Great Britain: Red Dragon Festival is back with a roar

EGB.MyClubhouse.co.uk

Web Admin
29 August 2021

Iconic Endurance GB British Horse Feeds and Golden Paste Company Red Dragon Festival is back with a roar

• Festival of Endurance at Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells (24-26 September) sponsored by British Horse Feeds and Golden Paste Company hosts array of 2021 Championship events • Nearly 300 riders expected to compete over the three days including teams from across the country in the Pony Club National Championships • National Championship classes to attract many leading horse and rider combinations to tackle iconic Cambrian Mountain route including the ride’s legendary climb over Aberedw Hill summit. • Welsh Championship newly added after move from Pembrey Sands

Often billed as an end of season party, the iconic British Horse Feeds & Golden Paste Company Red Dragon Festival of Endurance is back bigger and better than ever next month after a year’s absence due to the spike in Covid cases across Wales last autumn.

Organisers say support for the iconic event in the Cambrian Mountains, swelled last year and have put plans in place to ensure it bounces back bigger and better than ever.

John and Jane Hudson in their 10th year as organisers of the prestigious event, held from the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells, say that they were overwhelmed by the strong backing of the sponsors and the support of the endurance community when it became clear that the Welsh Government would have to delay lifting of restrictions in time, forcing the cancellation of the 2020 event.

John Hudson said: “A huge amount of work had gone into last year’s event and the support then gave us the impetus to return this year bigger and better than ever...”

More at:
https://egb.myclubhouse.co.uk/Cms/Spaces/NEWS/News/Red+Dragon+Festival+is+back+with+a+roar

Three-day extravaganza at Endurance GB’s new FEI Well Vale International Ride

EGB.myclubhouse.co.uk - Full Article

26 August 2021
Sponsored by Emerald Green Feeds and Sheer Endurance

Three-day extravaganza at Endurance GB’s new FEI Well Vale International Ride, sponsored by Emerald Green Feeds and Sheer Endurance kicks off

• New venue to host three day extravaganza of Endurance (27-29 August) with classes of all distances and for all levels.
• Nearly 100 riders set to compete over the three days including nine British combinations contesting FEI International classes
• Popular Team Spirit returns to the schedule after Covid-enforced gap in 2020

Endurance GB welcomes a new FEI International Ride at Well Vale near Alford in the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds this weekend. Sponsored by Emerald Green Feeds and Sheer Endurance, the event has attracted nearly 100 riders to a range of classes across the distances including three FEI sections, a 3* 160km, 1* 100km and 2* YJ 120km.

With a stunning venue in front of Well Vale Estate Hall, organiser Thay Stephenson and her team are presenting a course running almost exclusively on private tracks, field margins and rights of way which will take riders over the glorious Wolds countryside...

Read more here:
https://egb.myclubhouse.co.uk/Cms/Spaces/NEWS/News/Threeday+extravaganza+at+Endurance+GBs+new+FEI+Well+Vale+International+Ride

Australia: Collie to host Tom Quilty National Endurance Championship on October 1-3

FarmWeely.com.au - Full Story

Amanda Rayner
25 Aug 2021, 6 p.m.

FROM October 1-3, the South West town of Collie, 200 kilometres from Perth, will play host to the Tom Quilty National Endurance Championship.

WA has had the honour of hosting the 100 mile (160 kilometre) ride on four previous occasions - Mornington Mills in 1989, Toodyay in 1995, Tumbulgum Farm in 2001 and 2007 and Wagin in 2014.

This time around, the WA Endurance Riders Association (WAERA) will co-host the event with the historic and scenic Shire of Collie, which has also kindly offered the support of its community-based volunteer groups.

WAERA feels that the event has a special affinity with WA as Tom Quilty, who the event is named in honour of, lived a great part of his life in the State...

Read more here:
https://www.farmweekly.com.au/story/7399502/one-horse-one-rider-one-day-100-miles/

Interview with Spanish top athlete María Álvarez Pontón

Endurance-World.com - Full Article

Info@endurance-world.com
23rd August 2021
Barcelona, Spain.

Introducing María Álvarez Pontón is not needed for the pundits in the horse endurance community.

With the European Championship coming up in two weeks in Ermelo, Netherlands, María is one of the top contenders. Maria is a very private person avoiding interviews yet Endurance World was able to catch up with this Spanish top amazon.

Who is María Álvarez Pontón?

I was born in Cantabria (North of Spain) in 1976, July 20. I grew up there and when I was 18 I moved to the South to study to become a vet. Being there I got the opportunity to go to Dubai. I went as a nice experience, with the idea of spending six months in Dubai and coming back. I ended up working there for 13 years. I met my husband, Juma Punti, who is also my trainer, and we’ve been together ever since. Nowadays I live with Juma and our 3 children in our farm in Barcelona, where we breed and train endurance horses...”

Read the interview here:
https://endurance-world.com/interview-with-spanish-top-athlete-maria-alvarez-ponton/

3 USA Young Riders Bound for World Championship in Netherlands

August 21 2020

Three riders will represent the USA in the FEI Endurance World Championship for Young Riders & Juniors which will be held at Ermelo in the Netherlands on September 6-11, 2021.

19-year-old Alex Shampoe, from Colorado Springs, Colorado, will ride Valerie Kanavy and Wndy MacCoubrey's 10-year-old Arabian mare, Fine Cut Gold. This pair won the USA Young Rider 75-mile Championship at Fort Howes, Montana, in June.

16-year-old Charlene “Charly” Dugan, from Muncy, Pennsylvania, will ride the 9-year-old gelding Southern Justice, owned by Sally Jellison and Dessia Miller.

14-year-old Meghan Wert, from Spring Mills, Pennsylvania, will ride the 13-year-old gelding Dude Free Gold, owned by Valery Kanavy.

Alex Shampoe and Valerie Kanavy's Promissin Gold, an 8-year-old Arabian mare, are the alternates.

115 riders and 140 horses representing 23 countries are on the nominated list. The definite entry list is scheduled for September 4th.

Netherlands: Interview with Eric Lamsma, Ermelo Organiser

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

Info@endurance-world.com
12th August 2021

Ermelo, the Netherlands. Wednesday 11 August 2021.

With less than a month to go for the FEI World Endurance Championship for Young Riders and Juniors 2021 and FEI European Endurance Championship 2021, Endurance World talked to Eric Lamsma, organiser of the event.

Who is behind the organisation?

Eric Lamsma: “Fasna Trail foundation which is managed by Pieter Wiersinga and myself. We have a core team of four people and when you look at the bigger circle it consists 15 people, furthermore we are lucky we can rely on more than 100 volunteers. Back in the days, Foundation Fasna Trail organised several (international) rides in Ermelo, the 2014 CEI in Uddel being the most recent event.”

The test event was, according the FEI, successful so why was there a change of organiser?

“I don’t know so I can’t answer. As soon as we were asked to organise we have been busy looking forward.” Why Ermelo as venue?

“Ermelo has the national equestrian centre and is the base of all equestrian disciplines of the National Federation ‘Koninklijke Nederlandse Hippische Sportfederatie, KNHS’. The idea is to host all championships in this beautiful location, the middle of the Veluwe...”

Read more here:
https://endurance-world.com/interview-with-eric-lamsma-ermelo-organiser/

Two-year bans after claim groom’s heart medication caused horse’s positive dope test thrown out

HorseAndHound.co.uk - Full Article

Becky Murray
12 August, 2021 12:39

The FEI tribunal has ruled an endurance trainer’s suggestion that a horse tested positive for beta blockers at a UK event owing to a groom being on heart medication, was “weak, to say the least”.

Feline X tested positive for banned substance atenolol, a beta blocker used for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and obstructive cardiac disease, following blood and urine samples taken at the CEI*80 at Euston Park on 16 June 2019. A banned substance is a substance deemed by the FEI to have no legitimate use in competition horses and/or have a high potential for abuse. Banned substances are not permitted for use in competition horses at any time.

On 26 August 2019 the FEI provisionally suspended Feline X’s rider Pane Singh Amar Singh (the person responsible) and trainer Fadhl Manea Saleh Al Mathil (the additional person responsible)...

Read more here:
https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/endurance-rider-and-trainer-banned-after-claim-grooms-heart-medication-cause-horses-positive-dope-test-thrown-out-758046

FEI Tribunal issues Final Decision in UAE Endurance equine anti-doping case

Inside.FEI.org

11 August 2021
Author: FEI

The FEI Tribunal has issued its Final Decision in an equine anti-doping case involving a Banned Substance.

In this case, the horse Feline X (FEI ID 106LV53/GBR), ridden by Pane Singh Amar Singh (FEI ID 10048234/UAE) and trained by Fadhl Manea Saleh Al Mathil (FEI ID 10110945/UAE), tested positive for the Banned Substance Atenolol, a beta blocker used for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and obstructive cardiac disease, following samples taken at the CEI1* 80 - Euston Park (GBR), on 16 June 2019.

Neither the athlete, nor the trainer were able to account for the positive findings in the horse’s sample. Therefore, in its Final Decision, the FEI Tribunal disqualified the horse and athlete from the event, and imposed a two-year suspension on the athlete and the trainer. The period of the provisional suspension of both athlete and trainer, which came into effect on 26 August 2019, shall be credited against the period of ineligibility, meaning both will be ineligible until 25 August 2021. The athlete and trainer were also each fined CHF 7,500.

The parties can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days of receipt of the decision.

The full Decision is available here.

Monaco: Laura Gramaglia, a promising Monegasque endurance rider

Monaco-Tribune.com - Full Article

Romain Boisaubert - 10 August 2021

Almost 18 years old and having just passed her Baccalaureate with honours, Laura Gramaglia has not finished surprising us. Passionate about horses since she was a child, the Monegasque is preparing to compete in her first equestrian endurance world championships (U21) in September. Portrait of an athlete with a big heart.

It all began a few kilometres from the Principality, in the heart of the Villeneuve-Loubet riding club, nestled in a lush green setting of nearly 25 hectares. “She must have been a year and a half old,” recalls her mother, with a smile, as she recalls the fond memories of the escapades she enjoyed with little Laura. “I had a horse and I used to hold her in front of me in the saddle. I think I passed on this passion to her. Laura grew up in this environment”...

Read more here:
https://www.monaco-tribune.com/en/2021/08/interview-laura-gramaglia-a-promising-monegasque-endurance-rider/

UAE: FEI Tribunal issues Consent Award in equine anti-doping case

Inside.FEI.org

6 August 2021

The FEI Tribunal has issued a Consent Award in an equine anti-doping case involving a Banned Substance.

In this case, the horse El Cherry (FEI ID 105LL52/UAE), tested positive for the Banned Substance Arsenic following samples taken at the CEI1*100 Bou Thib (UAE), on 4 March 2021.

The trainer, Saif Salem Mohd Al Faresi (FEI ID 10014789/UAE), admitted the rule violation and accepted the consequences. In its final decision the FEI Tribunal disqualified the horse from the event and imposed an 18-month ineligibility period on the trainer; the provisional suspension he already served shall be credited against the imposed ineligibility period. He was also fined CHF 5,000.

The full Decision is available here.