Annual Egyptian Spring 100 km on April 21

["Maryanne Stroud Gabbani" <maryanne@ratbusters.net>]

Well, it looks like it's going to be an annual event now, to have a 100 km
race from Sakkara Country Club. We have about 35 local riders, and easily
the same number or more coming from outside. This year the gates and some of
the infrastructure for the base camp has been set up from about 10 days
early. My understanding is that the route has been chosen and will hopefully
avoid some of the pitfalls of last year. The route passes by some villages
where children play soccer in the desert at the edge of the fields. Last
year, riders on later loops who passed these kids encountered a fair bit of
hostility at the games being disrupted...can't blame the kids actually, as
they don't have much in the way of facilities....so my understanding is that
the route passes these points early in the morning and avoids them later.
I'm not on the organising committee this year as these official rides have
been taken on by the Egyptian  branch of the FEI, so I will be crewing with
friends. Sharon Saare will be arriving on the 18th to do some saddle fitting
and clinics and fooling around in the desert for a couple of weeks after the
race. Jen Nice is coming, I understand, and one of the vet students tells me
that Dwight Van Hooten will be here again. I'm looking forward to being
involved in this with no responsibilities for a change. We still do not have
any horses that can give a serious challenge to those being brought from the
Gulf, in my opinion, but we should have some finishers. Our most seasoned
campaigners (who survived last May) now have two years of base work at best.

I'm expecting a fast ride from the UAE crowd, although we don't have graded
tracks and there are hills and rocks so it will be slower than anything in
Dubai. Hopefully, this year they will be polite enough to wait to have the
awards ceremony after ALL the riders are in.....some folks here have
suggested having it before the race so everyone can watch, but no one seems
to be taking that suggestion seriously. We have learned over the year and
from our experience last year. Some of the vet student volunteers will be
helping with crews for the Egyptian horses if they don't find work with the
visiting vets. These kids are wonderful and they really love the practice
that they get. I'll keep people updated as things move along. It should be
better run than last year as the EEI have had a few shorter races to
practice on and there does seem to be a learning curve. Maybe next year, if
my horses stay sound and my work pressures ease, I'll even get a chance to
ride.