Duo test tough horse on desert trek

Press, 25 November 1982, Page 17

Duo test tough horse on desert trek

NZPA-Reuter Amman Two French riders are crossing the burning deserts of Saudi Arabia on horseback to prove that the Europeanbred Arab horse is tough enough to survive the harsh world that gave it its name. The riders, Pascale Franconie and Jean-Claude Cazade, believe that their trek, across the desert kingdom will be the hardest part of a planned two-year odyssey to test the breed's endurance.'

They set off on their two white steeds in April from the Camargue region —

home of France’s native cowboys and rodeo-riders — and plan to cover a distance of 20,000 km, equivalent to half way round the Equator. Riding on roads and carrying a minimum of supplies, they travelled through Southern France, Turkey, and Syria to the Jordanian capital of Amman where they

said that they had completed just a third of their journey.

“The real test lies ahead,” said Miss Franconie, aged 24, language teacher. “But I believe our horses can do it.” No-one has made such a journey before, said the pair. They waited one month in Jordan for a Saudi visa and left Amman recently for the gruelling desert crossing. Mr Cazade, aged 38, is a former French soldier who served in the searing heat of Djibouti. He said that the only similar journey was in 1925 by a Swiss who rode .about 13,000 km.

The pair expect the most daunting part of their ride to be in Saudi Arabia, a country which prides itself as home of the world-famous breed. Delicate and fast, the Arab breed was the aristocratic ancestor which produced the English stallion and the An-glo-Arab, which are taller and sturdier than their

Arabian forebearers.

But although the horse is still prized in royal stables in the Middle East, most Saudi Arabians long ago turned to jeeps and air-conditioned cars for everyday transport. The horse’s origin has been debated for years. One theory is that it came originally from Central Asia. Another says that the birthplace is Nejd, the heart of Arabia, or further south in the Hadramaut mountains or Yemen. Some trace the Arab horse back 3000 years, but the Bedouin favour the legend that it descends from the seven horses owned by Mohammed, prophet of Islam, in the seventh century. Partly for that reason, the Arabs revere the horse, which is identified by its square head, small ears, and flaring nostrils. It is also known for its superior intelligence and loyalty.

Mr Cazade and Miss Franconie believe that their main worry in the desert will mot be the heat or the distance to be covered, but how to obtain food and water for their horses. “This is our only headache, but we may find hospitable Bedouin on the way,” Miss Franconie said.

From Saudi Arabia the two riders will head for North and South Yemen, over the Red Sea to Djibouti, Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Spain before returning home. At the end of their journey, they hope only to be allowed, to keep their mounts, both three years old and lent by a French breeder who is sponsoring the trip. “We are not aspiring for awards or medals, nor are we looking forward to prizemoney. All we want is to have the horses for our own,” she said.