February 20 2024
By Alex Shampoe
I have been waiting to post because I wanted to find more pictures. I realized that these few pictures describe my recent trip to Saudi Arabia for the Fursan Cup (75 miles) perfectly.
The idea started months ago when I made a list of Goal races I wanted to do outside the US in 2024. The Fursan Cup felt so unlikely and yet it was at the top of my list. The race is by invite only (more on that later). I didn’t know how I could get invited, what horse I would ride, who would I stay with, how would I get there… I had so many obstacles it seemed impossible.
In December Anastasia Gia Larue connected me with an Italian stable that I could ride for. I applied for entry to the race on the Italian horse and got Accepted! (2 obstacles down). Then I was informed that the organizing committee would not subsidize transportation expenses. I had to reassess my strategy given the financial risk associated with transporting a horse from Italy, especially in the absence of a guaranteed finish.
Next, I contacted one of my/Val’s friend from Jordan Rashid Kassim . I raced with him on Val’s horses almost a year ago at the Florida McCulleys ride. He asked his friends from Jordan and found me an amazing horse with a spotless record. I entered the race on the Jordan horse!! I got word back that the organizing committee wouldn’t accept any more Jordan horses into the race. (They only accept a certain number of horses from each country). Although I could not enter on a Jordan horse, I later stayed with the Jordan people, Samir Ahmad, Ali Abu Rabie, and Husain Al Jabari the first night while in Saudi. They could not have been more gracious hosts. I felt like part of their group right away and can’t wait to go ride in Jordan!
My search continued. With the help of Cheryl Van Duesen and Nasser AbuQamar I looked through 7+ Saudi horses searching for the horse most likely to complete. Cheryl then connected me with her horse’s owner, and he offered me a great horse Gaston! (Gaston was bred and raised by Morgane Payen’s family. Val and I stayed with Morgane’s family when we took Gilly with Meghan Wert to France in 2023 for the Young Rider Championships. The Endurance World really is small.) I felt like this was a sign and that everything finally was coming together.
I flew to Dubai on Monday February 5 to spend some time with Madiya Al-maktoum and her amazing horses. Wednesday in Dubai I rode 3 times on 2 different horses and then Thursday before my flight to Saudi, I rode a 40k training ride. These rides refreshed my water bottle handling skills while canter/galloping on hot horses in the sand. The race was scheduled for Saturday February 10. On Wednesday February 7, Gaston (my Saudi horse) got kicked. Gaston was out. I was in the Dubai, getting ready to fly to Saudi, with no horse to ride in the race in Saudi.
Getting invited to this race is very completed. Changing horses 36 hours before the start is even more complicated. At that point, you can only change to another horse that is entered into the race. Yes, that means you need to take someone else’s horse, if you want to change horses that late in the game. A serendipitous turn of events transpired when Shannon Thorndyke, a fellow competitor from Canada, graciously facilitated the reassignment of her entry, Power Colours, for my use in the competition. After hours, Shannon and the Canadian Equestrian Foundation (not sure if that is the right name) acted quickly to help me. They removed Shannon’s entry through FEI so “Shannon’s horse” could be freed up for me. USEF was contacted, again after hours to enter me on “Shannon’s horse”. There were frantic phone calls and texts all night long. There were time zone issues. Some miscommunications occurred. Most importantly, Cheryl was at the office of the organizing committee on the venue. She worked with them every step of the way to ensure the changes were going to happen. The organizing committee, committed to Cheryl, yes….. Alex will ride on Saturday. The horse owner was patiently standing outside of the venue for a part of the time, “Shannon’s” horse in hand, waiting for permission to bring the horse onto the venue. Only officially registered horses were allowed on the venue, of course. Where was I you might ask? I was stuck in the airport, working through Visa issues.
Yet….. I was finally entered on Power Colours less than an hour before the cut off on Thursday night.
I was very delayed Thursday night landing in Al Ula, Saudi, because of unforeseen Visa requirements. Big lessons learned is to make sure I fully understand Visa requirements for all my trips going forward. You live and you learn. Now I know for next time! Thankfully a friend of my Jordan friend was patiently waiting for me outside the airport. It was too late to go to the venue so we went straight to where I was staying for the night. That night I stayed with part of the Jordan team who became my cheerleaders for the rest of the weekend. They became my race family and helped me in every way they could. They made the weekend so much fun and less stressful, navigating me through the different cultures and the venue.
Friday morning, the day before race day, I went to the venue for the first time and was in shock. It was huge!! There were at least 4 different stable sections arranged by country to keep all the horses quarantined and safe. They had a huge cafeteria room with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They had so much food my eyes were always bigger than my stomach. I ate soooooo much food. The cooling, vetting, and crewing areas were arranged perfectly. Everything flowed very smoothly. The pre-ride briefing was in a beautiful (I want to say Mexican style but I guess it would be Saudi style) conference room. There were projectors on both sides of the room so everyone could hear and see the information given.
I meet up with Cheryl and we went and saw our horses. Power Colours, my new horse, was one of the most interesting parts of the whole trip. He kept me very entertained. We went for a walk around the Saudi stable and he was nice and relaxed until he saw another horse acting up just over the fence. Power shot straight up into the air and kicked out. Just imagine the Airs Above the Ground tricks. That’s what he did. As soon and I told him to stop he did. We walked calmly around for 10 more minutes. Again, something would startle him and up in the air he went. He never pulled on the line. I never thought he would hurt me. He just would go straight up, kick out a little, then come back down and walk on with me. Guess he just needs to get it out. I was thinking “Man I hope he doesn’t do that under saddle”…. He did.
Cheryl, two great German ladies, and I went out for a pre-ride. All the horses were wild. We were all riding for the same owner. (One of these German ladies would ride with us the next day slow and steady. The other went on to win 9th place!) Power’s regular rider told me that Power would play with me but just don’t let him intimidate me and he will settle. Well, easier said than done. One of the horses had some tack malfunctions and there was a lot of horses all around us. Power tested and tested but by the end of the 5k loop we had figured each other out. At least as much as we were going to. I couldn’t help but think that tomorrow is going to be an interesting day.
While pre-riding I decided I wanted to change my saddle. I brought my reactor panel from home because I was worried about making weight with one of the light saddles they usually use in Saudi. I would much rather use a heavier saddle than a weighted pad. My saddle was fit to my horse at home and Power had a much different back. Thankfully, I had Wendy MacCoubrey on speed dial at probably 5am her time in Canada to FaceTime with me and help me change the saddle. When we first put my saddle on Power, Power was tense and not happy. As we started changing and moving it around his whole body changed. He was licking and chewing, yawning, he was much happier. One of his shoulders was different than the other. A regular saddle would have been very hard to fit on him perfectly. Without my Reactor Panel I don’t believe Power and I would have done so well. He had competed multiple races before with a different saddle, but I think having my saddle just made it that much better for the both of us. I can’t thank Wendy enough for her expert guidance. I couldn’t have done it without her.
Later that day (Friday) we vetted in. Power was a total professional. I guess he decided it was showtime. For dinner that night I went with my Jordan friends Fawzi Kassim and Zein Kassim to a restaurant in Al Ula and walked around town looking though all the shops. We also had Baskin Robins! They are everywhere!
I felt full cultural immersion. I was in Saudi Arabia, with my new friends from Jordan, planning to ride the next day with a new friend from Germany.
I will write about the race in my next post with videos and more pictures.
Sunday after the race I went to watch the 160k race start. I was also looking for a ride to the airport. The owner I rode for the day before (Faisal) was racing the 160k. His spent his entire vet hold trying to find someone that could take me to the airport. By the time he left he had one of his two crew people leave with me so I could get to the airport on time. The whole drive the crew guy (I’m so disappointed I can’t remember is name) and I spent laughing. He did not speak great English, but he was teaching me Arabic while he drove very quickly to the airport. Back to Dubai for one night and then home.
As I reflect upon this experience, I want to thank all the people and countries that helped me. We had Italy, Jordan, UAE, Saudi, Germany, Canada, France, and of course all my loving support back in the US all play a part in my adventure. Especially Valerie Kanavy and her husband Larry who listen, advice and support all of my crazy dreams and ideas.
Without all these people I could not have done this. This is what I love most about traveling. You meet so many different people and experience so many different cultures. My travel bug is even worse now. I can’t wait for future adventures on the global equestrian stage. I can’t wait to meet more people who will become lifelong friends.
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