GALLERY 2009/2010

Lauren Hubbard & B Dazzled at Joe Harter SJ Training

Maddy Uren & Arctic Endeavour @ Members SJ. Photo courtesy of Rural Snaps

Riding in India - Sue Whiting

RIDING IN INDIA

On 2nd March I set off from Heathrow for my fourth riding holiday in Rajasthan. We were a small group of five and apart from the joy of riding the spirited Marwari horses across the Thar desert, meeting friends from previous years and the great comradeship around the camp fire at night, this year we had an additional purpose to our ride.

Through a campaign spearheaded by the English chapter of “Friends of Marwari/Kathiawari Horse UK” we had a collection of 85 bits distributed throughout our luggage. These bits had all been donated and were mostly varying types of snaffle. On previous trips it had been noticed that, although the majority of horses were well cared for in this region, the use of rough and spiky bits caused many to have sore and bleeding mouths. Our destination over 5 days riding and camping, covering distances up to 40km a day, was the annual Horse and Camel Fair at Balotra. At the Fair we intended to distribute these bits among the professional riders, breeders, dealers and interested individuals. On route we passed through many small farming villages, totally off the tourist track, and we always received a great welcome. There are so many festivals in this region, always a good excuse to dance and sing and the village ladies, dressed in their brightly coloured and elegant saris, loved nothing better than for us to join in too.

On arrival at the fair we were stepping on their territory and we really didn’t know what kind of response we would get trying to persuade people to change their habits of a lifetime. The idea was that we would give the bits out in exchange for one of their rough ones. We moved through the fair with our hosts on the ride acting as interpreters, Devendra Singh a well respected breeder and dealer of the Marwari and Kathiawari breed and his cousin Durga Singh (affectionately known as “Google G”as he is a mine of information and also looks after all our needs beyond the riding). The result was amazing enthusiasm and a willingness to try something better for their horses. We had no trouble in persuading most people to take the kinder bits in exchange for one of their harsh ones; in fact we really
didn’t have enough to go round. Even the bit makers who were walking round the fair with bundles of their crude hand made bits came to see us asking for samples to take and copy.

During the days of the fair professional riders and individuals show off their horses riding up and down the dried river bed, quite a spectacular sight as most of the horses are highly decorated. Owners camp in makeshift tents alongside their horses who mostly have open sided tents for shade. The animals are well fed and at sunset we watched groups of camels contentedly sitting in a circle around bags of grain.

The enthusiastic reception we received, despite the language barrier, in a totally non-tourist area was very special and something I will remember for a long time. The bit donation scheme is continuing and anyone wanting to contribute can either contact me on scw04@tiscali.co.uk or you can go to the web site www.friendsofmarwari.org.uk where you can read more about this and see some good pictures. Devendra and Durga Singh go out of their way to give you a fantastic holiday with loads of inside knowledge on an area of India steeped in custom and ritual. They ran three safaris for the BHS last year (Riding with Kings) and more are scheduled for this year. For private bookings you
can go to their web site www.royalridingholidays.com

Sue Whiting