Adventure continues

Yulia Frolova’s amazing horsey adventure around the globe is continuing as she continues her quest to ride in every country she visits.
 
Inspired by her father’s friend who has a passion for parachute jumping in different lands, Yulia decided to start her own collection of rides and kick-started her own travel list by visiting five different countries and riding five different horses.

The sixth country was Singapore. Yulia found herself almost at the equator, and could not possibly miss the opportunity to ride in such a beautiful place.
 
The Singapore government appears to be doing its best to turn the country into a giant park so people can enjoy jogging, cycling, strolling and even riding in the heart of the city. 

Whilst Yulia sought out a riding stable, she discovered that children in Singapore can take horse riding as a subject in school, how cool is that!

After much consideration she chose the Gallop Stable to do a trial ride. Its instructor James, extremely safety conscious, put Yulia through her paces for a good 20 minutes before she could satisfy him that she could in fact ride and had no intention of falling off.

After her riding examination, they went off on a trail ride around one the greenest parks of Singapore, which proved to be a truly amazing experience even in the rain.

Next stop was the Czech Republic.

After a two-hour drive from the capital Prague to a small village en route to Brno, Yulia was privileged to encounter real natural horsemanship and an absolutely genuine love of horses. Pan Vladislav, a 70-year-old stable owner who looks not a day over 50, is a true horse whisperer.

With around 15 horses in his stable each and every one had a sad, sometimes even tragic story behind them.
 
Some had been sick, others had been horribly mistreated by previous owners, and each had its own tale to tell. 

But there must be a horse God somewhere and he sent Pan to rescue these animals and let them spend the remainder of their days having the happy life each and every horse deserves.  These horses now calm, relaxed and, above all, looking so very happy, are now being treated with love and kindness by this wonderful man.

As usual Yulia was required to prove her riding skills before setting off.  

Different schools apply different skill criteria which is almost worth an article in itself. This time Yulia had to perform some acrobatics!  Firstly, trotting with no reins – use of seat and legs, of course, then trot in standing seat with hands out like an aeroplane – flying – balance, of course, then walking back to front sitting face to tail – trust, confidence, I suppose although I have to admit not knowing quite why you would have to do that.

Anyway after the test, came the most magical ride astride the biggest horse in the stable, a former racehorse called Joy, through beautiful forests as pheasants wandered across the path, a simply mind-blowing experience.

Next, the US and Yulia’s first visit to the States. In America on business, she snuck an extra day into her schedule so she could visit a ‘real’ ranch.

The Bar B Ranch is one of the biggest in Miami with around 50 stunning horses including Palominos, Appaloosas and Quarter horses.

The Americans did things differently – no tests but a lecture on horse riding and behaviour – basically how to prevent horses from ‘horsing around!’. 

Not only was the ethos different here, everything else was too – saddles, bridles and different aids – this particular ranch practiced five levels of ‘asking’ horses to move forward. If level one does not work, move onto level two?

Level one – Smile and silently ask your horse to move...
Level two – Bend your body forwards slightly giving more rein.
Level three – Squeeze with lower leg.
Level four – Kick.
Level five – Yell ‘Yeeee Haaaa’, flinging your left hand in the air at the same time.

Although very interested in trying all levels, she had a fabulous 18-year-old mare called Candy who didn’t manage to let Yulia past level one.

Without a little grin, Candy was off enthusiastically in the desired direction, the pair rode out in the Florida countryside full of amazing colours.
 
Whilst Yulia is sure details of her trips and rides will fade over time, one memory will last forever.

At the point of entering a dark alley the riders were instructed to canter. As they sped along hundreds of huge colourful Machaon butterflies flew out and around them. Yulia described it as a scene from a beautiful fairytale.

The ninth country she visited was Qatar.

Despite difficulties sourcing short one to two hour rides, she found a stable just outside Doha called Al Shamriya.

This time she was off on the riding trail again on Mozart, a big Arabian gelding who tended to be on the lazy side, but, hey, why run when there is no rush?  

This trail ride was through a park reminisce of A Thousand and One Nights with dozens of peacocks showing off their incredible tails. 

Here, once you have proved your riding ability of course, they will allow you to take a horse and ride out on your own for a couple of hours. It’s certainly an experience not to be missed.

So, onto country number 10, Morocco – and to Casablanca. This was a business trip but colleagues found a nearby riding school for Yulia and after a somewhat bumpy start on Aramis the pair eventually found harmony, and the experience of galloping along the Atlantic coast at sunset was worth all the effort. 

Country number 11 was Turkey in Istanbul Yulia found an advertisement for horse riding. The only problem was it was 800km away in Cappadocia, which means a ‘place of beautiful horses’ and some of the most outstandingly beautiful scenery.

The final country to date was Oman. The Qurum Riding Centre providing another beach experience, one real horseman, and another fantastic horse called Al Masa.

She was up at the crack of dawn as it’s too hot to ride later on. I think we all know about that one! 

Anwar, the stable owner, appeared to have the biggest Arabian horses ever, so the pair galloped along the coast almost swimming in the sea for over an hour-and-a-half, a wonderful way to start the day, and a fabulous finish to Yulia’s global adventure so far.

*  Shakhoora Riding Centre will be hosting a Show Jumping event on Friday and Twin Palms Riding Centre will be staging its end-of-season Gymkhana on Saturday afternoon starting at 4.30pm followed by the annual presentation ceremony for the Twin Palms Riding Centre League 2011/2012, with trophies provided by Al Hoty Analytical Services.