for the first 4 km of a controlled start.

From there, Steph and I caught a ride with Mel, another vet, and Nel, vet Kate's assistant, attending her first endurance ride, to the first vet check, 33 km down the trail. We followed a lovely winding river valley through mostly bare hills, then wound our way down to a beach - a long private beach of heaven! Maybe the owners have their own endurance horses, as there were quite a few horses tucked back here in paddocks and on the hilltops, or maybe they were just friendly horse people or just people lending their place for a vet check and riding. It looked like there were cabins to rent also, and if you had a horse to ride, miles and miles of private beach to gallop along in the surf. It was quite beautiful - the water was blue green with white waves along the shore, an island out to the south, towering ocean cliffs to the north.

Crews pulled in to set up for "strapping" (which is what we Americans would call "crewing"), and it was like a big relaxed picnic atmosphere, although I'm sure tensions mounted with some camps as their horses came in. I wouldn't know, because I hiked down the beach a ways and planted myself to wait for the horses as they'd take off down the beach on their 2nd loop. The trail went right along the beach for a couple of miles for this one part of this one loop, before the tide came in.

Damn, here I was, stuck for the morning on a gorgeous white sand beach in New Zealand! I picked a stunning spot for photos (well, just about every spot was stunning), and I waited, with what sounded like geese or ducks or maybe herons making noises over the dunes just out of sight, and the breakers WHOOMP-crashing as they came in. And when the first riders started coming, oh man, the shots I had were so great I could barely hold my camera still enough to get them, without jumping up and down for glee, standing there (in New Zealand!!!) shooting them, me!! The only thing better would have been galloping along the surf myself, but that will come later.

A few riders pulled at this first vet check, but about 30 came by me, several of them smiling and waving to me as they passed. When Paul and Paco and Leonard and Cecilia rode by, near the back of the pack, all the men were serious and stern-faced, concentrating hard on what they were doing (Leonard said he never saw me standing out there, 50 feet away from them), but as Cecelia passed she broke into a huge grin and waved at me. She was having a blast, looking around and enjoying every minute of her ride in beautiful Kiwiland!

As I passed the time between horses just soaking up the beauty of the place, the white sand, blue-green water, the distant cliffs, the mist over the beach, the sharp hills rising 100 yards inland (with horses grazing on the very top), the waves crashing, the beauty of the horses galloping by along the water, I was thinking, The only thing that would make this any perfect-er would be some dolphins leaping in the surf.

Watch what you ask for - not ten minutes later, I see dolphins out in the water!! I thought I was hallucinating at first, because how could I have just conjured these dolphins up, but there they were, dolphin fins breaking the surface about 100 yards out in the water, dozens of them, maybe 50, maybe 100, strung out in a long line, heading north along the beach just like the riders. Several riders saw them also, so it wasn't my imagination! Gee, what else would I like here in New Zealand? How about Viggo Mortensen or Lord Aragorn galloping down the beach towards me? Be careful what you ask for J

The horses returned to this private property area after a short loop for another vet check, then they went out for another longer loop, returning back here again for their final vet check. A few more horses were eliminated, and Paul's group was slowly picking off horses, moving up in placings. They also spread out a little bit according to the horses' abilities; Paul left the last vet check headed back to Havelock a few minutes ahead of Paco, who was a few minutes ahead of Cecilia. Leonard followed a bit after that.

Yesterday at the vet-in this gorgeous chestnut gelding caught my eye: Highlander, ridden by Lois Hosking. At the first beach vet check today, this same chestnut caught my eye again, a big poser! He galloped by me in 6th along the beach. He stayed up in the front of the pack all day, and came in the top 3 in the last vet check here.

After our riders left on their final loop home, Steph and I hitched a ride with (I think) Vicki Scheffer who was crewing (sorry, "strapping") for her husband Graham, into the little town of Havelock, where the horses would finish in a little town park. Barricades were set up along a mile or so of a busy street, and policemen were out directing traffic while waiting for horses to come in. Townsfolk started gathering in and around the park to watch the finish. Ron the announcer was set up and was talking about the riders, the sport, and what would be happening; by extensive radio communications (throughout the whole day, and many checkpoints), we were informed when riders were approaching. It was quite a festive atmosphere, pony rides in the park, kids climbing trees, bike riders, families strolling about, wiener dogs joining the festivities.

The first rider to come in was Jenny Chandler on a pretty gray, but she did not pulse down in 30 minutes, so she didn't get a completion. The second across the line, Kylie Avery was then declared the winner, and my favorite chestnut Highlander was moved up to second! Lois was quite happy, and Highlander looked quite good trotting out. All the horses had to wait for a van ride back to Hastings, so while they hung out waiting for the other horses to finish, Kylie's horse was attacked - by little girls! He stood there while half a dozen little girls at a time petted him and snuggled with him. Sometimes there were 12 hands on him at once, lovingly touching his skin, or heads resting on his shoulder. He attracted grownups too, and one elderly woman had her picture taken with him and Jenny. Either he was really too tired to care, or he didn't mind it at all, but I think he kind of liked all the girl attention he was getting. The little girls probably dreamed tonight of having their own endurance horse and winning a ride like this one day! Future Junior riders!

Paul ended up finishing 4th or 5th. Paco followed a while later, and Cecilia finished a bit further back, still all smiles, elated to be here and to have finished the ride. Unfortunately Leonard did not finish - his mare refused to cross the Tukituk River the second time. They'd all balked the first time across as a group, but finally made it through. Here Leonard was alone, and he tried everything he could think of, even waiting for the next two horses, but she wouldn't do it, so he withdrew, and got vanned back. Three of the South Africans finished (Steph knew them from her visit to South Africa and Namibia last year), including her special friend Villa Botha, who was also thrilled and grateful to have the chance to ride, and finish here. Two juniors started and finished. A South African rider was the last to finish a little after 5 PM, all by herself.

All day people had been friendly, and I got several invites for places to stay, sure, come ride with us, and anything you need, just let us know. I'll be taking some people up on this!

Steph and I, and Dr Bala and his wife Magis, and vet gang Kate and Mel and Nel wanted to call it a day with a coffee from the coffee shop (I had already visited two!), but both were closed, so we were forced to go to a pub. Really, Dr Bala and his wife wanted coffees, which took about half an hour to get. We figured the pub workers must have had to go buy an expresso machine, or run open one of the closed coffee shops to make them. Magis said it was worth the wait once it arrived. Steph and I wanted a New Zealand beer, and so made the mistake of ordering the first tap we saw that said "New Zealand" - and ended up with a shocking first swallow. Cider! It was cold, but didn't hit the spot! Next time we will read the fine print more closely - or just drink more coffee!

And so ended the Kelt Capital Horse of the Year Endurance ride. If everything went well, it will become a permanent discipline of the Horse of the Year event. Maybe next year I'll be on a horse.

New Zealand - Land of the Long White Cloud

Thursday March 15 2007

OMG - NZ! I can't believe I'm in New Zealand!! In the native Maori language, New Zealand is known as Aoteraroa, which is usually translated into English as The Land of the Long White Cloud. When I landed in Auckland, in the north of the North Island, It was indeed cloudy, and windy, sprinkling, and COOL! An immediate short flight an hour southeast to Napier/Hawkes Bay, landed me where it was COOLER, and spitting rain! No whining here! I sucked in great lungfuls of the cool drier New Zealand air! I hitched a ride with a man Ron, who knew nothing of my arrival, and who was picking up Dr. Bala (veterinarian for the King of Malaysia's stables, would be head vet for the Horse of the Year Endurance ride) and his wife.

I happened to end up at the correct hotel in Napier where Steph had just arrived (she flew in a day early, and stayed in Auckland a night). The Palm City Hotel was the gathering place of a group of endurance riders who would be riding in Friday's 100 km endurance ride as part of the Kelt Capital Horse of the Year. It's a multi-disciplined horse show, and international endurance has returned for the second year. Some of the riders would be: Leonard from Belgium, with Carol, (the same two we were with in Malaysia last week); Paco from Spain, with his wife Esther; Celia from Spain and her husband Thomas (Steph and I got stuffed into their 2-bedroom hotel room because of a booking oversight). There were also four South African riders due, among New Zealand and Australian riders, 34 total.

Napier looked and felt like a sleepy little coastal town, much like coastal towns in Oregon. I heard the very green Pacific Ocean was very near, but I'd have to see it in the morning, because it was an early night for me.

And I saw the green Pacific the next morning; we drove alongside it for a while on the way to Hastings, where the Horse of the Year events were already underway at the Fairgrounds. Actually, we drove and drove, (Leonard drove, and he's used to driving on the right side of the road in Belgium, and here the Kiwis drive on the left…), and finally we realized we might be lost. We stopped to ask for directions twice, and finally ended up at the Hastings Fairgrounds an hour late. Paul Jeffrey was taking his 3 riders out for a ride on his horses; they quickly saddled up and took a spin - around and around the small warm-up grounds where we were parked because they couldn't go out on trail -the first part of which was in residential areas.

The Raven came along today, rode in the van with us, met with and talked to Paco, made friends everywhere, ate with an endurance horse, and got his own miniature horse ride.

Meanwhile, I wandered around the grounds watching all the people and horses and events. Horse of the Year - what a great concept. What a fun show! Big horses, little horses, ponies, tiny horses. Dressage, big Clydesdales pulling a wagon, (scaring many horses tied to trailers), jumping, Mounted Games (!!! What fun!!!), endurance, horses everywhere doing everything. The horses in Malaysia were on the thin side - I guess you would want that in a terribly hot and humid climate - and they were all kinds of shapes and sizes, some Arabs, lots with Thoroughbred blood. Now here in New Zealand at this show - here were some good looking horses! I sure like to ride Arabs, but my favorite are the Thoroughbreds and Warmbloods. Just dang good looking horses. Many were almost as handsome as Stormy J. Good flesh, good size, good shape. I lust after the Mustangs, love looking at the Thoroughbreds, and like riding the Arabs.

It was a beautiful, sunny, partly cloudy, cool, bit windy day. I even happily wore my fleece jacket on and off when I was in the shade! No more rain - the skies cleared and the grounds seemed to have nice footing. And oh my god, I am in New Zealand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The endurance horses all vetted in, and the riders went to their meetings while Carol and I snuck a little bit of shopping in between picture taking.

The endurance ride begins tomorrow at the quite decent hour of 7 AM, and the weather prediction is nice weather, not so hot and humid!

Malaysian Conclusion

Tuesday March 13 2007

What is it that makes a country wonderful? It's the people. Malaysia is just that because of its wonderful people. Everywhere people were kind, friendly, always had a genuine greeting or a smile. You got the feeling that they really did enjoy meeting and visiting with you and having you, a foreigner, in their lives, even if it did disrupt them. Of course, the good food doesn't hurt either.

OK, so I did whine about the weather, but that's a matter of your preference. Even a lot of Malaysians said it was dreadfully hot and humid. Steph loved it. I whined about it a lot and came near to heat stroke once or twice. (Wah, wah!) However, there was an awesome rainstorm that dumped on Kuala Lumpur my one afternoon there. I'd just gotten back to the hotel after a wilting long walk, and it started raining - and I mean RAINING! A big, fat, luscious life-giving deluge, a downpour that is frequent in the monsoon season, which this is not, a deluge that refreshes you physically and spiritually. I stuck my arms out our 6th floor windows and soaked it up (I stopped short of running outside and standing in it). I hadn't seen rain in maybe 6 months, and it's been years since I've seen a long heavy serious deluge of sheets and torrents like that. It purged the city of its traffic noise, and it knocked big leaves off some trees that with the breeze floated upwards before spiraling down. It didn't smell as good in the city as it does in the real outdoors, but it still smelled refreshing, cleansing.

It went on for maybe 20 minutes (with one bolt of lightning and thunder!) before you could see it passing on out of Kuala Lumpur. In the distance you could clearly see jungle hills with low clouds floating on them. Now, a good soaking every day in Kedah would have quieted my bellyaching about the heat, if just briefly! I'll just have to come back during the monsoon season.

It seems not too many people smoke here. Not too many people walk here either - everybody either has cars or one of the abundant motorbikes.

It was great meeting and mingling with riders from all over: Holland, Indonesia, Belgium, Malaysia, Qatar, and to hear their languages and accents. Of course it also makes me feel dumb (as it always does) that I don't speak anything other than English when everybody else easily converses in at least 2 other languages.

As for the good food - I had dinner three times a day. Thai or Chinese or Malay food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was sure I'd gain weight here what with all I ate but alas that did not happen!

The fresh fruit juices were in a class altogether extraordinary! Apple, watermelon, guava, starfruit, orange, MANGO, coconut - all fresh squeezed right where you ordered them from. (And on ice!!!) Made you weak in the knees when you sipped one of those on a hot day (which was every day!)

As for the method of eating… well, where you normally might be used to a knife and fork and spoon, or at the least a knife and fork, here you traditionally get a fork and spoon. You can conveniently eat off one or both, and you use the spoon to cut like a knife. And you always get whole pieces of chicken with the bones, so good luck with cutting the meat off with a spoon. You can always eat with your right hand, which some people do, but it can get quite messy. (Also hard to get the meat off chicken with just one hand, if you can't bite it off) I used my fingers in India all the time, but here in Malaysia I tried to master the spoon-as-knife technique. I didn't always cut so well, but I could shove spoonfuls and forkfuls in my mouth almost simultaneously!

And so in closing, I would recommend Malaysia to only a few travelers. Sure, I'd like to share it with some people, but I don't want it spoiled by hoards of tourists. I don't want the lovely country to change at all.

Malaysia Tourists Prologue

Monday March 12 2007

With all the Kedah endurance ride stuff over, some of us foreigners were going to have a special treat of spending a day and night on Penang Island in a new hotel.

Steph's plans changed to where she'd have to miss Penang and fly straight to Kuala Lumpur. I'd go on to Penang (no complaints!) and fly to KL late Monday morning as scheduled.

She left early Sunday morning from Alor Star; Shah came by the room around 10:30 to tell me I'd be getting a ride to Penang with the "Dutch team" at 12:30 and to bid me farewell - as of now he was off duty! I thanked him, told him we really appreciated everything he did, we really enjoyed having him to work with. Boy are we going to be spoiled anytime we go somewhere else! I gave him an endurance net Tshirt - don't know if he'll wear a bright blue, but I know he'll appreciate the gesture. I think Steph inspired him to learn to ride horses!

I got a call downstairs from another liaison officer Neermal at 11 AM asking if I was ready to go now. I was, and when I got downstairs with my big suitcase (on which I now had to unzip the expandable zipper, from too much shopping!), the Dutch girls Barbara and Jeanne were already packed up in the car… and had no room in the trunk for my big(ger) suitcase! A little problem. No way we could squeeze the driver and Neermal, and us three and all the suitcases in. So, Neermal and our driver were immediately on the phone to tackle the problem, arranging for another driver.

While we waited, Neermal suggested we go by the White Coffee house for ice blended hazelnut white coffees, since it was kind of on the way… no complaints from here on that idea either! The other car arrived just then, and my suitcase got its own limo transport. The coffees were a wonderful cool treat for the hour or so ride down to Penang!

Instead of the heavily congested 4-mile bridge across to Penang Island and Georgetown, we took the ferry. We got out of the car and stood at the front of the ferry - a lovely breeze blew over us! It wasn't too warm, though it was certainly still not cool! It was just a 5-10 minute ride; then we had to wait on the other side because the suitcase car had to wait to catch the next ferry (about 5 minutes later). We were driven to this fancy new hotel along the waterfront (a bit of a muddy beach in front - the tide must be out). We checked in at the front desk - whoa, a pretty huge nice modern international hotel.

I went up to my room... up and up, to the 10th floor, and WHOA! It was a HUUUUUUUUUUGE room with a front view of the waterfront! Yikes! Did they make a mistake? Was somebody like me really supposed to be staying in here? I was afraid to spread out all over the floor like I usually do! The bathroom was bigger than my travel trailer back home! And much more elegant! Boy, Steph was going to be sorry she missed this!

No time to rest, since it was now almost 4 PM; had to get back out to see some of the town. I met Neermal downstairs, and we waited for Barbara and Jeanne. Neermal had to leave so she pointed out to us where to go for shopping. Of course I was thinking of a local market, of which there are one or two here in Georgetown that I've read about, and I think Jeanne was thinking of that too, but Neermal steered us to... you guessed it, the huge modern mall next door.

We went inside anyway because Jeanne wanted to buy some blank DVDs - Help me! Disneyland meets casino meets Mall of America. Eight floors (the 7th just for parking), thousands of people, announcements just like at Disneyland (in that same deep expressive happy voice!), noise and more noise. It was just missing the Ding-Ding-Ding-Dings of casinos. You had to wait in line to get on the escalators! There was a movie theatre in there too, and one of the movies playing was TONIGHT WE DINE IN HELL. Okay!

Finally Jeanne found DVDs, and after looking at the price of a scarf that was something like 90R (I paid 14R for mine in Alor Star), Jeanne said, "I think we want a real market." Yes! So we escaped the mall, and went back to the hotel to ask about a local market. (Barbara went upstairs to catch up on sleep.)

The boy at the front desk answered, "I think you should go to the mall." "We've been there. We want a local market." "I think that it is too late, it is only in the morning. Morning you try." Then he added, "I think that it is Sunday, no market." OK... we left figuring the boy just wanted us to go shop at the mall!

So Jeanne and I just decided to go walking, and we headed down the waterfront the other way, east. It was, as usual, hot and muggy, though we had plenty of shade from huge trees on both sides of the street. Some of the trees had naughty noisy crows in them, maybe the hooded crows that are all over this part of the world. There were a lot of young people out and about - it's the school holiday. Not too many traditionally Muslim-dressed people out; this looks much more like a holiday island, with plenty of tourists. We walked and walked, and finally turned to make our way back. We had found a local food court area that Neermal told us opened at night, so we planned to meet downstairs at 7, and we'd try to find Leonard and Carol, and Otto (all arrived before us), and Rohanna to come with us.

But before that, of course I had to run to the Starbucks next door on the outside of the mall. I ordered a double expresso over ice. My mouth was watering for the cold drink, I was dying from the heat… "I am sorry, we have no ice." Well, I tell you, I was just floored! "What, no ice?!" "No, no ice, sorry." I was so stunned I didn't know what to do - had my heart and mind and soul set on an iced breve (after adding my own thick cream, like the delicious Starbucks we had at the KL airport a week ago), that the thought of a hot steamy cup of strong coffee, no matter how good it was, filled me with horror. But of course not so much horror that I'd pass it up.

So I agreed to the double shot of expresso, and I was thinking at least a big cup I could fill up with cool heavy cream, and maybe I could leave it in my room's fridge to chill a while, when out came this teeny tiny cup of concentrated thick motor oil with a little whiff of coffee in it. It was about the size of a thimble, and there was no cream, no half and half, only weak milk, and the cup was so small, no more than a pinch fit in it anyway!

I took my miniature Starbucks concentrate to a table, and sat down. As I sipped from my hot thimble of coffee, I spied some people with big cups with ICED DRINKS in them, so maybe the girl just didn't understand me, or maybe they just don't put shots over ice. Being that it was so hot outside, and my expresso was very hot, I didn't want to hang around and stretch this imbibing adventure any longer than necessary. So I gulped down my liquid (two swallows) and left, and by the time I got up to my nice room 5 minutes later I was already getting caffeine-loopy. Great!

Jeanne and Barbara and I met downstairs at 7, and hadn't connected up with anybody else, so we went down the street to the food vendors. Oh my, there was so much to choose from, much that I didn't recognize, it was quite overwhelming! The place was packed too - I can see why it opens in the evening, because it would be way too hot to hang out during the day. But now, getting dark, it was a busy hangout. Barbara got some prawn mee (noodles), and Jeanne and I finally decided on chicken satay, prepared over a hot fire by a young smiling polite Malay boy.

We walked around afterwards, taking about 10 minutes to cross the insanely busy streets, stumbling across this fresh seafood market/restaurant, and I mean fresh - you ordered your fish or crab, and the boy fetched your live specimen right from the tanks. Alaska crab, shrimp, fish, geoducks, you name it.

When we got back to the hotel, we ran into everybody else - Rohanna had arranged for us all to go to dinner. We three were full, but we enjoyed the company of Carol and Leonard and Otto and Rohanna, so we all caught taxis to this traditional Malay restaurant that Leonard and Carol had already had lunch at today.

I was full, but I sampled a few dishes, two of which were killer salads - made with shredded mangoes or apples, onion, lemon grass, diced chilis, and lime juice, with some kind of sharp vinegar-y dressing - to DIE for! Plus fresh juice - apple, mango (!!), coconut straight from the coconut, etc. And the food was so cheap!

And here Rohanna gave me the news that Steph had changed her flight to New Zealand back to tomorrow, and was trying to change mine also; my 11:30 AM flight tomorrow from Penang to KL was now at 5:40 AM! (Or was it 6:45 AM… there was some confusion over that). So I'd be getting up at… 4 AM?? Yikes! So I passed up a night of partying (which I would have done anyway) to get to bed, which didn't happen till midnight. I asked for a 5:30 AM taxi (I decided to bet on the later 6:45 AM flight), and a 5:15 wake-up call. I dug my alarm clock out of my suitcase to set for back-up, because I didn't quite trust hotel wake-up calls... which was confirmed when I got a wake-up call at 11:30 PM.

So, it would be off to KL early in the morning off little sleep, and find out when I got to the airport whether I'd be immediately continuing on to New Zealand, or if I'd get to stay in KL a day...

Onward!

RAVEN MINGLES WITH ROYALTY!

Saturday March 10 2007

The Raven got to come along to the Closing Ceremonies and experience Royalty! We all sweltered once again in the afternoon heat. Well, maybe Steph did not suffer - on the ride to the venue, she said, "I wonder if the hotel has a hot tub or Jacuzzi?" AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! I about incinerated in my car seat. And me, I was all dressed up in black, head to toe!

The whole shindig started a half hour later than scheduled, then finally the first of the dignitaries arrived: Prince Rashid of Qatar. Rumored to be the handsomest man on the planet, and I'm not sure I'd disagree. The Raven got a little peek of him as he walked by, but I was afraid to stick him right in front of the Prince - didn't want to offend and did not want the Prince to covet my Raven!

Time ticked away in the heat - seems things were delayed even more, (I saw Prince Rashid check his watch once), which wasn't that bad, even though I was cooking, because there were plenty of nice Malaysian people to visit with (have I mentioned how nice and pleasant everybody is?). I used one of the programs (with Steph on the cover) from one of the bags (with Steph on the cover) in every chair for every visitor to fan myself with hot air. It was very hot, even for the Raven.

Finally the others began arriving: the Saudi Prince, the Sultan's brother, the Sultan and the King. When I saw many of the people greeting the King with folded hands and a little bow, like a Namaste greeting, I wasn't sure that sticking the Raven in the King's face would be interpreted as a respectful greeting, so the Raven waited till the King was past to pop up and send a greeting. After the National and State anthems, I had to excuse myself to a back row, because the sun was just beginning to grace our row. Really, I don't see how those horses and riders did it! After speeches, the presentation of awards to the top 5 placings in each ride were ceremoniously given. People cheered and clapped when the names were called; the winners walked up to the stage (respectfully walking on the side of the yellow carpet), and received a prize from either Prince Abdullah, Prince Rashid, the Sultan, or the King.

After more speeches, the Royalty walked back out past us on the yellow carpet, stopping to greet people along the way. The Raven watched from the safety of his bag, and then took a last look at the stage before we left.

And so concluded the Raven's first mingling with Royalty!

Royal Kedah International Invitational Ride

Friday March 9 2007

Big day in northern Kedah state, Malaysia - the 79th birthday of the Sultan of Kedah, and the first Royal Kedah International Invitational Ride, (an FEI 120km ride, an 80km ride, and, Saturday morning, a 40km ride), with visting dignitaries. The King of Malaysia (Steph's friend) would not only be here, but would ride in the 120km ride.

Opening ceremonies started at 3 PM on Friday. It was another warm (I'm being very optimistic here) day in Malaysia. Barbara, who helped organize this entire event, said the heat was awful, and she felt and looked about like me - liquefied. She's from Malaysia and said she's not used to this kind of terrific heat either, so I guess I'm not being too melodramatic. Guests started arriving at the big outdoor open tent, mingling, reintroducing themselves to everybody. Steph and John knew many people from previous rides here in Malaysia. There were big rotating fans spraying a fine mist to help circulate the hot air. Standing right in front of one felt nice!

Arrival of Foreign Dignitaries began around 3:30; you could see the police escorts pulling up, and the dignitary was announced. The last two were: His Royal Highness Al Sultan Almu tasimu Billahi Muhibbuddin Tuanku Alhaj Abdul Halim Mu adzam Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah, The Sultan of Kedah Darul Aman, and His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang DiPertuan Agong Al-Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Ibni Almarhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah - the King of Malaysia. (You reckon they ever just call each other "Joe" or something?) As soon as each of the Royal visitors stepped out of their cars, they were mobbed by press, and quickly ducked into a side tent out of the heat, presumably waiting for the rest of the dignitaries, and the Sultan and the King before the ceremony could begin. Finally it did, with a little procession leading them up the yellow carpet to the stage. The King and the Sultan of Kedah led the way, followed by (I hope I don't get this wrong, and I will probably put them in the wrong order, which is probably a big faux paus) another Malaysian His Highness Tunku Haji Abdul Malik Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Badlishah (The Raja Puan Muda of Kedah Darul Aman), Prince Rashid from Qatar, Prince Abdullah from Saudi Arabia, and Sheikh Sultan from Abu Dhabi and a host of other important people. The King shook hands with people as he walked up the aisle, and everything and everybody was easy and comfortable, none of the frenzy we Americans tend to shower on politicians. I wonder how we'd react if we had a King?

After the National Anthem and the Kedah State Anthem we sat down while the event was inaugurated, with some long speeches, in Malaysian. Every once in a while, my ears picked out "Agong" (King) and "Mizan" (the King's name) out of the speeches, but that was it. They didn't say kuda melintas (horse crossing) or terima kasi (thank you), the only four other words in my Malaysian vocabulary! A group of men in orange, red, and green traditional Malaysian dress presented the Sultan with a golden horse head that he placed on the large RKII Ride 2007 plaque, which officially opened the event.

Then it was off to the stables to get ready for the start of the 120km and 80 km rides starting at 5:30 PM. Since Steph was riding one of Peter Toft's horses, she'd be riding with Peter and Penny in the 120km. Their goal was just to get the horses around the course, as a training ride for the next Malaysia ride in June. There may have been some unsettled nerves, but everybody I watched looked like they were just saddling up for a group trail ride.

The starting line was lined by a festive orderly mob. Policemen kept a path clear for the horses to cross the street from the stable to the starting area. I wandered around taking pictures, took a few of the riders I'd met here. At the start, some took off at a smart trot at the word go, while some just strolled on out, picking up a leisurely jog. It was very hot and humid, and it wasn't going to cool off any for the entire ride, even when the sun went down. After they were well off, it crossed my mind that I missed King Mizan - I completely forgot he was riding! He was even number 1! Some kind of photojournalist I am! Maybe it was partly because there was absolutely no fuss around him - he was just another rider out there. Can you imagine if an American president wanted to ride endurance? Think of how many bodyguards would have to learn to ride, and how many horses would have to be trained to ride in formation along the trails, and how we'd have to give up the trail and to make way for the Security Service Herd to pass. Nobody could congregate around water troughs till They were done, the vet check area would be cordoned off and we'd have to lose valuable time and wait till the President's crew passed through Their vet check, and if some of Their Horses didn't come down we'd have to keep waiting... etc. It's great the King of Malaysia can just go out and enjoy riding by himself without an entourage.

It would be a couple of hours before the first horses began arriving back off the 32 km first loop, so Carol and I wandered around the park beside the lake. There were lots of people and families out - while Saturday and Sunday are observed as the weekend in most of the rest of Malaysia, Friday and Saturday are the weekend in Kedah state.

The first 120km rider came in under two hours along with an 80km rider, seemed like a pretty quick pace for this heat. These first two, and in fact, many of the horses I've seen here, have a lot of what looks like Thoroughbred in them. Big long heads, bigger bodies, a heavier way of going. But, maybe they handle the humidity better than Arabians. It took these first two about 15 minutes to pulse down, and by then, other riders had steadily started streaming in. Most riders hopped off at the start/finish line, had help pulling their saddles, and the grooms would walk them straight to the cooling down area and get busy: many hands pouring water, scraping water, pouring more water, hosing them between the hind legs, checking their heartrate. There was ice available in buckets; towels were dunked in them and laid over the horses' necks. It's got to be hard to get the temperature of a big body down when there's no relief from the heat and humidity. Most of the horses looked quite good coming in.

Just as the last of the evening sun was fading, the King came in off the first loop. This time I didn't forget about him, but now of course my camera was having a hard time focusing in the near-dark. Steph and Peter and Penny came in just after him, as did the two Dutch girls Barbara and Jenne. Leonard from Belgium preceded them by about 20 minutes, but his horse was off at the vet check. Steph's horse was going well, but Penny decided to pull, because although her horse felt good, she was stumbling too much, which wasn't usual, and the trail was only going to get trickier in the dark - and it was now dark on the trails, with jungle noises coming alive. Big frogs out there.

Later we heard the King also pulled; his horse was off. We were expecting our riders to come off the next 25k loop around 11 PM. There were still a ton of people out, strolling the park grounds, sitting in the rows of chairs across the street from the start/finish, and a never-ending stream of cars and motorbikes flowing by in both directions. A colorful festive Malaysian weekend night.

Peter and Steph and the Dutch girls all arrived together right around 11 PM, and all pulsed down right away, though it was still very warm. I don't know how those horses (or riders!) do it - all day from the moment I stepped out of our air conditioned hotel, I'd been hot, clammy, sticky, wilty. They just all carried on, like endurance horses and endurance riders, as if it were a cool day in the park!

During this hold, Barbara's horse wasn't eating, so she decided not to go back out. The other horses pigged out for their 40 minute hold, then they were saddled back up and headed out into the steamy darkness again.

Since John was crewing for Steph, and Penny for Peter, and Leonard volunteered to stay, Stan and Carol and I caught a ride home (i.e., I wimped out - all I could think about was a cool shower) with our two tired liaison officers Shah and Neo. Those boys (all of them, and the girls) are great - always there if we needed them. Need to change your flight? Tell Shah and he's on the phone to the person who can do it or will know who can do it. Want to go shopping? Tell Shah. Need snacks or sports drinks a half hour before the ride starts? Tell Shah. Need iced coffee and something hot to eat for when you come off the 2nd loop? Tell Shah. Want to catch a ride from the hotel next morning back to the ride venue? Shah will arrange a driver, and get up with you and take you there at 6 AM, (this ride was not for me!) and pick up breakfast for Steph and John on the way. I said to Shah, "I bet you will sleep for a week when we all leave!" He said "I think that I will sleep for a month."

So I got a good night's sleep at the hotel while Steph and Jenne completed the ride with 20 minutes to spare. Peter pulled before the last loop, didn't like how his horse was going. Steph and Jenne flew the last loop in the just-coming dawn. Steph really liked the horse she rode - good, strong mare, nice ride. She said on the first loop there were literally thousands of Malay people out to watch the horses and riders pass... probably chiefly to see their King ride by. She felt like she was in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, everybody cheering and clapping and yelling and waving. And at a water stop at a busy road crossing, at 4 AM, there were the King and his vet, just hanging out waiting for his horses of the Royal Stables to all pass by.

Next, after a few hours of much needed Saturday sleep for the riders and crew, will come the Closing Ceremonies beginning at 3:30 PM... where the Raven gets to meet Royalty!