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[RC] Linda in Abu Dhabi - Day 2, part 2 - Jay Randle

The ponies were happy to see us and devoured their breakfasts while we
cleaned the boxes and got things organised for the morning exercise. We’d
decided that we would do some water bottle practice today and we had two
dozen water bottles already in the back of Meg’s Patrol so off we headed.
Neither Kalahari nor DV have experienced endurance UAE style so we wanted
to make sure they were both comfortable with the process of being handed
water bottles.

We’d drive along, find a good spot, wait for the girls in the middle of
the track with a bottle in each hand and the girls would ride past at a
walk to get the horses used to the passing up of the water bottles. It
didn’t take a real lot of tries for DV to be happy with the process as he
is so laid back and relaxed about life! Kalahari was not as comfortable
with the process but I’m sure she’ll be right by the time the ride comes
around. We had to contend with a few camels again and Kalahari got a bit
spooked but wasn’t too bad. The girls rode up through the finish chute
and into the strapping area where we took HRs and then into the vetting
area for a trot up. We did this just to get the two acclimatised to what
they should expect on the day.

After finishing the exercise session and returning to the stable we washed
up the horses, gave them some lunch and headed back to the motel for a
quick change and then headed off on our shopping expedition. Meg had
decided to stay back so we went off exploring with instructions to follow
the road until you hit the water and then turn left. None of us were sure
that we were heading the right way but eventually found the mall. I can
truly say that the driving displays on the way in were a little scary!
I’m not sure how there are not heaps more accidents the way those people
drive! Indicators are optional, lane changing every 10 seconds seems to
be mandatory, speeds about 60km in excess of the 80km speed limit are the
norm, and most people seem to have their fingers glued to the horn and
exhibit a obsessive compulsion to hear it every 20 seconds! After
navigating our way through the middle of Abu Dhabi we saw the mall on the
other side of the bluest lagoon you have ever seen. And, of course, there
was the world’s biggest flag above the mall. It really stood out on the
skyline!

The mall, like everything in the UAE, is bigger and better and brighter!
And, I’d have to say, really confusing to navigate your way around the
place. We spent a few hours in there shopping and none of us could find
anything that we liked. We gave up in the end and headed to a place that
had ‘free’ internet services. Free if you bought some food that is! So
we had a late lunch and spent 20 minutes downloading emails and the girls
did Facebook stuff!

We headed for home and fought the traffic battle once again. A Cayenne
Porsche took the award for most dangerous driving stunt as he tried to
push a poor little Yaris out of the lane it was in. When the Porsche
couldn’t achieve that from the left side he dropped back, changed lanes
and then tried the same manoeuvre from the right side. It was awesome
driving from the Yaris guy but it was fairly reckless.

After making the 45 minute trip back to the stables we got the afternoon
chores sorted and the horses walked and then bedded down for the night
before heading back to the motel. We all agreed that a quiet night was
the go and after a relatively late dinner I hit the sack to try and
address some of the sleep deficit issues.

Cheers

Linda





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