Italy: Bahrain set for endurance test

Gulf-daily-news.com

Thursday, September 24, 2009

ROYAL Endurance Horse ride team captain Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa will arrive in Italy today to lead the Bahraini squad at the European Championship 2009.

Shaikh Nasser, the Bahrain Olympic Committee president, will be accompanied by Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation president and captain of Al Khaldiya Stables Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

Shaikh Nasser will be riding Kheopsy Du Pilat while Shaikh Khalid will compete on Khandela Des Vialette in this prestigious competition which will be flagged off on Saturday at 6am (Bahrain time).

The two lead some of the finest Bahraini riders in this event which has attracted entries from 26 countries.

Other Bahraini riders are Yousef Taher, Ghazi Al Doseri, Ahmed Abdulla Al Hazza, Abdulrahman Al Saa'd, Raed Mahmood and Jaffer Mirza.

A maximum of six riders from each country are allowed to take part. Besides Shaikh Nasser and Shaikh Khalid, the final line-up for the Bahraini team includes Al Saad who will be riding Zirkonia, Al Hazza will take part on Ganda Koy, Mirza on Mexico and Al Doseri on Khyber.

Countries in the fray include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, UK, Hungary, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, the US and Uruguay,

The race will be sponsored by Dubai Racing Club and will be held over 160kms divided into six stages. An opening ceremony will be held today at the Assisi's municipal square. The championship will be shown live on Bahrain Sports Channel following directives from Shaikh Nasser.

After today's opening ceremony, the horses will be subjected to veterinary examination at the endurance village.

The weight of each horse taking part should not exceed 75 kgs while maximum pulse rate at the veterinary gate after each stage should be 64 beats per minute within 20 minutes.

An International Veterinary Symposium is also set for today at the conference room of the Grand Hotel Assisi.