Ben Theyre and BeBop, a purebred Straight Egyptian Arabian.

This November, Vanessa and I will join three riders from Europe and two other Americans on a seven-day horse safari in western India. It promises to be the trail ride of a lifetime through the historic province of Rajasthan.

Our destination: the famous Pushkar Fair, the largest livestock fair of its kind in the world. The safari route that will take us through mountains, forest, and desert starts in the ancient city of Udaipur. From there, our group will ride 170 miles through small villages and remote lands to the town of Pushkar, situated in the Aravali Hills.

To combat jetlag and to make the trip complete, before and after the safari, we’ll tour the country around the Indian capital of New Delhi and visit the Taj Mahal. The safari will be an adventure for us as horsemen and a cultural experience for us as Americans.

When we tell our riding friends about our plans, we usually received the same reaction: "Why India? And why a livestock fair?"

‘The Time is Now’
It all started when I inherited my mom’s 32-inch digital television. It was quite a novelty to us. We’ve never had cable or satellite TV. For years, we had only had a small television with rabbit ears. If the weather was right and there were no sunspots erupting, we could receive three, sometimes four local broadcast stations. Digital TV changed all this.

With this new TV, we’re able to receive many programs and digital stations that broadcast in high-definition format. One evening while channel surfing, Vanessa discovered Passport to Adventure, a series on international trail riding (www.pass porttoadventure.com). The episode focused on exotic locations. We became regular viewers of this show, as well as other travel-adventure programs.

Riding in a faraway land soon captured our imagination. Every time a travel adventure show aired, we found ourselves drawn into the situation. We love to travel and soon started kicking around the thought of taking an overseas horse adventure.

Looking at the pros and cons, we could easily come up with several reasons why we shouldn’t take such a trip. Most were based on our fear of the unknown, traveling outside our comfort zone, and, of course, the cost. However, the fear factor was easily diminished by our shared desire to take an exotic trail ride.

Why not? We aren’t getting any younger. Our health issues seem to have resolved themselves of late. And, despite being in our mid-50s, we’re at a good point in our lives physically, emotionally, and financially to undertake a once-in-a-lifetime riding adventure.

Plus, life is too short. Twenty years from now, we didn’t want to be sitting on the porch in our rocking chairs saying, "Shoulda-woulda-coulda." We decided that the time is now.

Why India?
Frankly, India wasn’t on our short list of exotic places. The Pushkar Fair as a destination came to us as an interesting place to visit after watching a travel-adventure program. Here’s how it came to be.

Armed only with The Google, Vanessa fired up her computer and started looking into trail-riding adventures overseas. She found guided trips to Iceland, Greece, Italy, and Spain. We found that experienced riders could trail ride in many unusual and romantic places in the world. What the traveler gets for his U.S. dollar in Europe is another story.

We needed to answer the question, "Where can we have an exotic trail ride on a reasonable budget?" More research. Then one evening, we caught the Passport to Adventure episode, "The Forts and Palaces of Rajasthan India." It was really interesting, with great vistas. After comparing airfares, various tour package prices, and ride options, we focused on joining a horse safari in India.

We discovered the overall cost to be very reasonable. Airfares to and within the Indian subcontinent are affordable. Surprise! Our dollar is worth a lot more in India than in Europe.

Another coincidence: One weekend, in the thralls of our research, a feature article appeared in the Watertown Daily Times by the Associated Press titled, "India becomes an ‘in’ tourist destination." It featured Rajasthan safaris and the Pushkar Fair.

That sealed the deal, with one important caveat: Being in an exotic land, health issues will need to be managed. Fortunately, our local HMO gave us access to affordable international-travel health services.

The Marwari Horse the breed he and Vanessa will ride through rural India to the Pushkar Fair this November.

Why a Livestock Auction?
For us, the Pushkar Fair isn’t so much a destination but a cultural event we want to experience. Rajasthan is a colorful region in the historic Golden Triangle, famous for its ancient temples and medieval forts. With its craftsmen, magicians, and dancers all in native finery, the fair would be the cultural icing on the cake, so to speak.

The safari will be a trail-riding adventure for us. We’ll actually ride along with the villagers and their livestock making the journey to the fair. Due to the cultural differences, we’ve been warned, "As you ride your horse through the villages to the fair, let nothing surprise you." The Pushkar Fair has been arguably called one of the most spectacular fairs in the world. We can’t wait.

Faithful Hindus also make a pilgrimage to Pushkar during the fair to cleanse their souls by bathing in the holy Pushkar Lake. Being a religious event as well as a commercial festival, the fair isn’t held on the same dates each year. The event dates vary with the full moon that occurs during our Western October/November period. It just so happens that this year the holy period fell within our travel window.

Coincidence? Probably.

Mysterious Marwaris
No matter which equine adventure service you choose in Rajasthan, you’ll have a Marwari Horse (www.marwarihorse.com) as your mount.

Marwari? We weren’t very familiar with this breed. But since we’d be riding these horses for 170 miles over a seven-day stretch, we became focused on this aspect of the adventure. We found a great source of information on this breed by visiting www.horseindian.com.

In our research, we discovered that Marwari horses are the indigenous breed to Rajasthan province. They’re the horses of the maharajas, historic nobles. Being an ancient breed, they’re highly valued and well cared for by their royal owners.

Marwaris have a high neck set and are bred in a variety of colors. They’re not wide animals, and they’re comfortable to ride. Since we own and ride Arabian Horses, the fact that Arabian blood was used in developing the breed was of particular interest.

The horses have a distinctive smooth gait called the revaal. Most interesting to me is their identifying physical trait, lyre-shaped ears. Their ears have unique tips that can touch to form a perfect arch.

After looking at pictures of the Mawari ears, I realized that BeBop, my dappled-gray, Straight Egyptian Arabian gelding, shared this distinguishing trait with this ancient breed. His ears aren’t as extreme, but similar. I concluded that BeBop must be related somewhere down his lineage to the Marwaris.

Are BeBop’s ears another reason for us to ride Marwaris from Udiapur to the Pushkar Fair in Rajasthan? Why not?

At the time of this writing, we’re in the process of getting together our visas, overseas health appointments, travel gear, and clothing. Since only 18 pounds of gear is permitted per person, it should make for simple but creative traveling.