An expat friend wanted to see the Zinder race track, and so I offered to bring him there on horse. As Arwen is heavily pregnant and Sahara was still limping slightly, Ali brought over Maya and Freya from Gill’s concession and the four of us headed out on a very pleasant excursion.

The track was vast and beautiful as ever!

In true Nigerien manner, my expat friend was given a warmhearted welcome by my Nigerien friends, and the appreciation was mutual.

Taher, Altiné & Geoffroy

Lol, there was lots of talk going on… intriguing details as seen from the inside…

…explanations left and right…

…trade secrets and technical dilemmas!

My friend Altiné sent for his young stallion Pablo for show, and sure enough was the youngster turning into a handsome stud (maybe something for Maya, huh?)

Then the warmups began…

My eyes fell on this guy, and at first, I didn’t know why, because I’m not particularly fond of white and grey horses. But there was something frisky about this guy…

…as I was soon to see evidence of!

The track was in a pensive mood this day-

The ambiance was nice and gentle…

Even the trummer chose a gentler beat than normally…

My friends had lots of things to talk about, and I had lots of things to take pictures of!

Freya & Maya with Ali

At this point, the horses were preparing for a race, but keeping the stallions still (without a cord) is tough business!

Then for no apparent reason, the white horse suddenly walked out of the race-

And the rest of them set off!

So much horse power…

And so much dust!

My two friends had gambled on a coke, so the level of suspense was high!

Half a race gone, and the fight was between the two brown ones.

…Coming up for the last curb…

…side by side…

… the one to the right leading but with the left one coming up strong!

…pushing, pushing, pushing!

Until finally, one has what it takes and the other one looses all its adrenaline!

Coming in on the final (third) position

My friend in blue was thrilled, as the horse he had tipped was the winner - and hence my expat friend owed him a coke!

We lingered for another half an hour, watching another race (although it was by then so dark that there was little to take pictures of).

That didn’t stop us from photoshooting with the only mares present: Freya & Maya!

After an hour at the track, it was time to venture home again! But don’t worry, I’ll be back to blog some more…