UAE: HH President's Cup Invited Riders List

An International Race of Champions

30 International Riders have been invited to participate in the 6th annual running of HH President's Cup Endurance Race on 17 February 2005. In most cases, these invitations are awarded to winners of prestigious endurance events from around the world. This makes the HH President's Cup an race of international champions!

The 160km CEI*** event will be held at the Emirates International Endurance Village near Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
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EnduranceNet Event Coverage

Breaking records all the way

By Alaric Gomes, Staff Reporter
Gulfnews.com

Dubai: A host of VIPs and royals participated in the FEI World Endurance Championship. General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Minister of Defence, led the way for the UAE with his three sons: Shaikh Hamdan, Shaikh Rashid and Shaikh Majid.

Others taking part were Princess Haya Bint Al Hussain of Jordan, Shaikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa and his brother Shaikh Khalid from Bahrain, Sultan Mizan Zailnal of Malaysia and Shaikh Mohammad Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani from Qatar.
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France and New Zealand suffer early exit

By Alaric Gomes, Staff Reporter
Gulfnews.com

France and New Zealand could not hide their disappointment after being channelled out of the competition yesterday.
"It was disappointing to be out of the team title competition early during the ride," New Zealand team member, Mark Tylee told the Gulf News after his mount Jamahl went lame.



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Shaikh Hazza's golden decision

By M. Satyanarayan, Staff Reporter
Gulfnews.com
Dubai: Shaikh Hazza Bin Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan can be pleased with his late decision to switch horses, as it brought him a record-breaking performance.

He was supposed to ride the leading Purebred Arabian endurance horse Shahdon, formerly ridden by two-time world champion Valerie Kanavy.

Instead, he opted for Hachim, the horse he rode to victory in Bahrain. Sure enough, the 11-year-old bay gelding from the Wrsan Stables unleashed tremendous fighting spirit.

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WEC: Teamwork and spirit are keys for Italy

By Alaric Gomes, Staff Reporter
gulfnews.com

Dubai: Talk about surprises in sports and think of Italy... at least in endurance riding.
With a strong line-up of teams like hosts UAE and the US along with former champions France and New Zealand, practically no one had the Italians booked as likely winners of the team gold at the end of a hard day in the desert.



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WEC: Hazza on top of the world

Shaikh Hazza Bin Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Hachim registered the fastest time ever in a 160-km ride to become the World Endurance Champion at the Dubai International Endurance City yesterday. Italy emerged as the winners in the team championship.

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Shaikh Hazza lifts endurance crown

Shaikh Hazza lifts endurance crown
Gulf Daily News

DUBAI: Shaikh Hazza bin Sultan Al Nahyan yesterday clinched the individual gold medal while Bahrain finished fifth in the team competition in the 160-km FEI Endurance World Championship at the Dubai Endurance City. Riding the 10-year-old Bay Gelding Hachim and averaging 22.68 kmh, Shaikh Hazza pulled back a deficit of one minute and 35 seconds to clinch the sixth and final stage and complete the 160-km marathon ride in seven hours, three minutes and 22 seconds.

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EnduranceNet Coverage

Hazza is new world champion

Hazza is new world champion
By Amith Passela
Khaleej Times
28 January 2005

Photo by Gilly Wheeler

DUBAI ? Shaikh Hazza bin Sultan Al Nahyan won the world endurance championship crown for the UAE after a little-known French rider turned the world?s premier race into a Grand National steeple chase finish-like atmosphere here at the Dubai International Endurance City yesterday. Barbara Lissarague, 38, turned the heat on in the final 19 kilometres of the race to claim silver and prevent the Emirates from a medal sweep in the 10th FEI Endurance World Championship.

General Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence, took the bronze on Nashmi and Shaikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan finished fourth astride Mindari Aenzac.



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EnduranceNet Coverage

WEC: Australia wins Silver

Australia wins silver in race marathon
National Nine News
11:47 AEDT Fri Jan 28 2005

An exhausted but jubilant Australian team has taken out a silver medal in the toughest and longest horse race in the world, the World Endurance Championships.

The Australian team was narrowly pipped by Italy in a field of 179 horse and rider combinations from 41 countries, competing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Only a few of the starters completed the gruelling nine and a half hour marathon across the desert, 70km from Dubai, which ended overnight.

Few national teams survived to the finish with most - including New Zealand, Britain, Germany, and even hot favourite, France - disqualified by the half-way point.

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EnduranceNet Coverage

WEC: Start and Gate 1

Full coverage at EnduranceNet:

• WEC: Team Standings at Gate 1
  
• WEC: Images from Start and Gate 1
  
• WEC: Start List with teams
  
• VetIn/TrotOut Images
  

Full Coverage

Mohammed welcomes ?Endurance family?

Mohammed welcomes ?Endurance family?
Khaleeji Times

DUBAI ? With 183 horses representing 41 different nations, Dubai will stage the biggest equestrian endurance event in the sport?s history when the FEI Endurance World Championship gets under way today from the purpose-built Dubai Endurance City.


The UAE will be hosting the event for the second time with sponsorship backing of Omega, Nakheel, the National Bank of Dubai and Nissan.

The festivities began with an opening ceremony yesterday before the horses and riders take on the six-stage, 160km race across the UAE?s punishing desert terrain tomorrow. The finals will culminate in a closing ceremony, with an awards presentation on Saturday.

Over the past few weeks, the horses have been arriving in the UAE to acclimatise for a championship that was last held in the emirates back in 1998 when 37 nations took part.

This year, the UAE will compete with General Shaikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and the UAE Defence Minister, leading the way, while Shaikh Ahmad bin Mohammed Al Maktoum will be looking to retain the title he won at the 2002 World Endurance Championship at Jerez in Spain.

Speaking to the international media gathered at the Endurance City, General Shaikh Mohammed said: ?This is a sport that is growing very fast and this week it is our pleasure to stage the biggest gathering ever in endurance history. All Arab horses come from the Arabian Peninsula and I am happy to welcome them home.?



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WEC: Endurance riders set for top race

Endurance riders set for top race
Gulf Daily News

BAHRAIN's endurance horseride team continued their preparations for the World Championship which is scheduled for tomorrow starting at 5am Bahrain time at the Dubai Endurance City.

A total of 183 horses from 48 countires are taking part in this one-day event, the biggest equestrian endurance event in the sport's history which will cover a distance of 160 kms.

The Bahraini team is led by Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef) president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa of the Royal Endurance Team and includes Breef first vice-president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Al Khaldiya Stable, Shaikh Daij bin Salman Al Khalifa of Al Talia Stable, Shaikh Salman bin Saqer Al Khalifa of Ahmed Al Fateh Stable and Royal Endurance Team riders Hamad Al Meraisi and Yousef Taher.


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EnduranceNet Coverage

Australians geared up for assault

By M. Satyanarayan, Staff Reporter

Dubai: Penny and her husband Peter Toft will be representing Australia, the 2000 team champions, in the World Endurance Championship here on January 27.

But the Toft family has a larger role to play in guiding the fortunes of Australia, one of the stronger teams in world endurance.

For this edition of the world championship, the Australians have devised a novel method of selection and are hoping it would fetch them team gold.



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Final batch of horses arrives

Staff Report

Dubai: With the arrival of the final batch of horses from Bahrain and Oman, the field is now set for the FEI World Endurance Championship on Thursday.


"We've have received one horse from Oman and another six from Bahrain and this completes the entire list of foreign horses," Mohammad Rashid Bin Ghadayer, Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee for the championship, told Gulf News.



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By M. Satyanarayan, Staff Reporter

Dubai : One of the strongest assets of the current UAE national endurance team is the teenage presence.

Out of the 12-member UAE team named for the World Endurance Championship , five are teenagers including the reigning world endurance champion Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Al Maktoum.



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US riders have their task cut out

By M. Satyanarayan, Staff Reporter

Dubai : Riders from the US are here on a mission. After having dominated the first seven World Endurance Championships, they have drawn a blank in the last two editions. However, the six-member strong US team have arrived to take on the world, particularly hosts UAE.
While team officials have already indicated their focus would be on the team honours, the individual US riders have been quietly working towards a good finish on Thursday


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WEC: The Stage is Set

Stage set for World Championship
The Gulf News
25 January 2005

DUBAI ? The 10th edition of the FEI World Endurance Championship will kick off with record field of 186 riders from 41 countries around the globe saddling their horses in the purpose-built state-of-the-art facility in the heart of the desert, off Dubai City on Thursday morning, it was announced yesterday.


General Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence will lead the 12-man squad which will carry the hopes of the host country in the international extravaganza.

According to the organisers, it has not been yet decided who will be representing the country in the individual and teams competitions, and the issue will be worked out by the captain of the team General Shaiklh Mohammed and will be announced probably one day before the riders line up for the big test.

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EnduranceNet Coverage

WEC: Bahrian National Endurance Team

Endurance challenge for top riders
Gulf News

THE Bahrain national endurance horseride team, led by Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, arrived in the UAE for the World Championship on Thursday starting at 5pm Bahrain time at the endurance village premises in Dubai.

The six-member Bahraini team qualified for this event after completing three races over 160 kms last year. The team will be hoping for victory in this one-day event over a distance of 160 kms with 186 riders representing 48 countries in the fray.

Shaikh Nasser qualified for the championship following his success at the Bahrain Endurance Championship, the New Market Race in the UK and Florac Race in France.

The remaining riders are Breef first vice-president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa of the Royal Endurance Team, Shaikh Daij bin Salman bin Mubarak Al Khalifa of Al Talia Stable, Shaikh Salman bin Saqer Al Khalifa of Ahmed Al Fateh Stable and Royal Endurance Team's Hamad Al Maraisi and Yousef Taher.

Team manager Shaikh Daij bin Salman Al Khalifa said a meeting will be held today for officials of the participating teams. The opening ceremony is also scheduled for today at 6pm Bahrain time while the riders' weigh-in will be held tomorrow at 7am Bahrain time.

EnduranceNet Coverage

WEC: Course Description Announced

The course at the Dubai Endurance City will be laid out in a sequence of 6 stages. The competitors will, at the end of each stage, present to a standard "Gate to Hold" for a mandatory rest and evaluation period. The competition clock will stop for each entrant when they pass through the In Time gate in to the hold area.

Riders must then present their equine for evaluation of metabolic and mechanical characteristics within 30 minutes. Following the presentation of the equine to the evaluations, the hold time begins. This time varies with each phase (gate), ranging from 30 minutes early in the competition, to 40 minutes in the later stages of the event.

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EnduranceNet Coverage

www.emiratesendurance.com

WEC: Australian Border Riders go for Gold

Border riders to go for gold at world event
The Border Mail 19Jan05
DI THOMAS

TWO Border endurance riders have arrived in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and are making final preparations before they take on the worlds best at the World Endurance Riding Championships next week.
Meg Wade, of Burrowye, and Kristie McGaffin, of Wodonga, are among a team of six Australians who will join riders from more than 40 other countries in the sports premier event.

McGaffin will celebrate her 21st birthday on the day of the race on January 27 and her twin sister Naomi has also flown to Dubai as a member of the Australian crew.
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[EnduranceNet Coverage]