Tent Pegging - but not as you know it

Every so often Garry and I get lucky in our travels and find ourselves in town during a festive occasion.  Perhaps the most memorable of these was in Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca.  The day we arrived the town was celebrating its annual festival day with parades, processions and thousands of colourfully dressed locals dancing in the streets.

During our recent weekend excursion to Khasab we found ourselves staying at the Atana Hotel whilst it was hosting an international sporting event.  However, this was no ordinary event.  By chance we'd stumbled upon the world’s first International Women's Tent Pegging Championship. What’s that you ask?  We honestly had to Goggle it ourselves.

The competition involved a series of action-packed horse-riding events hosted on a beach near the hotel.  A temporary stand had been erected in front of a sandy track that ran along the shoreline.  From a boat offshore we watched competitors racing down the track while attempting to be the first to spear or capture targets in the sand.

Competitors from six nations participated in the three-day event including a contingent from Australia.  It was quite a surprise to see the Australian flag fluttering away on a beach in northern Oman.  The Australians came second, beaten only by the South Africans. Who knew Australian women were among the world’s best tent peggers?