Bahrain: Riders gear up for 120km event

gulf-daily-news.com

Friday, December 23, 2011

SOME of Bahrain's best riders have signed up for the 120km National Day Endurance Horse Ride starting tomorrow at 6am.

The event is being organised by the Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef) and is due to take place at the Bahrain International Endurance Village in Sakhir.

This will be the second event of the 2011/12 season. The first event was held two weeks ago and was for the Breef President Cup. It was held over a total distance of 100 kms.

Open for senior riders, this weekend's championship will be divided into five stages. The first two stages will be over 30 kms each, the third will be over 25 kms, the fourth over 20 and the fifth and final phase over 15 kms.

Captained by Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Royal Endurance Team will head into tomorrow's ride as the No. 1 team. They had won the National Day title in the 2009 and 2010.

Prominent

The team, under their coach Yousif Taher, will be banking on several prominent riders, including 2009 edition champion Jaffer Mirza, and last year's junior category winner Abdulrahman Al Saad.

Meanwhile, Breef president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa believes the competition in the new season will be fierce due to the increased number of participants and the noticeable progress the Bahraini riders have made in recent events.

On his part, Breef general secretary and ground jury president Ghalib Al Alawi said everything was set for the event. He said the veterinary examination will take place today at 3pm and the event will be managed by a team of Bahraini juries for the first time this season.

The 2011/12 season will also feature six more rides, including the Heavy Weight Challenge on January 7, 2012. This will be followed by His Majesty the King's Cup, the main event of the endurance season, scheduled for February 4. The Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa Ride will then take place on February 18.

The Breef Championship is due to be held on March 2, then His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Cup night ride will take place on April 6. The last event on the Breef calendar will be held on April 5 and is entitled "The End of the Season Ride".