ANOTHER early start on the morning of August 12th, my bag was hastily packed again and I was soon hurtling headlong toward the morning traffic of Kuala Lumpur - I had a plane catch - destination Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Most weekends I am away from Malaysia anyway but I was particularly looking forward to this mission as I had been invited to come and ride in the Kazakhstan Derby. The largest and most prestigious meeting all year in Kazakhstan, the Derby itself attracts horses from all over the country and from neighboring areas such as Russia and Kyrgyzstan too.