Ireland: Castleruddery

Enduranceridingireland.com - Full Story

Event: Castleruddery

Date: Sun May 19 2013

Mountains, valleys, forests and rivers - it's no wonder our prehistoric forebearers chose to settle here and raise the mysterious and timeless standing stone circle at Castleruddery. All was just as beautiful and mystical for the setting of the recent ILDRA endurance ride, organised superbly (as usual) by Sam Hawkins and his capable team of helpers, Larry O'Neill, Nicki Boud-Tighe, Emma McCarthy and Gillian Moody, with the veterinary expertise of Barbara Fonzo available to assess the horses competing.

Sam had marked a route which made great use of farmland and forest tracks, taking in Fauna and Mulrew forests with the farthest reaches of the trail stretching into Drumreagh at the back of Church Mountain. The tracks were in the best condition possible, with several stretches greatly improved from previous years and there can be few more delightful canter sections on endurance rides than those situated within the scenic Glen of Imaal - particularly on a sunny day! The route rode very well indeed with enough challenging terrain to make it a true 'endurance' test. In addition to the marvellous scenery (and to keep the horses on their toes!), riders caught frequent glimpses of wildlife, including deer and hare...

Read more here:
http://www.enduranceridingireland.com/endurance-riding-ildra-event-report.php?id=289

Dubai’s ruler bans steroids as horseracing scandal widens

FT.com - Full Article

By Simeon Kerr in Dubai and Roger Blitz in London
May 23, 2013

Dubai’s ruler has banned the use of steroids in the United Arab Emirates as he seeks to stem the widening doping scandal at his Godolphin stables.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the UAE prime minister, said he had ordered the drafting, with immediate effect, of legislation criminalising the import, sale, purchase and use of anabolic steroids in all horse-related sports.

“Regrettably, one of my stables in Europe has recently fallen below the standards that I expect and will tolerate,” he said in a statement. “I have always believed in the integrity of horseracing...”

Read more here:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/72d37cb8-c3af-11e2-aa5b-00144feab7de.html#axzz2UDChgNrl

Top UAE riders in French endurance event

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Al Jahouri father and son will be among those to compete on Friday and Saturday

Staff Report
Published: 21:23 May 23, 2013

Abu Dhabi: Nearly 200 riders and teams from 22 nations will in action over the next two days in Compiegne, France, with the support of the Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival.

Many of the UAE’s leading riders, including European Open champion Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri and his son Khalifa Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri, who has won many rides in the UAE this season, will be representing the Al Wathba Stables, which are owned by Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.

The UAE riders will be taking part in the 160km ride on Friday and the 160km ride and Nations Cup on Saturday...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/top-uae-riders-in-french-endurance-event-1.1187769

Great Britain: Atrocious weather fails to stop Golden Horseshoe endurance riders

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

By Horsetalk.co.nz on May 22, 2013

If it had been a three-day-event, it probably would have been cancelled, but the endurance riders at last week’s Golden Horseshoe Ride over Exmoor are made of sterner stuff.

The 180 competitive riders a rode through mud, wind and rain in the worse weather the famous event has experienced. But the poor weather failed to put a damper on the riders, and as one official put it, completing the event was “a triumph over adversity”...

Read more here:
http://horsetalk.co.nz/2013/05/22/atrocious-weather-fails-stop-golden-horseshoe-endurance-riders/#.UZ6m3WRAQUI

Australia: Enduro Annetts wins again

Gleninnesexaminer.com.au - Full Article

May 23 2013

Glen Innes endurance horse rider Jenny Annetts has recently broken a record and won an event.

The NSW state horse endurance ride championships was held in Manilla, near Tamworth a few weeks back and Jenny won the gruelling 160km event in a great time of 11 hours and 23 minutes...

Read more here:
http://www.gleninnesexaminer.com.au/story/1521554/enduro-annetts-wins-again/?cs=420

Bahrain's Royal Endurance Team is supporting a 120km Endurance Horse Ride

BNA.bh - Full Article

23/05/2013

Manama, May 23 (BNA) -- Bahrain's Royal Endurance Team is supporting a 120km Endurance Horse Ride, part of the Compiegne Festival Mondial d’Endurance, to be held on Sunday at Compiegne near Paris, in France.

Team captain Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa will lead a group of prominent Bahraini riders in this two-day festival, which also includes a 160km ride, set to take place today.

Shaikh Nasser will be racing alongside Yaqoub Al Hammadi, Raed Mahmood, Mohammed Abdulsamad and Abdulrahman Al Saad this weekend.

Fresh from their participation in the recently-concluded Windsor Show in the UK, the Bahrain delegation moved to Compiegne, a commune in the Oise department in northern France, ahead of today’s event, which is sponsored by Shaikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE.

Bahrain team manager Dr Khalid Ahmed Hassan had reached the French capital ahead of the team delegation arrival to ensure the completion of all matters related to the team participation and ensure smooth organization of the 120km ride...

Read more here:
http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/562094

Australia: Tenterfield hosts huge endurance ride

Tenterfieldstar.com.au - Full Article

May 22 2013

FOR the Tenterfield Endurance Riders Club, the weekend of May 4-5 was a big one.

It was the 27th consecutive ride the club has staged.

The 210 horses, riders and supporters crammed into our Girard State Forest base and tested our resources, not to mention our plumbing and water supplies, and our ability to organise and manage a ride of this magnitude

It was the second biggest endurance ride held in Australia this year.

Despite several campers managing to spear the underground water pipes with star droppers, and the huge demand on the hot water boiler and our plumbing, the “maintenance crew” managed it all with quiet aplomb.

Then there was the matter of finding, five or six veterinarians and technical support people required for a ride of this magnitude.

The administrative and technical people who kept track of the progress of each horse and rider from 3am to the last rider later in the day...

Read more here:
http://www.tenterfieldstar.com.au/story/1516952/tenterfield-hosts-huge-endurance-ride/?cs=1640

Léonard Liesens Chef d’Equipe for Norway Endurance

Horsereporter.com - Full Article

May 14, 2013
By Pamela@horsereporter

May 12, 2013, Belgium ~ Leonard Liesens is the new Chef d’Equipe for Norway Léonard Liesens, Chef d’Equipe de la Norvège

Leonard Liesens has accepted the position of Chef d’Equipe of Norway, a country that is small on the international endurance scene, but has some very competitive horses and riders. “I have just come from my first clinic in Borway, and all the lakes were still frozen. In spite of the ice and snow, the horses almost never stop training and conditioning and I was very impressed. The riders and horse are quite accustomed to the harsh conditions. The first competition will be the Baltique Championship in Estonia at Kurgjarve on May 24...

Read more here:
http://www.horsereporter.com/?p=6853

2013 Dutch Championship

19 May 2013

65-year-old Marly van Ditzhuijzen and Eenhoorn's Dahman are the 2013 Dutch Champions after the 160-km*** Dutch Championship at Ermelo, Netherlands, on 18 May 2013. Eenhoorn's Dahman, an 11-year-old stallion, was bred by Van Ditzhuijzen. The pair had been reserve Dutch Champions in 2008 and 2012.

Defending Dutch champion Carmen Römer was 2nd (3rd overall) on Oceane D'havenne. This was her 8-year-old mare's first 160-km race.

Both riders are hoping to make the Dutch team for the 2013 European Championships that will be held in Most, Czech Republic.

Norwegian rider Olaug Espeli Carstensen, riding Al Thaka Mellemgaard, won the competition by 40 seconds over Ditzhuijzen.

The 120 km** ride was won by Marjike Visser riding Eomer.

Australia: 2013 Shahzada - The Ultimate Test in Horsemanship

19 May 2013

If you are 16 or 60, Shahzada is something you HAVE to do……whether it is on your “bucket list” or you just need a benchmark to set all your future goals, this is the challenge for you.  If you love your horse and wish you could spend day after day riding in the best country…..this is definitely for you!!!!!

 Come join us in St Albans from August 25 – 29 for the running of the 33rd Shahzada and try the ultimate test of 400km over five days or if you just want to come and have some fun and get a taste of real endurance riding, the mini marathon of 120km over three days is for you.   The ride covers 80kms each day over legendary tracks like Prestons, McKechnie’s, The Steps, Jack’s Track, Boyd’s, Short Wellums, Blue Hill but this year we are hoping to bring back some of the old course like Word of Life, Lyndrian Hill, Derwent’s Track and Baker’s and we will be conducting track clearing weekends which will be announced on Aussie Endurance so come along and help and get a taste of what to expect in August.   

Heaps of entertainment during the week from Trivia and Poetry nights, Shahzada Idol and the famous dog races…..a great canteen and perfect weather.   We like to think of all Shahzada entrants and helpers as part of the Shahzada Family……..everyone helps each other and genuinely wants everyone to succeed and earn that much sought after Shahzada buckle…..so come and give it a go!!!

Start planning now – best to be there at least the Saturday before the start at 4am on Monday, 25th and go to the Shahzada website www.shahzadaresults.org and read some of the stories from other riders who took up the challenge. 

Pre-nom forms and campsite request forms are on the website and please contact Shahzada secretary, Sue Todd on suetodd@activ8.net.au or 0263 79 7218 for any further information.

Great Britain: Set Back for Team Omar

Brechinadvertiser.co.uk - Full Article

Published on 18/05/2013 06:01

RAF Cranwell, normally home to aircrafts, played host to Endurance Great Britain’s third major national ride last weekend.

The event attracted hundreds of riders and horses from across the UK for a competition spread over three days.

Brechin based rider John Thomson and his pure bred Arabian gelding Prince Omar made the journey south to join some of his N&T Group team mates, all of whom were scheduled for the big distance race rides of 160kms over two days, one day 80kms and John and Omar in the 100kms CER one day class.

In a cloudless early morning the mass start went over the line at 07.31 a.m.

For a race ride it was a fairly sedate start due to a short section of tarmac that led into heavily rutted and root laden forest tracks but within a couple of kilometres, nerves had passed and the riders had settled down to a steady but quick endurance trot before the pace shifted up a gear...

Read more here:
http://www.brechinadvertiser.co.uk/sport/local-sport/set-back-for-team-omar-1-2931151

UAE: Guilty racehorse trainer’s endurance links put spotlight on Arab doping record

Horseandhound.co.uk - Full Article

May 6 2013

Concerns about equine doping and severe injuries in the Middle East are already the worst-kept secrets in FEI endurance. But this niche discipline seems set for wider scrutiny following the Godolphin steroids scandal that rocked the racing world.

Mahmood al Zarooni, who trained for Sheikh Mohammed’s elite Godolphin operation at Moulton Paddocks, Newmarket, was banned for a record eight years after 11 racehorses tested positive to anabolic steroids, following a spot-check by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) last month.

Al Zarooni also admitted giving steroids to four other horses.

Sheikh Mohammed is the ruler of Dubai, one of the seven principalities of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He personally underpins the global racing economy with worldwide bloodstock investments worth billions and owns an estimated 5,000 racehorses.

His junior wife, Princess Haya of Jordan, is president of the FEI, the body that governs global horse sport, and has actively campaigned for clean sport...

Read more here:
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/guilty-racehorse-trainers-endurance-links-put-spotlight-on-arab-doping-record/

Great Britain: Sheikh Mohammed's son-in-law explains pressures that lead to doping in endurance racing

Telegraph.co.uk - Full Article

By Simon Briggs
14 May 2013

Endurance racing needed a smooth day out on Friday at Windsor, after the negative publicity that has surrounded it in recent days. The Queen attended, the United Arab Emirates took three of the first four places, and no positive tests were reported — for the moment at least.

For those not familiar with this niche equestrian pursuit, an endurance ride involves a course of up to 100 miles long which must be completed by one rider on one horse. It is little wonder that the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) has identified it as a hotspot for chemical enhancement, with 41 cases of doctored horses reported between 2010 and 2012.

Figures prepared by the Swiss Equestrian Federation suggest that the Middle Eastern states — which have come to dominate the sport since the 1990s — are at the heart of the problem. Horses from the UAE have repeatedly been cited — even one ridden by the Emir of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, himself. The connections between these mini-scandals and the rather larger debacle at Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin stables are not hard to draw.

Sheikh Mohammed’s son-in-law, Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, rode in Friday’s race, although with limited success; his horse Moro Famayev went lame and had to retire after the first 20-mile lap. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Prince Nasser — whose father is the King of Bahrain — admitted that doping was a major problem in endurance racing, though he was wise enough to defend Sheikh Mohammed from any accusation of wrong-doing.

“What made this happen is like exactly the athletes in the human races, they want to beat the other runners and the other countries, and they start to miscalculate things,” said Prince Nasser...

Read more here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/horseracing/10055050/Sheikh-Mohammeds-son-in-law-explains-pressures-that-lead-to-doping-in-endurance-racing.html

Great Britain: Royal Windsor's first endurance race a success

Horseandcountry.tv - Full Article

By Charlotte Ricca-Smith on 14th-May-2013

Royal Windsor’s very first endurance ride was hailed as a great success, with perfect conditions helping to produce some top-class performances.

History in the making

The winner was United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Abdullah Ghanim Al Marri, who completed the 120km course in a time of four hours, 32 minutes and 34 seconds, riding his 11-year-old grey mare La Crysada.

“The race was difficult as this was my first ride abroad and the course was very different to courses in the Emirates but to come here and to enter the history books by winning the first ever Royal Windsor endurance ride is an honour,” said Al Marri.
In second place was fellow UAE rider Saeed Ahmed Jaber Al Harbi with Castlebar Kadeen, who finished in a time of four hours, 39 minutes and 39 seconds...

Read more here:
http://www.horseandcountry.tv/news/2013/05/14/royal-windsors-first-endurance-race-success

France: The 2014 WEG Organising Committee meets the press in Gothenburg

JEMFEIAlltech2014-normandie.fr

02/05/2013

The Organising Committee’smanaging director Fabien Grobon, outlined the major achievements of the last twelve months. He particularly focused on the teams’ daily achievements, as they work towards making these Games an event to live up to both the public’s expectations and enthusiasm.

José Carlin-Perez, the media operations manager, explained the OC’s approach to providing media services for all those making the journey to Normandy from 23 August to 7 September 2014. Everything possible will be done to guarantee high-quality services, which will allow media representatives to optimise their fortnight stay. José Carlin-Perez stressed the Organising Committee’s wish “to have a thorough approach towards the transmission of the results and information on a whole, as well as supplying a highly-organised working environment for the media.”

Teams of volunteers will be assigned to assist the media and facilitate the organisation of everyday services.

Specific areas will be reserved for the media in close proximity to the Main Media Centre (MMC/CIM) located at the d’Ornano Stadium. Additional media centres will also be placed at all of the competition venues. The control room and broadcasting centre will be set up nearby and television transmission will be handled conjointly by the EBU and the France Télévisions group.

Accommodation arrangements have already been finalised. Four hotels will be allocated to journalists, all of which are located close to Caen’s d’Ornano Stadium. Nearly 200 rooms have been pre-booked with rates ranging from 75 to 150 euros (depending on the category of hotel.) Reservations will be possible from 15 May 2013 onwards.

A shuttle service will be organised between the media hotels, the MMC/CIM and all the different competition venues.

Requests for accreditation will be possible from February 2014 until May 2014.

Journalists present in Gothenburg went away with all the information necessary for their forthcoming trip to Normandy. Further dates have been planned for the coming months.

Everything has been designed to make the media’s work that little bit easier at the Games!

Key dates:

Hotel reservations from 15 May 2013 – contact : hotels.normandie2014@mci-group.com
Accreditation possible from February 2014 – contact : media.operations@normandie2014.com
For practical information : media.operations@normandie2014.com

Great Britain: 120 km Royal Windsor Endurance CEI 2*

Horsereporter.com - Full Article

May 12, 2013
By Pamela@horsereporter

May 5, 2013, Windsor, UK ~ On a very cool day with high winds and occasional heavy showers 48 competitors representing seven countries galloped away from the start with the splendid back drop of Windsor Castle.

This was an historic occasion as it was the first time that an endurance ride was included in the events of Royal Windsor Horse Show that was celebrating its 70th anniversary.

The majority of the route was over the Queen’s private Estate of Windsor Great Park. The going was exceptional, over beautifully mown grass and sandy tracks. The mildly undulating course passed several famous statues and set another first when part of the first loop was set around the steeplechase course at Ascot Race Course that will host the famous Royal meeting next month. It also passed Cranbourne Tower, the birthplace of Eclipse in 1764, an outstanding British thoroughbred racehorse undefeated in the 18th-century winning 18 races, including 11 King’s Plates. After retiring from racing he became a very successful sire...

Read more here:
http://www.horsereporter.com/?p=6827