Equitrekking Season FIve Sneak Peak

We are hard at work editing the new fifth season of Equitrekking for its spring debut on Public Television. Here's a preview of the horse adventures you may watch in 2010.

In Equitrekking's Fifth Season, host Darley Newman takes travelers to Uruguay, Jordan, Alberta, Turkey and beyond to experience horses, history and culture.

Special highlights of the Jordan episodes include an interview with HRH Princess Alia at the Royal Stables in Amman, riding horses with the Bedouin in the Wadi Rum Desert, exploring the ancient city of Petra by horse, camel and on foot, floating in the Dead Sea, Mount Nebo, Madaba and Wadi Mujib.

In Equitrekking Uruguay, Darley rides with the gauchos at three different ranches, horse rides on the beach, visits Montevideo and Punta del Este and explores local customs and history in this small South American country.

Equitrekking Alberta takes viewers to the Canadian Rockies on a pack trip into Banff National Park, riding to high altitudes with a longtime outfitter in Kananaskis, to a historic ranch outside of Calgary and to the Calgary Stampede.

Equitrekking Turkey finds Darley exploring the ghost town of Kakakoy on the Mediterranean Coast, hiking the chilly waters of Saklikent Gorge, exploring the Grand Bazaar, Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace in bustling Istanbul, and horse riding and eating local cuisine in Cappadocia.

Married to a Bedouin, Petra

Marguerite van Geldermalsen, author of the book “Married to a Bedouin” happened to be in Petra the day I was touring, selling jewelry and her book at a souvenir stand near the amphitheatre. I rode a camel over to her kiosk and interviewed her as a part of Equitrekking’s Jordan episode.

In 1978 Marguerite was traveling through Petra, when she met and fell in love with Bedouin Mohammad Abdallah. Marguerite was a 22-year-old New Zealander. She married and lived with Mohammad Abdallah for 25 years in a 2,000-year-old cave, birthing three children and learning Arabic. I have started reading her book. The book gives you an insider’s outsiders a perspective on Bedouin life in Petra, which was not easy, but certainly held simple joys and a real sense of community. Talking to Marguerite and hearing about her life in Petra, I was reminded of the Navajo who I rode with in Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. The Navajo who lived in Canyon de Chelly, herding sheep and farming, seemed to parallel the Bedouin in some ways. The Bedouin no longer live in caves in Petra and Marguerite’s husband passed in 2002. Speaking with her and starting her book, I’m certainly learning more about Bedouin culture and life in Jordan. Still the most I'm learning is by riding with the Bedouin throughout the country.

Petra, Jordan

Today, we ventured out early to explore Petra by camel and foot. We stayed literally right across the street from the entrance at the Movenpick Hotel, so we could just walk over and through the entrance gates in the morning- very convenient and a big breakfast buffet. We also left early, so that we could see the façade of the Treasury when the light hits it in the morning.

Petra is an amazing ancient city. Walking through the siq, the mile long long corridor that leads to the Treasury, I saw shrines and rock carvings, and passed along the water channel carved into the rocks. Of course, it is truly wonderful, when you come to the end of the siq and see, framed by the rock walls surrounding you, a piece of the Treasury. As I mounted a camel by the Treasury, our camera crew got permission to climb up high on a rock ledge to get the famous angle of the Treasury, a shot from Indiana Jones.

Riding a camel is not easy. Filming riding a camel is even harder. My guide Ibrahim told me about the local legends of hidden treasures inside the Treasury as Greg, our photographer, filmed from atop a third camel. We then led our camels further into Petra towards the ampitheatre.

There is a lot to see in Petra. Too much for one day. We rode our camels towards a small shop where Marguerite van Geldermalsen, author of the book “Married to a Bedouin” happened to be selling her wares today. I was lucky to be able to meet and interview her…

Little Petra, Jordan

I was excited to see the rose red, ancient city of Petra in general, but horseback riding through Little Petra, an off the beaten path outcrop of the expansive ancient city, had a special significance. I rode with Ibrahim, my local English speaking guide for our trip, on local Bedouin Atallah’s Arabian horses. Atallah trailered them to Petra for our ride and filming and actually starts some of his rides through the Wadi Rum Desert from around Petra.

Petra is the 6th century B.C. Nabataean city that served as an important crossroads for trade. Silk, spices and other goods were traded from this desert oasis. Petra is a city carved into the rocks. You’ve probably seen photographs of the ancient city’s famous Treasury or perhaps viewed it in the movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” starring Harrison Ford. Petra itself was a large urban center. Little Petra is basically an ancient suburb of Petra. In Little Petra, there are mini versions of these famous rock carved facades. Little Petra is in fact a “Little Petra.”

Riding through the dirt trails amid the high rock walls, we passed ancient tombs, temples, homes and restaurants carved out of the rocks. We walked along past indentations carved into the rocks for Petra’s complex water system. Being in the desert, it was the elaborate system of cisterns, dams and water ways carved into the rocks that allowed the people of Petra to store water and survive.

While Greg, our photographer, climbed up on high cliffs to film shots of us passing below on horseback, I also took the camera and filmed while riding for some point of view shots. We’ll see how well those turned out in the editing room.

Tonight, we’re staying literally right beside the entrance to Petra in the Movenpick Hotel, so that tomorrow, we can walk over to venture through Petra’s main entrance and into the famous siq.

Washington International Horse Show

Last night I went behind the scenes at the Washington International Horse Show. You could call it backstage, the area before the horses and their riders enter the arena to compete, but I didn't get a jittery vibe by the schooling ring, a tiny oval shaped ring with two five foot jumps set up so that riders can warm up before they compete. Everyone looked calm and collected as they navigated the tiny ring together.

Here are links to two short videos. This video shows the schooling area and this video is of a stall, where a horse named Skyline is getting his mane braided in preparation for the event.

It's quite a production to put the Washington International Horse Show on at Washington DC's Verizon Center. Imagine horses in the city! A street in downtown DC beside Verizon is blocked off and filled with stalls. The logistics and timing of getting horses in and out of the city in giant trailers is also a lot. Because the downstairs schooling area is small, many riders have odd times to warm up, like a midnight to 3AM lungeing session or Children's Jumpers at 4AM. That's a dedicated child!

The event is from October 20-25, 2009 and includes Dressage exhibitions, Jack Russell Terrier Races, Saturday evening's $100,000 President's Cup Grand Prix, a Sunday afternoon barn day and more. I watched the Adult Jumper Championship last night and met various people for whom horses are a huge part of their lives.

Wadi Rum Desert, Jordan

On our second day of riding in the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan, (see Wadi Rum Desert Jordan for initial ride we rode into what Atallah called Lawrence Canyon, so named after Lawrence of Arabia. The first day’s ride was spectacular, but this was even grander, as I got to see petroglyphs that were over 2500 years old and amazing rock formations. We rode into the shade of a quiet canyon where we again saw Jordan’s national bird, the Senai Rose Finch.

Sunrise Camel Ride, Jordan

Riding a camel as the sun rises in the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan requires you to get up early, really early. I was up at 5 AM to meet the camels after a late night in the desert camp. We slept in Captain’s Desert Camp, which has an active party atmosphere. As live music was played, I ate plentiful mansaf for dinner. Mansaf is a popular Jordanian dish made with lamb, yogurt, rice, egg and spices. It was served on a big platter and to my surprise there were no plates or silverware. Everyone dug in with their right hand, rolling the rice, sticky with yogurt sauce, into a ball and sticking it into their mouth. Think of it like eating buffalo wings or BBQ chicken with your hands. You want some sort of hand wipes or something afterwards.

We hiked out to meet the camels in the morning. Riding a camel isn’t like riding a horse. I think camels are a lot harder to control, but maybe these camels weren’t that well trained, just as horses can be. My camel was better than Ibrahim’s, my guide’s, but he kept wanting to sit down! We took off from Captain’s Camp toward a higher ridge, where we could film the sunrise. It was beautiful.

Right beside Captain’s Camp is a racetrack where they hold camel races, something that would be funny to see. Camels can run pretty fast, 25 mph for a longer stretch and up to around 40 mph in short bursts. Our camels were simply walking, enough for me on camelback at 5am.