Cathy Sassin walks her horse into checkpoint 6 on Sunday, her Pharmanex-Spie team in the lead

With all the teams off their kayaks and on four locally provided horses, Sunday was an all-equestrian affair as groups of rain-soaked riders plodding through the swollen lowlands of the region. Indeed, the record-setting rains of the area kept organizers and staff either stranded or scouting for new race routes from the helicopter, while teams received news of an extra 14 kilometers added to their course.

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Things began predictably enough Sunday, as Pharmanex-Spie, FujiFilm and several chasing teams began their day at 5:30 a.m. when the horse section's daily dark zone lifted for 11 1/2 hours. Teams not only had mandatory rest stops to keep the pace reasonable and safe for the horses, but also observed minimum travel times between checkpoints, to prevent overheating the animals. The result, as leader Cathy Sassin put it, was a "rally effect," whereby the lead teams couldn't make up ground, only lose it.

The result was a 22-minute gap between the leaders that didn't change all day, the top-two teams arriving at checkpoints a few minutes ahead of schedule and then waiting outside passport control until their allowed arrival time. Then it was a matter of waiting-- removing the horses' saddles, cleaning their hooves, feeding and watering them-- then human food for the tired competitors.

Checkpoint six is a critical point on the course because it marks the entrance to a mountain pass that is accessible only until 5:00 p.m. This means that, with a mandatory two-hour rest period, teams that arrived at CP6 after 3:00 p.m. were stuck there for the night, while other teams added to their lead. It's known as the dark zone effect.

Eleven teams arrived at CP6 by three o'clock, but only four teams got enough of a jump to clear the next checkpoint by presstime. Teams Pharmanex-Spie (27), FujiFilm (99), Aerospatiale-Matra-RFO (01) and Paul Vatine (69) are now clear of the mountain pass and en route to fresh clothes and clean towels at Headquarter Two in Ibauna.

Meanwhile, teams across the board struggled with horses and the weather. Two teams in particular had problems with horses, as one of Pharmanex-Spie's horses developed diarrhea and a Team Varig horse came up lame, forcing Dan O'Shea to proceed on foot.

Team Loch Harris Coldwater of the USA has also had a tough time of it, first requiring organizational assistance on the river kayak section after capsizing Saturday, preventing them from getting back into the chase on Sunday. The team, featuring two Navy Seals, is now in last place.

By comparison, the first all-women team ever in the history of "expedition-style" adventure racing-- Team Atenah / Pao de Acucar of Brazil-- is right in the middle of the field, in 16th position. The team of four friends from Sao Paolo, is sponsored by the country's largest supermarket chain, and named after a Greek goddess. The team is supported by two women and one man.

Swollen rivers and heavy rains also took their toll on the course and competitors, as high water levels on the Rio Itacolomi (just before CP7) forced a diversion to higher ground, adding 14 km and an hour's travel time to the race. The most recent change imposed by course designer Eric Cassaigne was a shortening of the horse section as it approaches HQ2 at the Rio Coreau, where teams will dismount their horses and swim the river before the final one-hour walk to the transition area. Horses will be transported by truck back to Forteleza, ending the horse section.

Lead teams are expected to walk into HQ2 early Tuesday morning, receiving hiking shoes and climbing gear and their first hot meal in days. From here they will trek approximately four hours to the base of Bom Jesus rock, where some will sleep for the night before climbing a 5.9-grade granite face, then rappelling 100 meters down the other side on Wednesday morning.