'Somewhere so different''

THOnline.com - Full Article

BY STACEY BECKER TH STAFF WRITER
Dubuque Senior High student and 3 other area riders travel to the Middle East to race horses.

McKinzie Flanagan felt queasy as she sat on the sheik's horse and stared at the open desert.

In a matter of moments, the Dubuque Senior High School student would become one of the few Americans to race in the H.H. Emir Endurance Cup at the Qatar Endurance Village in Mesaieed, Qatar.

"I travel for endurance (races) a lot, but I've never been that far away from home," Flanagan said.

She was one of four Dubuque-area riders who raced Arabian horses owned by Sheik Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani in the March endurance race, a 65-mile trek in the desert.

The sheik's horses were treated like royalty. In a castle-like barn, they had a sauna, spa, treadmill and pool.

"We wouldn't mind being horses over there," Flanagan said.

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