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[RC] Pres Cup broadcast - Steph Teeter

Well I did it. Stayed up for the whole thing. I have to admit that it was
pretty decent entertainment. The actual coverage was very minimal -  after
the first 30 km they only covered the 5 leading riders (UAE). Very little
coverage or mention of anybody else. There were some entertaining video
clips that they played (several times each...) on some of the riders, the
Endurance patrons and supporters (Zayed, Maktoum). Some on-site interviews
with riders, trainers, and sponsors. Jeannie Waldron and Bob Beecher got a
few minutes. Potato had a couple interviews. (they liked him I think). His
last interview had him smiling, saying 'This is great! Now I have to go find
some toilet paper'.

The finish was interesting. Ahmed (world champion from Spain) had a several
minute lead coming into the last gate, there were 3 others close behind. He
was pulled at gate 5 after a recheck. His horse looked sound, so there must
have been a metabolic issue. We were never told why he was pulled. Shareef
and Domino left with a 3 minute lead. They were caught (a little too easily)
by Abdullah and Shah about 4 km from the finish. They then rode in together,
and carried the UAE flag between them. It wasn't clear who crossed the
finish line first. Cute, seemed just a wee bit staged.... But, with the
world watching, it was entertaining.

Knowing what to expect for the most part, I had a few strong impressions:

The support rigs situation has gotten totally out of control. At one point
there must have been over 50 rigs driving along next to each running horse.
I think this is a bit excessive.... and dusty.

These 'cream of the world's crop' UAE horses are phenomenal. They rarely, if
ever broke out of a 20+ kph canter, except to stop at water points, and to
change leads. And honestly, they looked tremendous at the end.

The 2004 WEC is going to be most interesting.... are there any or many
non-UAE horses that can come close to that sort of performance over there??
(I know... that's the point).

Looks like all of the US riders finished!! This is a major accomplishment,
we should be very proud of them.

More later, still drinking coffee.

Steph


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