PETA vs. Bin Laden: News Stranger Than Fiction

Omar Osama bin Laden (left) and his British wife Jane Felix-Browne, who has taken the Muslim name Zaina Alsabah, live in Cairo, Egypt.

Two unlikely newsmakers share a story this week. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has spoken out against a proposed endurance horse race across North Africa that would replace this year's Paris-to-Dakar car race.

The famous off-road car race was canceled for security reasons, fearing terrorist intervention.

Enter Omar Osama bin Laden, the 26-year-old estranged son of Al Queda leader Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden the Younger has proposed a horse race to replace the car race, and is serving as spokesman and organizer, with his British wife. The race would cover 4800 km (roughly 3000 miles) and the horses would "race" 30 miles per day.

Bin Laden refers to the project in the international press as a "peace mission".

PETA calls it cruelty.

"Horses are flesh and blood. Such a gruelling race will mean fatalities, not peace. Animals have not declared war on us-they should be truly left in peace," wrote PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk in an open letter to bin Laden.

The original article that provoked Newkirk to protest was published in an Australian newspaper, The Sun Herald on January 19. News agencies around the world picked up the bin Laden the Younger story yesterday only after PETA publicized the horse race.

Omar's father was a devotee of horses before his disappearance to lead Al Queda from secret locations. He abandoned his now-aging Arabian racehorses when he fled Khartoum in Sudan, but a caretaker there still maintains them for him.

Drawing the attention of PETA may give the event and its organizers' peace message more publicity than they could have obtained from running the race.

Only at the Tevis Cup...

I was looking over the advice to this year's Tevis Cup entrants about conditioning for the ride (which begins--and ends--today).

As if meeting a mountain lion on the trail (see previous post) wasn't enough to worry about:

When you enter, purchasing helicopter medical transport is an option. A recommended option.

Among the advice to riders is that they practice riding at night, since the ride basically begins in the dark and many stragglers are still on the trail after the darkness falls that night.

A little known fact about the Tevis Cup is that it is scheduled each year to coincide with the "riding moon" in mid-summer. Organizers warn, however, that moonlight can't penetrate the forest canopy and much of the ride is through thick forest.

They contend that the darkness won't be an issue for the horses, but it is often an issue for the riders, who need to practice letting their horses decide where the trail is (and where it isn't). They advise: "Your horse doesn't want to fall of a steep trail either, and he can see better than you can at night. You must allow him to determine the direction to go or run the risk of steering him over a cliff, with possibly deadly consequences."

My favorite tip is to tape glow-bars onto the horse's breastplate (you need a breastplate to keep the saddle from slipping when you do some of the steep verticals on the trail). I've never tried this trick but "they" say that it will shed enough light for you to see the trail.

Another tip? Extra long reins so if you are "tailing" your horse up a canyon (dismounting and hanging onto the tail as the horse climbs), you can still control the horse.

Little known fact: the trail can be so dusty (if you're not in the lead) that many riders wear goggles and masks.

Visit http://www.foothill.net/tevis/ to learn about this uniquely American endurance test. The site has interactive maps to follow the progress of riders.

And then take your own horse out on the trail. Pretend it's pitch dark out and there's a mountain lion on the trail ahead of you...

Tevis Cup: Mountain Lions? No Problem!

It happens every July, and I'm still in awe.

It's time to turn all eyes toward California. And up to the clouds. This weekend is the world-famous Tevis Cup, also known as the "100 Mile One Day Trail Ride". This challenging ride starts near Lake Tahoe, passes through the mountains, and ends up at a fairground in Auburn, California. Horses and riders climb 18,000 feet and descend 23,000 over the 100 miles.

According to the Auburn Journal, last year's winner, Virginia farrier John Crandall, ran the race on his Arabian, Heraldic, in 15 hours and 8 minutes. Crandall also won the Haggin Cup for the best conditioned horse. And he's coming back this year to try to do it again!

750: that's how many volunteers it takes to make this ride happen.

The Tevis has a fantastic, info-filled web site, with an interactive map so you can follow your favorite rider's progress up and down the trail.

Here's a tidbit of advice I saw on the web site, in the log of the trailkeepers:

"While marking trail from Foresthill to Francisco's on Saturday 7/21, myself and another rider encountered two mountain lions 3.9 mi South of Mosquito Ridge Road. They were about 60 ft from us walking up the single track trail, went around the bend and disappeared silently. We respected their space and they did not startle the horses. We are fortunate to have these majestic animals around and people should be mindful that we are crossing their territory."

How many horse events would consider meeting a mountain lion to be such a matter-of-fact occurrence?

Interesting fact: The Tevis rules require horses to be shod or else wear protective boots.

There will be 17 veterinarians at 10 locations on the trail.

Something you may not know about this ride of all rides: there's no prize money. Not a dime. The winner gets a belt buckle. And the thrill of a lifetime.

The way this event is organized and the horsemanship needed to condition a horse for it are remarkable and under-publicized in the mainstream horse world. I'll be looking to the West this weekend and riding along, on the web. It may be as close as I ever come.

Still not convinced? Here's a link to a good article from the San Francisco Chronicle about the race. It's a few years old, but it really captures some of the unique aspects of the event.