The WEC Adventure - 2005
Parties, Royalty and Rain

Every Sunday and Wednesday night the Bab al Shams has a party - an 'authentic Arabic Barbeque' - in the desert near the hotel. music, dancers, camels, tons of food, etc etc. Last night HH Sh. Mohammed and his new Jordanian wife, Princess Hiya, were there to greet people, and pose for pictures with guests.

Things are still going well - the OC is doing a very good job this time with communication - most things are on schedule, available, not very much confusion. More people are arriving. US horses arrive today. Riders are now focusing on preparations for the ride. They've settled in , found the stores, have a feeding/training routine, life is as normal as possible. So now it's time to think about the event. Procure or assign drivers, arrange rigs, buckets?ice?saddleracks?etc ? what items will they need on race day? how to shoe? pads, equithane, aluminum?? the course is supposedly well groomed - some sand, firm but not rock hard, not many rocks. We've seen groups of workers actually hand picking rocks off of the finish stretch. no expense spared. everything is possible.
later -
Thay have good parties here. Authentic Arabian Barbeque (good food), entertainment, and the special party will have... fireworks. The OC is going to allow a few people to go to the quarantine barns during the fireworks - a few worried riders! The barns aren't very far from the Bab Al Shams. I'll try to get some pictures of everybody and all the Stuff. If it stops raining that is... it started raining - a lot - last night, off and on today, now it's raining again - very hard. The locals say it's the most rain they've had in three years. Our hotel had problems with power/water last night - the fire alarms went off periodically - no electricty in the rooms till mid morning - strong winds and rain - not something they're accustomed to dealing with. But... the desert will be happy.

More folks keep trickling in - I bumped into more USA guys - Dewayne Brown (NW) doing massage for riders, helping when/where he can. Saw John Crandell (USA farrier), Jeannie Waldron (USA vet) at lunch. They were headed out to the US barn for more trot outs. I think they're going to keep all 9 horses at the Endurance City barns - still trying to keep all options open for final list for the race, and trying to keep everybody together.

Argentina is doing well - I really feel for Eduardo, being Chef d'Equipe is a tough job - everybody always needs something - and he's spending all of his time as go-between for Federation and OC, as team leader, mediator, problem solver, boss, friend, psychiatrist... It's a lot tougher for many of these countries because they don't have support and help from their Federation, they don't have a USEF and a Mary Lutz! So they have to do everything themselves, from the mundane paperwork, to the larger task of preserving and protecting their team of riders and horses - and have to learn and understand the FEI rules and regs, as well as all of the OC rules and regs. It's a real job - and the underlying nervousness of the riders is a constantly changing weather pattern. (rain or shine)

John is going to try to get here before the WEC - in which case I'll have a lot more help, photos, techy stuff, more immediate news. Lucie Hess is also coming over, and we're arranging to get her press passes for Endurance Net . I'm going to be busy helping Argentina (at this point I'm going to drive Mercedes' support rig, and also crew in the c checks) - so won't have a lot to contribute once things get rolling.

John and I (Endurance Net) are planning to be here to cover the Presidents Cup (Feb 17) . We'll get started on that as soon as the WEC is over. There will be quite a few US riders - the 3 alternates already here in Dubai, plus Becky Spencer and Jeremy Reynolds - the 2004 Tevis winners, and I think Hall Hall and Thunder will be here too. Karen Kroon - the winner of the Abu Dhabi Arabian Nights was invited - but she was recently deployed to Iraq (she's an Air Force public health officer - a veterinarian by traning).

Hopefully I'll have more news and photos tomorrow. This rain is pretty amazing... hope it quits before the dinner!

Steph

---a day later ---

It's raining again. The wind was blowing hard this morning - blowing sand across the road on the drive to the Endurance City - this can seem a very desolate place sometimes. It's warm though - warm and humid. And the rain is firming up the sand, which will certainly help the horses.

It's not helping the construction efforts much though... Hundreds of people working in every corner. Paving roads, constructing petrol stations, painting, digging, building, tearing down. Dozers and trucks everywhere. They have spent the past several days constructing a huge stadium and platform for the opening ceremonies. Working 'round the clock. And since the stadium, platform, and everything else for the ceremony is situated between the in-gate and the crewing area... they will begin tearing it all back down as soon as the ceremony is over. Calculating 3 days to construct, 18 hours to remove. no problem.

We went to the celebration dinner the other night - invitations only - to every Federation - riders, grooms and Equipe staff - all formal guests of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his wife Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein - credentials checked, no photos allowed - a private celebration for the endurance family.

And an amazing affair. It was held at the outdoor restaurant and entertainment center behind the Bab al Shams. Firepits, built in adobe style seats, tables, lounging areas. Stage for entertainment, tents, carpets, camels... the works. It was quite an affair. Incredible food, drink, good company, a nice time to visit with everybody else.

Gifts were given to all who attended. Numbers drawn upon entering the party, and numbers called during the evening by the MC. Decorative boxes filled with gifts - perfume, watches, jewelry, cap and jackets. Everybody was thrilled at the extent of generosity of our hosts; and as always amazed at the whole scope of this event. The night was capped with a spectacular fireworks display. (and the horses slept in their barns...)

John arrived last night - I picked him up in Dubai around midnight. So we'll have more photos, better news feeds. Plus the media center is now open, plenty of computers and fast net connect. It's situated in one of the wings overlooking the entry gate and cooling area, so there will be plenty of action to view. I'll be driving for Mercedes during the race (this I love!!) and crewing too - but hope to snag a few photos while I'm out there. Meanwhile John will be feeding photos, news, etc through the Net. Lucie Hess will be here to help, though I just got email from here, stuck in St. Louis because of the snowstorm. Maybe a day late.

gotta go, headed to the barn,

Steph