Icelandair Grand Prize Trip Countdown

For the past year, we've been giving away free round trip plane tickets to Iceland, courtesy of our sponsor, Icelandair. Well, now it's time to pick the Grand Prize. Only seven days remain until we pick the Grand Prize winner, who receives roundtrip travel on Icelandair to Reykjavik, Iceland (winner and companion - 2 tickets) to ride horses on a Viking Horse Safari for 2 provided by Ishestar, a Blue Lagoon Tour for 2 and more.

Find out more and sign up at Equitrekking.com

Mongol Derby

I've heard from Long Riders in the past who have taken amazing treks on horseback. To be in The Long Riders Guild, one has to have "ridden more than 1,000 continuous miles on a single equestrian journey." That's no small feat!

Yesterday, a friend emailed me about The Mongol Derby, an extreme horse race this summer (starting Aug 22) in Mongolia. 25 riders are going to race 1000 kilometers through Mongolia. They'll be riding those strong, tough Mongolian horses and changing horses every 30 to 40 km. The website makes it sound downright dangerous, which if you could imagine, it probably is. I know I'd love to ride in Mongolia, but trust me, when I go it will be a much more leisurely ride.

Equitrekking Bloopers

Just added new, never before seen Equitrekking bloopers from the PBS series to Equitrekking's YouTube Channel. Check it out. Also, don't forget to follow me on Twitter @DarleyNewman. Tweeting can be addictive.

Athens, Ohio Equitrekking marathon

Athens, Ohio, tune in all this week at 7:30pm for an Equitrekking marathon on WOUB, Public TV from Ohio University, to watch Equitrekking episodes from Belize, Texas, Southern Quebec, Utah and Costa Rica.

Dressage in Spain Videos on Equitrekking.com

We've just posted three new video clips on Equitrekking.com including "Dressage in Spain Part 1 and 2, where I had a dressage lesson at Epona in Andalucia with Vivi Garcia. I rode a beautiful white Andalusian horse named Napoleon. It was a challenge, but amazing to feel the movements when I was able to cue Napoleon (with Vivi's help).

There's also a video on riding in the Alpujarras, a beautiful mountainous area of white washed villages.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @darleynewman. We just designed a fun background.

Equitrekking Season 4 DVD Released

Equitrekking's season four DVD, featuring horseback riding adventures in Southern Spain, Alaska, Central Turkey, Scotland, Wales and Quebec City and Beyond is now available. You may order online at ShopDarley.com or WMHT's website, a PBS station in New York. It's a two-disc set of beautiful episodes.

Alberta Riding

If anyone has had a good experience traveling to Alberta, Canada to ride at a ranch, take a pack trip or ride in a national park, please, please let me know where you went and what you liked about it. I am planning a trip there.
Thanks!

DC Week for the Animals

In Washington DC, my home area, this week is DC Week for the Animals. There are over 70 events celebrating animals, including horses!

A few notable organizations in the area... ReRun, Inc., which helps rehabilitate ex-racehorses so that they may go on to second careers. On our visit to the Secretariat Center in Kentucky, we were able to learn more about life for Thoroughbreds after they leave the track and the challenges trainers face in retraining them. Check out our video from the Secretariat Center.

The amazing Caisson horses at the Walter Reed Medical Center are celebrated this week. They will do their usual therapy session with wounded soldiers on Thursday morning from 9am-12pm. You may read an article about the Caisson horses on Equitrekking.com. Susan Seligman visited the stables to write about the program for Equitrekking.com. This week especially, the program is requesting that we all write letters of appreciation to the Caisson horses and their handlers.

Tune in Oregon, Wed. 6pm to Equitrekking

Oregonians, please tune in to Equitrekking's new season starting next week on Wednesday 6/10 at 6pm on OPB. If you're watching Equitrekking on OPB now, you're in for Equitrekking's Utah episode tomorrow night at 6pm (Wed 6/3). Bryce Canyon National Park, Snow Canyon State Park, Capitol Reef and Antelope Island are explored.

Equitrekking new season includes stunning episodes from Southern Spain (June 10), Scotland (June 17), Quebec City and Beyond (June 24), Central Turkey (July 1), Wales (July 8) and Alaska (July 15). Please tune in to watch Equitrekking's Emmy nominated series! You can watch video previews at Equitrekking.com