Oman: Royal Cavalry third at World Endurance meet

MENAFN.com

MENAFN - Muscat Daily - 27/08/2012

(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) The Royal Cavalry won the third place at the World Endurance Championships 2012, which was held in UK at Euston Estate. UAE and France won the first and second place respectively in the event which saw 154 riders from 40 countries participating.

Twenty-nine teams represented by 116 riders, and 38 riders on an individual level, participated in the race. Riders Mahmood bin Marhoon al Fawri, Hisham bin Saleh al Farsi, Abdullah bin Said al Syabi, Ahmed bin Salem al Hamadani, Sami bin Said al Belushi and Adel bin Said al Belushi competed in the championship along with their horses, Rudlan, Pulco, Penchab Sully, Ourour, Maj and Mondalaih, respectively.

Brigadier General Abdul Razak bin Abdul Qadir al Shahwarzi, commander of The Royal Cavalry said that he was happy with the achievement and that it was a result of planning and preparation by the team. Elite horses tackled a 160km long course, which consisted of six stages of 38km, 29km, 30km, 20km, 23km and 20km.

The Royal Cavalry came 12th in Round One. Fawri completed the round in 1h52min21s, while Hamadani on Ourour finished in 1h52min42s and Farsi took 1h53min27s.

In the 29km Round Two, the team came in eighth where Fawri finished in 1h21min12s and Farsi took 45 seconds more to complete the round. Hamdani took 1h22min29s.

The Royal Cavalry was fifth in Round Three with Fawri on Rudlan taking 1h22min46s. Farsi on Pulco took 1h25min38s, while Syabi took a minute and nine seconds more.

In Round Four too, the team was fifth and Fawri finished first and took 57h32min. Syabi on Penchab Sully took nine seconds more, while Farsi took 59h28min.

However, by the end of the fourth round, the horse Ourour was disqualified by the veterinary committee because of a leg injury.

Thus, The Royal Cavalry was forced to enter Round five with three horses. It won the third place with Syabi taking 1h12min25s. Farsi took 1h12min42s and Fawri on Rudlan took 1h16min4s.

The course for Round Six was characterised by slopes and waterways and The Royal Cavalry maintained its position in this round.

Faisal bin Mahboob bin Hassan, director of The Royal Cavalry said the result could not have been achieved without the support the cavalry got from the Royal Court Affairs.

Deputy director general of technical affairs at The Royal Cavalry added that the intensive preparation for the championship was a major factor that helped in this achievement.