Horse crazy girl goes to Egypt

My senior picture with my best friend, Prince

Like a lot of little girls, I was absolutely horse crazy and the little girl in me that loves horses is still alive and well even though I can’t live in the place I get to see them out my window. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to still take care of them more so now than when I first left my farm and marriage. Every time I’m there I heal a little more because of them.

When I was a little girl obsessively watching the movie The Black Stallion and reading all the books in that series I always dreamed of having a horse like that….an Arabian with a long flowing mane and forelock that covered his eyes, beautiful ears that darted back and forth to catch every sound, shiny coat that dappled in the sunlight, and fast and willing to race like the wind across the desert. I was all of eleven years old and my sweet and patient Paint horse, Prince, with his frizzy forelock that stood up in all directions between his loving ears and beautiful white patch of a map of Ohio on his haunches, did his best to race across the cornfields with me and make my dreams come true.

The first time I went to Egypt I rode a camel but the other 3 times, I rode a horse. A beautiful Arabian with a long flowing mane and forelock that covered her eyes, beautiful ears that darted back and forth to catch every sound, shiny coat that dappled in the sunlight, and fast and willing to race like the wind across the desert.

A friend had told me about a riding stable in Egypt that she’d seen that did long rides out in the desert so I started watching them on social media. They had beautiful Arabian mares and stallions and guests were running like the wind across the desert sand and out into the Red Sea. In my first rides in Egypt I rode one of the horses that were at Sakkara and it was so much fun! I raced her across the sand and there’s just something about the way an Arabian floats across it so effortlessly.

My trip to the Red Sea was designed to be a vacation for me with lots of down time and time to do whatever I wanted to do. I thought that going on a ride with this stable I’d been watching enviously all year would be a perfect thing to do. Ride a horse in the desert of Egypt? Yes, please! I checked to see how far the riding stable was from where I was staying and if they were open for a sunset ride one evening, and when they said yes, I quickly packed my riding boots, breeches and helmet! I was so excited!

The riding stable was actually almost a 2 hour drive from where I was staying and I signed up to do a 2 hour sunset ride, which would then be followed by the almost 2 hour drive home. I remember the stable owner texting me, “Wow. That’s a long way to come for a horse ride”. They didn’t know who they were talking to, obviously! They asked to know my height and weight and when I had to convert pounds to kilograms, they said, “Wow. You are very small”. At this point I was laughing because I don’t think I’m THAT small and they were probably thinking they’ve got a tiny crazy person coming to ride at sunset!

My friend arranged a driver for me named Mahmoud and although he didn’t speak much English, we were still able to talk and laugh a little. As we were driving along I noticed the music on the radio was Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez. You may not know this about me but Pitbull is the music I turn to when I need to have a pick-me-up….Mr Worldwide has it going on, right? So I asked Mahmoud if this is the kind of music he normally listens to and he said, “Yes! I love Jennifer Lopez!” I said excitedly, “Me, too! Turn it up!” and so we jammed to Pitbill and J Lo as we drove along the Red Sea and through small towns on the way to the stable so I could fulfill my little girl dream of riding a beautiful Arabian across the desert once again.

We arrived at the stable and met Tito, the owner, and his dog Max. I was pretty excited so I asked to see the horses and he gave me a tour of all the horses in the stable. I understood Tito right away and how much he loved his horses. They were beautiful, well kept and fed, everything was so clean and tidy but it was more than that. It was the way he looked at them and talked to them. I got it and felt right at home. He told me that he thought his bay stallion Amira would be perfect for me and brought him out for me to brush him.

Amira was gorgeous! His forelock covered his beautifully shaped Arabian head and his long mane was thick and below his shoulder. He was beautifully put together and I was wondering how our ride would go. The groom took him back inside to tack up and brought him out with Tito and we were ready to go. I decided to leave my camera with Mahmoud to just enjoy the ride….and besides, the wind was going about 35 mph and I wasn’t sure about getting all that sand into it. Tito said he would take pictures on his phone and send them to me so we headed out.

Any nerves I had about riding an unfamiliar stallion into the desert for the next two hours were quickly gone as I settled into the saddle and got to know this incredible horse. He was polite and responsive and made me feel like he was going to take care of me no matter what. He had what the Egyptians call a White Heart, a good heart, and I was in good hands with him.

The wind raced, the sand blew and we rode along with his dog Max following along. Tito told me that he found Max as a small puppy out in the desert on a ride and carried him home on horseback. He said he never missed going out on a ride. Max liked to chase the crows that flew nearby and one of them decided to play back and chase him, too. The wind kept the crow hovered over Max like a kite and it was so fun to watch as they played together, something Tito said had never happened before.

It wasn’t long into the ride that he asked if I was ready and yes! I was ready to race that wind! Amira knew what to do, too, and while I thought I was going fast, Tito kept saying, “Come on!!” So I went faster and looked down on the sand beside us to see our shadow racing alongside….just like in the movie I’d watched so many times as a girl….and my heart was racing and happy.

As the sun set, it got cooler and the sand in the air blurred the mountains ahead of us and we headed back. I was glad to have Tito along as I wasn’t sure I might get lost out there with no landmarks to speak of. We hung out with some other riders there for a lesson when we got near the stable and waited for the sun to set. Tito took lots of pictures and then we headed in where he had hot tea for us. Soon it was time to say goodbye to my new friend and have my third two hour ride back home.

On the ride back, Mahmoud and I were talking about food and things we liked to cook. He asked if I liked fish and I told him I didn’t eat fish. He was surprised and asked about another dish that I wasn’t sure of but thought it had meat in it so I told him I didn’t eat meat. He asked, “Only vegetables and grain?!” and I said, “Yes”. He wasn’t sure what I ate so I told him I loved koshary.

We rode along, still listening to Pitbull and J Lo and he talked on his phone in Arabic off and on. When we got to the town of El Qoseir he pointed and told me he lived down that street. Then he said he had to make a stop and stopped in front of some shops. I waited in the car and soon he returned….with koshary! I was so touched that he had done this and was so thoughtful! He helped me get organized and we drove off eating our koshary with Pitbull blaring on the radio, the sun setting over the mountains on one side and the full moon rising over the Red Sea on the other.

It was going into my journal as one of the best memories of my life. Simple yet epic. Perfect.

The Egyptian Mysteries….horses?

You might be wondering how all of this could possibly tie into the Egyptian Mysteries and so I’ll tell you! The Ancient Egyptians, and Egyptians today, love life. They revel in the sights, the sounds, the smells and tastes….all the pleasures. The Goddesses Hathor and Bast were well-known for their festivals filled with this immersion into the senses to tap into the Divine. I think that’s where the tie-in lies….within the joys of life, embracing the open spaces, dancing in them, drinking in the wind and sharing a common love and simple yet special meal.

May you all embrace the Divine that lies hidden in the sands of life.

Live your dreams

Want to come with me to Egypt and experience this magic for your Self? Check out my tour with TwoLadiesTravelCo to see all of Egypt and contact me for a special Red Sea Wild-her-ness tour!

*Photos of the ride provided by Tito at Hurghada Sunny Horse Stables with http://www.rideegypt.com