2014 WEG Endurance: UAE wins individual Gold; Spain wins Team Gold

August 28 2014

UAE's HE Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum won the Endurance CHampionship at the 2014 WOrld Equestrian Games in Normandy, France. He rode 15-year-ld Yamamah to an 8:08.28 finish time for the 160-km challenging, slippery course. Rider Jean Phillippe Frances (who finished XX) said, "The first two loops were terrible."

The Netherlands' Marijke Visser surprised almost everybody with her 2nd place finish, barely 11 minutes behind the winner, earning the Dutch their first Silver medal in endurance. Visser rode Laiza de Jalima, a 10-year-old mare owned by Dubai’s Sheik Abdulla Bin Faisal Bin Saqr Al Qassimi and trained in Holland.

Qatar's Abdulrahman Saad A.S. Al Sulaiteen, riding Koheilan Kincso finished 3rd in 8:56.23.

Spain won Team Gold, the French won Team Silver, and Switzerland won Team Bronze. Due to the difficult course conditions, only 3 teams had 3 riders in contention for team medals.

The pull rate was rather dismal: 38 finishers/166 starters = 22.8%.