Shade Tree Wisdom 6/25/10

Had a nice rain last night, and today the outlook is for more possible thunder showers, probably later this afternoon. Always welcome here. But this early summer the weather seems to be either too much, or not enough. Rains and floods here, wind storms and tornados there.

It always reminds me that God still is there, doing the weather, as He always has.

But my attention is drawn to an article in the paper billed as “the world’s longest horse race”, or “The greatest horse race in the world”. It is the Mongol Derby, a race 1,000 kilometers, that’s 630 miles long, and takes at least ten days.

The article tells us that a Phinehorst native (that’s in Texas), is one of the 16 representing 5 countries who qualified for the second Derby, which starts August 7. He is one of the first 3 Americans ever selected to run the race. His name is Justin Nelzen and he is a Farrier by trade who trains and races horses in such endurance contests.

For this race the horses are furnished, each contestant is assigned 25 horses, and each contestant is given 3 days of training. The Derby course traces one of Genghis Kahn’s supply and courier routes that emperor used. Every 30 miles a Mongolian family serves as host and the station where the rider selects a fresh mount. Part of the task is to select a mount with stamina, over-all health and disposition. Another challenge is that these horses, little larger than pony-sized, have 8 speeds, rather than the familiar four most horses have. You know, walk, canter, trot and gallop. So riding them is not as smooth as an Arabian steed, or a Tennessee Walking Horse, offers. And riders do not get to “test drive” their mounts, they ride what they select.

Well, he will know in August if he races successfully, but I am sure no sports sheet will cover the event, so we won’t know how he makes out. And we won’t lose any sleep over it either, will we now?

And why do I spend time with this? Maybe to let us remember that there are many things going on in other parts of the world, or even next door, that we know nothing about, and it doesn’t seem to make life either harder or easier. In short, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not on your own understanding."

May God bless your day.

GPD 6/25/10