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FW: [RC] A different and interesting view on the Derby - Mike SherrellA much milder version of this distancing from foreign
countries is Americans dressed in REI or North Face type rugged outdoor gear in
urban centers all over the world, places where the natives are commonly wearing
sports jackets and slacks.
However this Portland reader has some submerged issues.
A craving for excitement and adventure is not a sure sign of superficiality or
even boredom. The daily course of our lives is usually hemmed in by
necessity, and to more fully exercise our capabilities and gain experiences we
would not otherwise have we must move outside our routines.
Regards,
Mike Sherrell
Grizzly Analytical (USA)
707 887 2919; fax = 707 887
9834
From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Maryanne Gabbani Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 1:53 AM To: Ridecamp Subject: [RC] A different and interesting view on the Derby I was sent a link to an article in an Oregon paper http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/06/mercy_corps_mongolian_horse_ra.html
and a copy of one of the comments on the article which I paste below. This
reader gets directly at one of the most serious issues bothering me....the issue
of motivation of riders...adventure as a cure for boredom. Every summer my
nice little third world country is innundated with Saudis and Gulf Arabs looking
for relief from summer heat and relaxation in a more easy-going and inexpensive
society. What does this mean for us? They go to the pyramids stables, pay
a premium on a rental horse and very likely come back on foot telling the owner
that the horse and tack can be found in the desert, dead. Doesn't matter, they
can pay. Or maybe a nice car race would be fun, like the kids who were
drag-racing on the main road to the airport and lost control wiping out a family
who were trying to get some cool air on the broad median. No problem,
since Daddy flew them out immediately. Egypt isn't their home, they have no
responsibilities towards anyone here...we aren't real people. I sensed a lot of
this same attitude in the early emails that I read during the planning phase
this winter and it made me quite uncomfortable. The discomfort reminded me of
the utterly callous treatment of the Egyptian horses and riders by the Emiratis
when we were providing the "local colour" for their wonderful wins in Egypt.
Here are the thoughts of the reader of the Oregon article:
From a Reader in Portland, Oregon
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"I have 15 years experience in Mongolia, traveling with the local horses. My problem with this race is not the issue of horse abuse, nor rider abuse. Mongol ponies are up to the task and frankly, if the the self described "adventurists" suffer bruised bums, broken legs, black death, etc. that's fine with me. The problem I have this: Are these bored (by their own much trumpted admission), rich (by virtue of the fact that they are paying $200 us or so per day) young riders prepared to explain to the Gobi herder (who takes them in after their horse has run off, their butt cheeks are rubbed raw and they are parched and hungry) that the reason they are "racing" is to alleviate their oppressive and apparently chronic boredom? ...
.. . But apparently only a RACE can dispel the boredom of the jaded youth of the West. I am so fed up with the notion that bad behavior in foreign countries is made acceptable because you donate some money to a charity. Do these riders actually know just where the money goes and what it does? Or is it enough to "help poor people"? Isn't it rather like buying an indulgence? If this event involved an additional week in Mongolia, during which the riders with hypenated names worked at building toilets or teaching English or something that actually demanded more of them than the writing of a check, then they just might learn something that would help them alleviate their boredom in a more lasting way."Maryanne Stroud Gabbani msgabbani@xxxxxxxxx
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