Jane Common heads to Morocco to find about ethical animal tourism and SPANA - a charity providing care for working animals.

Hailing a horse-drawn carriage (or caleche to give the striking green, red and gold vehicles with lanterns on the side their traditional name) is easy in Marrakech when your companion is Hassan Alyakine. Hassan is country director of Morocco for SPANA, the charity for the working animals of the world, and well-known among caleche drivers.

Since 1988, SPANA vets have been tasked with granting licences to the 148 caleches on the basis of the health of their equine engines, which, day in and out, tread the city streets pounded by their forebears for well over a century. The horses are given MOTs three times a year, as well as spot-checks, and, if passed fit and well, adorned with a SPANA band on their fetlock.

And, by offering Hassan a comfortable ride, the drivers perhaps reckon to boost their chances at the annual Caleche of the Year Awards, hosted by SPANA since 1996.

Read more: Marrakech’s green and gold horse-drawn carriages add some sparkle to the city streets – but how...

by Bonnie Marlewski-Probert

As more and more of our forested areas and parks are being shared by bikers, hikers and horses, it is more important than ever that all horsemen understand the rules of the road.

Below are some tips that will make your next trail ride safer and more fun for everyone:

1. Invest in a good fitting helmet for the sake of your horse. For the die-hards out there who refuse to wear a helmet, answer this question; In the event that you get dumped and hit your head, who is going to keep your horse from causing a problem for other trail users or worse, from getting hurt? Frankly, I don’t think wearing a helmet is as much about keeping you safe as it is about keeping everyone else, especially your horse.

1. Never ride alone on the trails and be sure to choose riding partners who are safe, responsible and considerate. I have always told people that I will horse show with Jack the Ripper, but I am very picky about my trail-riding companions. The reasons are simple; horse shows are designed to be a controlled environment wherein the ring is dragged, fences are in good repair, the ring crew is there to make sure all is well, and there is a judge watching everything, but on the trails, anything goes. It is because of the unpredictability of nature that I only trail ride with people I trust.

Read more: Summertime Fun on the Trails

There are crazy things to do – and then there’s the Mongol Derby. Featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s longest and toughest horse race, this is the 11th year that 45 men and women from the four corners of the earth will race 1,000km across Mongolia on semi-wild horses, next month.

They range from a 56-year-old Texan cowboy to a helicopter pilot from Alice Springs, a paleo-botanist from The Netherlands and a management consultant from South Africa, via a host of saddle-hardened (they’ll need to be) girls and boys from the racing world. All think they are fearless and ready for the most extreme adventure of their lives – we’ll see… Some will crash and burn.

2019 Mongol Derby Details

August 4-6: Pre-race training
August 7: Start gun of the 2019 Mongol Derby
August 16: Final riders expected to finish

2019 Mongol Derby Competitiors

AUSTRALIA

Sam Chisholm, 31, Alice Springs
Sam is a helicopter pilot who grew up riding horses on a cattle station in the Northern Territory. Sam has ridden a motorcycle from Argentina to Alaska and did the Mongol Rally in 2015 with two mates. He’s “on a mission to finish the race and locate the car they blew up on the Steppe in 2015.”

Read more: 45 Riders Contest the 22th Annual Mongol Derby

by Heather Wallace

I am a self-styled “Timid Rider.” I love horses, ride often, but lack confidence in my own abilities. So those who know me were shocked when I announced that I would be participating in The Gobi Desert Cup to camp in Mongolia and document the equestrian endurance race across the steppe. Beyond being a self-described “timid rider,” I’m neither a risk taker or a camper for that matter.

This was not an impulsive decision. I did my research before accepting the position as the writer and photographer who would be covering the event. In particular, I was concerned about horse welfare and traveling to an undeveloped country with people that I do not know. For those who may not know, Mongolia is a smaller country sandwiched between Russia to the north and China to the south. Compared to either of its neighbors, Mongolia would be considered a small country. My trainer asked me, “You aren’t riding, are you?” to which I scoffed because of course, I would not be riding in a 300-mile endurance horse race on Mongolian horses across the Gobi Desert. I barely have the stamina to jump a course without needing a beer and a nap afterward.

After speaking with the Co-founder and Ride Director Camille Champagne via Skype at great length, the 3* endurance rider set my mind at ease. A seasoned international rider, Camille’s passion for Mongol culture and the race was incredibly contagious. While only going into its second year, Camille had competed internationally and even completed the Mongol Derby, which gave her the opportunity to meet with and fall in love with the Mongol culture. It was clear that she wanted to support the local nomadic community and invite a select few riders each year to experience it with her.

Read more: Gobi Desert Cup - Equestrian Adventures in Mongolia

By Jenna Arnett

The Gobi Gallop is the longest annual charity horse ride in the world. As Jenna Arnett explains, you think you’re ‘ride fit’ until you tackle 700 kilometres on horseback in twelve days.

I didn’t start to panic until the Chinese Airways flight took off from Sydney. I was lucky to have a good seat with space, so my adrenaline-fuelled panic attack went fairly unnoticed. I had met up with the two other Australians — Kylie Gracey from Darwin and Anita McNamara from Hughenden, Queensland — earlier at the airport. I felt as though they were my spirit sisters; there is a certain sort of kinship that forms automatically between those about to undertake an adventure such as ours.

My fascination with the Mongolian horses began in my early twenties. I was riding for an endurance stable in southeast Queensland with a large number of international workers. The Mongolia horses’ endurance, stamina and the ancient culture of the nomadic herders that shepherd them is famous across the world and I had been looking for the opportunity to experience this for myself.

The Gobi Gallop is the longest annual charity horse ride in the world, covering more than 700 kilometres across the Mongolian steppe and Gobi Desert. Run by the Veloo Foundation, in conjunction with Horse Trek Mongolia, the Gobi Gallop raises money and awareness for the children of the Peak Sanctuary.

Read more: The Gobi Gallop