HM the King Attends Endurance Races in Paris

date: 26 08, 2005


Paris, Aug. 26, (BNA) HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, has attended part of the European Endurance Races Open Championship which has been held in France, with the participation of Bahrain's team, led by Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Chairman of Bahrain Royal Equestrian And Endurance Federation, and more than 27 European and foreign teams.
HM the King met with Bahraini team's leader, Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and also with Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Shaikh Faisal bin Hamad Al Khalifa and the other equestrians, haling the individual and team results they had achieved. HM the King also met with Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister, Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and discussed with him the Arab teams' achievements in European and international contests. " Sports and notably Equestrian contests which are accorded high interest by the GCC states have become one of the means of rapprochement for the world's countries", HM the King said, hailing the noticeable distinction of Arab teams and the efforts exerted by the Bahraini team which participates in the contest for the first time. HM the King also toured the pavilion held on the occasion, to highlight the equestrian activities in Bahrain which will organize the World Endurance championship for young equestrians on September 17, 2005.

Royal Team Fourth in French Challenge

ROYAL Endurance Team captain and Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef) president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa finished 14th among world class riders in the Open European Endurance Championship yesterday at the Campiegne Racecourse, near Paris.

The Bahraini team finished fourth overall behind Belgium, the UAE and France who took the first three positions respectively.

Riding Herrero Dela Motte, Shaikh Nasser was among 113 riders from 31 countries in this one-day event which was over 160 kms and divided into six stages.

The first stage was over 32.8 kms, 21 kms for the second stage, 32.6 kms for the third, 20.6 kms for the fourth and 32 kms for the fifth and 21 kms for the sixth.

Shaikh Nasser completed the race in nine hours, 59 minutes and 55 seconds with an average speed of 16.54 kms per hour.

Shaikh Nasser was also the third Arab rider to finish the event after Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum who won the race in 9:11:11 while Shaikh Majed bin Mohammed Al Maktoum was third. Kristel van den Abeele of Belgium claimed runners-up position.

The Royal Team was led by Shaikh Nasser and included Breef first vice-president and Al Khaldiya Group captain Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa on Snowy River Phantom, Al Fateh Stable's Shaikh Salman bin Saqer Al Khalifa on Alandell Thor and Yousef Taher of the Royal Endurance Team on Izaba Du Caussanel.

The event was the first preparational phase for the Bahraini team in Europe for next year's World Championship to be held in Germany in August.

The championship, which was part of the Horse Festival of Compiegne, will conclude today with the prize-giving ceremony at the Compiegne Equestrian Stadium.

EC: European Championship in Compi?gne

Bonjour,

Vous trouverez ci-joint les dernières informations relatives au Festival Mondial d'Endurance qui se déroule à Compiègne du 24 au 28 août 2005.

Hello,

You will find enclosed the last news about the festival Mondial d'Endurance hold in Compiegne, 24-28 août.

Cordialement,
Best regards,
Le service de presse / The press office

--
FESTIVAL MONDIAL D'ENDURANCE
COMPIEGNE (France)
24, 25, 26, 27 et 28 août 2005
Championnat d'Europe Open d'Endurance FEI – EIER / CH EU**** - 160 Km
Mondial d’Endurance des chevaux de 7 et 8 ans Banat Al Reeh / CEI** - 119 Km

http://www.endurance.net/2005EuropeanChampionship/CP7_News.pdf

http://www.endurance.net/2005EuropeanChampionship/ PR7_News_gb.pdf

Qutar: Riders set for French challenge

Riders set for French challenge
Gulf Daily News - Manama,Bahrain
... Al Meraisi, Yousef Taher and Khalid Al Ruwaie of the Royal Endurance Team ... Holland, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia ...

Australia: Trans Tasman CEI***

Trans Tasman CEI*** - Aussie Teams
Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005 12:42:31 +1000
Mal Caldwell AES Media

The AERA International Committee ,and the Australian Endurance Squad Board of management , are pleased
to announce the Australian teams for the Trans Tasman CEI*** to be held at Glen Innes on Saturday 8th October.

This ?friendly ? International competition with our New Zealand friends , reciprocates the inaugural event held in New Zealand.
The Kiwi?s worked very hard to care for the Australian team last year ,, and to provide us with very good horses.
We hope to repay this hospitality , and to establish the event as a permanent fixture on the Endurance Calendar

The Red Range track is considered by many to be Australia? s best 160k course.
With a strong organizing team in place , we look forward to a great event.

Team Chef D?Equipe Robin van der Wegen

CEI*** 160km

Joyce Corbett / Reeflex
Claudia Reid / Ningadoo Taban
Robert Sutton / Zenith Park Quigley
Britnee D?Hont / Syeda Simba

CEI** 110Km

Danielle O?Loughlin / Pravado
Tracey-Lee Whitehead / Kelkette Park Durack
Dean Stephens / Tarong Kelly
Luke Annetts / Tallawarra Quality

Reserves : Charmaine Smith / Meltharina Magic
Jenny Annetts / Churinga Witezan?s Dream

Australian Endurance Squad Youth Team CEI** 110k

Kristie McGaffin / Wybalena Lodge Shushka
Amily Daw / Castlebar Kadeen
Brooke Warner / Bramall Jazzmin
Sasha Laws-King / Tubbarubba Cheval

Australia: NSW State Championship 160km

Local endurance rider takes out the State Championship
Monday, 8 August 2005




Woodstock endurance rider, Annette Bailey, won the prestigious NSW State Championship 160km (100 miles) endurance ride, held at Manilla, near Tamworth on 24th July.

The ride was staged over four legs. The first two legs each covered 46kms through undulating to flat country north of Manilla. The 3rd leg crossed the Tamworth Highway and headed into undulating to steep country with the last leg travelling out towards Gunnedah and back into Manilla.
[More ...]

Jordanian princess vies for equestrian presidency

AFP
August 8, 2005

AMMAN -- Princess Haya, half sister of Jordan's King Abdullah II and wife of Dubai Crown Prince Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, will run for the presidency of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), she told AFP on Sunday.

A keen athlete with a passion for riding, the 31-year-old princess represented Jordan at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games - the first Arab woman to do so -- competing in show jumping.

In a phone interview from London where she is currently, Princess Haya said she "will run in April for the presidency" of the FEI in the hope of promoting and revitalizing the sport across the globe "through a modern and efficient world-class body".

"Ensuring that the Federation is fully transparent and works in accordance with sound and modern financial systems is of utmost importance to me, and imperative for the development and growth of the equestrian sport internationally," she said.

Princess Haya has taken part in several international competitions, representing Jordan at Sydney 2000 and at the World Championships in Jerez 2002. She recently took part in the Dubai 2005 World Endurance Championship and is a member of the honorary committee of the Spanish Riding School.

The princess has represented Jordan in the FEI General Assembly and was chairperson of the Middle East and Western Asian sub-group from 1992-1996.

"I see equestrianism as a traditional sport with a modern future," the princess - who is daughter of the late King Hussein - said.

Princess Haya is also a member of the International Board of Directors of Right to Play, an athlete-driven organization dedicated to bringing sports and recreation to children affected by war, poverty disease and illness.

Riding in Memory

By CAROLYNN BRIGHT - IR Staff Writer - 8/08/05

Helena woman keeps vow to dying sister, by finishing 100-mile horse race

Bobbie Pomroy's family was waiting to congratulate her as she crossed the finish line at the Tevis Cup in California recently, with one notable exception ? her sister, Wanda Allen.

Jon Ebelt IR Staff Photographer - Montana City's Bobbie Pomroy recently completed a one-day grueling horse race that covered 100 miles of tough California terrain including such challenges as 100-degree heat, crossing rivers and maneuvering past a swing bridge.

Allen succumbed to lung cancer in 2001, leaving Pomroy to carry out her dream of riding her Arabian, Hopper, in the annual, daylong endurance race that travels the 100 miles between Lake Tahoe and Auburn.

"I told her I'd take her horse to the Tevis Cup and she sort of laughed," Pomroy said, her eyes misting over with tears as she recalled the conversation with her dying sister, and the promise she made.

Looking back, Pomroy admits that the solemn vow was somewhat laughable given that her riding experience at the time was next to none.


"She was the horse person," Pomroy said. "I was the runner."

And Pomroy is no recreational jogger. In fact, she has competed in several ultra-marathons over the years, including one that covers the same ground as the Tevis Cup ? six times.

Pomroy is credited with founding the Elkhorn Mountain Endurance Run with the aid of her husband, Jim.

Pomroy is still a runner, but she put ultra-marathons on the backburner while she learned to ride the spirited horse that her sister brought home as a yearling and trained.

It took Pomroy four years ? including countless hours of riding, and a lot of bumps and bruises ? to get herself and Hopper prepared and qualified for the strenuous ride.

"For the first couple of years, it was a chore to go out and ride," she said. "Now, I wake up and think, ?I get to go out and ride."'

However, at 5:15 a.m. on race day, Pomroy wasn't too sure about what she had gotten herself into.

"It was scary at the start," Pomroy said.

She explained that the 199 horse/rider teams were separated into three groups ? she threw her lot in with the highly competitive teams so she could get ahead of the pack and leave the more unpredictable horses behind.

However, the start was still a cramped, mad dash in the beginning, and Hopper had a tendency to kick should another horse get too close.

Just the same, Pomroy said it wasn't long before she and Hopper established their place in the pack, allowing them to concentrate on the obstacles that stood between them and the finish line.

One such obstacle was a swinging bridge that the pair had to cross.

"She had never done anything like that before," said Pomroy, who explained that Hooper quickly accepted the swaying motion of the bridge as she trotted across, Pomroy leading the way.

Next was the treacherous stretch of trail that the team had to cross at night, in the dark.

Pomroy explained that riders weren't allowed to use headlamps because the harsh light might blind the animals, so many people used glow sticks to illuminate the path.

Pomroy and Hopper chose to forge ahead without any such aid, with Hopper feeling her way along the route which bordered a steep ravine.

"I kept telling her, ?Careful girl. Pay attention. You're such a good girl,'" Pomroy said.

Then, Pomroy was nervous about crossing the American River, only a few miles from the finish line.

She recalls watching the horse ahead of her ? at least two or three hands taller than 14-hand Hopper ? get shorter and shorter as it walked into the water.

But Hopper forged ahead, swimming when she had to, Pomroy said.

Above all the obstacles, Pomroy dreaded the oppressive heat most. In the valleys, temperatures soared to well above 100 degrees at times.

According to Pomroy, her bargain with Hopper was that she would dismount and run the valley portions and ride out of the steep ravines in an effort to help Hopper beat the heat and fatigue that Pomroy knew would surely set in.

Pomroy says her heart dropped when, on the way out of one of the canyons, Hopper let out a huge sigh and stopped moving. Pomroy pushed her on, but Hopper stopped again.

At that point, Pomroy jumped off Hopper and ran alongside her until they reached the crest of the ravine.

"After that, she was fine," said Pomroy, adding that she almost believes Hopper's break on the trail was really a way of gauging Pomroy's commitment to finishing the race, and to Hopper. She passed.

Looking back, Pomroy thinks her sister might have had a good laugh at seeing her hoof it out of the canyon as she had in past ultra-marathons, but this time, with Hopper in tow.

According to Pomroy, all the years of training, and the stress of the actual race, were well worth it when the finish line came into view.

"It was absolutely wonderful," she said. "My family was there and I know my sister was there in spirit."

Sitting in her desk at the Montana Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation office last week ? her inner thigh and leg still raw from being chafed by the saddle ? Pomroy could honestly say she was content.

"We did it," she said.

Now, Pomroy said, she just has to choose her next challenge.

Al Talia stable to sponsor endurance race

AL Talia Stable will be sponsoring today's South African Endurance Horse Race following the success of last year's race.

Sponsoring the 160-km race stresses the status that the stable and endurance racing in Bahrain have reached both domestically and internationally.

The leader of Al Talia stable Shaikh Faisal bin Rashid Al Khalifa said that this step was taken because of the strong ties with the race's organising committee, which was built through the numerous and multifaceted contacts that the stable has had with them which includes buying and selling of horses and exchange of visits.

Shaikh Faisal added that the main goal of the sponsorship is to gain media coverage for Bahrain and to put the Kingdom in general and endurance racing, in particular under the spotlight.

He also hoped that the internationally accredited race being held under the supervision of the International Association for Endurance Racing will be a success for those goals to be accomplished.

Ridge resident wins trophy

100-mile ride nets award for Roush

By Brian Hamilton, brianh@theunion.com
July 27, 2005


Though the Western States Trail Ride is most commonly referred to as the Tevis Cup, the name of the trophy presented to the overall winner of the 100-mile, one-day ride, Michele Roush says that, given the choice, she'd rather win the Haggin Cup.

And considering she's a veterinarian, that personal preference seems an appropriate one.

Roush wrapped up her third finish in six starts in the annual event on Sunday, crossing the finish line in ninth place and earning her prized Haggin Cup, the award presented to the top-10 finishing horse determined to be in the best physical condition following the ride.

"I've always thought anybody can go out and ride fast," said Roush, a North San Juan resident. "To me, (the Haggin Cup) is a bigger deal than the Tevis Cup. It's judged on both horse and the rider. It's a comprehensive award."

Roush rode Cayenne, a horse she first rode just months earlier in an endurance riding event in Nevada, in the 51st annual Western States Trail Ride, crossing the finish line at 12:12 a.m. Sunday morning - nearly 19 hours after starting the ride at 5:15 a.m. Saturday morning.

"At that race in Nevada, I rode three different horses on three different days," Roush said. "And on that third day, I rode Cayenne. He did the Tevis last year, with his owner from Utah, so I knew he could do it.

"One of his strengths is that he is very good downhill and the Tevis is a downhill race, pretty much."

In January, Roush rode in the World Endurance Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates atop PR Tallymark, a horse owned and ridden by Steve Shaw of Santa Cruz in this year's Tevis Cup.

"I didn't really know (Cayenne) really well, but I certainly know him better now than I did last Friday," she said. "He just goes and does his own thing.

"Tallymark is high maintenance, where I have to do a lot of positioning with him to do his best. But Cayenne, just works it out and seems to do what he needs to do."

Greenwood's Cathy Richardson claimed the Tevis Cup, as the first to the finish at Auburn's McCann Stadium, riding SMR Fif d'Or across the finish line at 11:06 p.m. Saturday. Richardson was also the 2001 winner of the Haggin Cup.

Though complete results of the event are not yet available, Roush said that nearly 200 riders and horses started the event, with 88 finishing.

Among the local finishers, Colfax's Char Antuzzi rode Galahad across the finish line at 3:28 a.m. Sunday, while Grass Valley's Kimberly Nunez was right behind, as she and Tenook's Magic Wind reached the end point at 3:30 a.m. Sunday. Grass Valley's Frank Smith rode his 10-year-old mule Batman to the finish by 3:30 a.m. The finish was Smith's eighth completion of the course.

Robert and Melissa Ribley, also of Grass Valley, each finished the event at 4:58 a.m. Sunday, with Melissa riding Oak Hill Tidbit and Robert atop Oak Hill Rambler.

Three other area riders and their mounts were pulled from the event at Robinson Flat, the 36-mile mark of the event. Penn Valley's Beverly Altevers and her mount Flash of Elegance were pulled from the race, as was Grass Valley's Ina Hutchings and Rebel Dancer, along with Colfax's Chuck Mather and Dance of Hallani.

To contact sports editor Brian Hamilton, e-mail brianh@theunion.com or call 477-4240

Shaikh Majid In UK Endurance triumph

Khaleej Times
From A Correspondent

26 July 2005



IN HEAVY rain Shaikh Majid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum won the FEI 160-km Euston Park Endurance ride sponsored by Emirates International Endurance racing. He rode the French bred mare, Al Wadha, on who his brother Shaikh Hamdan had won the 160-km ride at Newmarket last year.


The 160-km course had been designed by James MacEwan and John Robertson who was also the FEI technical delegate.

The ride started and finished at Euston House whose parkland was the location of the central vet gate. The route was divided into six loops 35-37-35-19-17 and 19-km. The first and third legs of 35km were over the same route as were the fourth and last leg of 19km.

The courses ran over the farmland and woods of Euston Estate, courtesy of Lord and Lady Euston, and the tracks through Kings Forest courtesy of the Forestry Commission.

The ride officials included Ian Williams, Director of Endurance at the FEI. He praised both the organisation and the course. ?A well organised and well run event which produced a top class 160-km ride.

?More incredible is that their were no gates to open and no road work, an accomplishment rarely achieved by rides in the UK. The numbers might have been few but the competitive level was very high.?

At 5am on a cool summer morning 36 riders were flagged of by Maggie Maquire Vice-Chairman of Endurance GB, who also presented the awards. Two stalwarts of endurance in the UK, Lesley Dunn and Margaret McKiddie, led the first stage.

Dunn went on to finish third on Franzara and McKiddie?s horse, Bonnie Anne, was eliminated lame at the end of the penultimate stage.

From the second leg the UAE riders dominated the pace with Shaikh Hamdan, Shaikh Ahmed and Shaikh Majid leading.

They were closely followed by their father General Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Minister of Defence, and his wife Princess Haya bint Al Hussein.

In the later part of this leg Shaikh Mohammed retired his young horse Alidar whom he felt was not sound and Princess Haya also retired her favourite horse Al Aghar who was in top form.

The three brothers and Mohammed Ali Al Shafar had established a comfortable lead by the end of the third stage but at the end of the fourth Shaikh Hamdan retired his mount Horisk De Grazette on the advice of Shaikh Mohammed who considered the horse had done sufficient and performed very well. The heavy rain was persistent as the three UAE riders completed the final two legs. The grey gelding Mukatel ridden by Al Shafar tired over the final stage to cross the finish third but was eliminated lame at the final vetting.

The two brothers rode together over the final 19-km and crossed the finish simultaneously, Shaikh Majid just a length ahead. Shaikh Ahmed was riding a young horse, the French bred Jaysk, and he commented: ?I was not sure if he would succeed at this distance but he did, due to my father?s excellent training.?

Only five riders completed and Dr Fred Barralet, President of the Veterinary Commission, said: ?A lot of retirements at the midway stage were made by riders who felt that distance was adequate for their horse who could well be competing in the Europeans next month.? The heavy rain that started at midday also influenced some riders who retired before the finish. Katie Smith, the recent winner of Florac, described the going as very slippery and very difficult. The winning ride time was 8.32.01 an average of 18.98kph.

In fourth place was Spaniard Antoino Moreno who was riding the USA bred Jassas, owned by Shaikh Mohammed.

The last rider to finish was Susan Hawes from the UK more than three hours after the winner.

Tevis: Roush claims Haggin Cup

Richardson wins first Tevis Cup, Auburn's Hall takes second in his 25th Tevis finish

By: Todd Mordhorst,
Journal Sports Editor



After a solid 16 hours on the Western States Trail Saturday and into Sunday morning, the top Western States Endurance riders celebrated Sunday afternoon at the Gold Country Fairgrounds.

In a festive awards ceremony, Michele Roush took home the coveted Haggin Cup. Her horse, Cayenne, was judged to be the most fit horse among the top 10 finishers. Roush, from North San Juan, just slipped into the top 10, taking ninth and her mount won a very close vote among the Haggin Cup judges.

"I just try to ride the horse for what that particular horse has," Roush said. "Yeah, there's always a thought in the back of my head that if I can get in the top 10, I'd like to show for best condition."


[More ...]

Jas and Bilbo go the distance

Henry Hoskins
Monday, 25 July 2005

Endurance riding is a tough, demanding sport, racing a horse over an 80 or 160 kilometre course.
Starting in the wee hours of the morning and with four vet checks required during the race it certainly isn't for the faint hearted.

But Jas Carfter loves it.

"What other sport can you ride through the mountains and watch the sunrise," she said.

Crafter recently returned from the NSW State Championships in Manilla where she placed second in lightweight division on Neroli Mitchell's horse 'Bilbo'.

Starting at 2am in the morning Crafter rode for 10 hours and 52 minutes to qualify for the Tom Quilty, the most prestigious endurance event in the country.

Over 70 riders turned out for the event competing in four categories; lightweight, middleweight, heavyweight and junior riders.

Carfter became involved in the sport four years ago through friends Neroli Mitchell and Peter Cooper.

"This was my first 160km race, previously I've only ridden in 80km races," she said.

And Crafter says she'll be a definite starter in the Quilty in Queensland next year.

The sport requires a good understanding of you horses health.

"Obviously you have to listen to how your horse is going," she said.

"Your horse has a vet check the day before the race and four during it so if your push it too hard you'll get vetted out.

"Myself and Peter (Cooper) are just always careful to listen to how the horse is travelling.

"Towards the end of the race I was with the leader but Bilbo was doing it a bit tough so I pulled him up to scratch around to eat grass for about half and hour."

Crafter says Arab horse are generally the best breed for endurance racing due to there slow heart rate and slow muscle twitch.

She generally competes in the middleweight division which she says is more prestigious but rode in the lightweight for Neroli Mitchell to get racing points for 'Bilbo'.

"I'm wasn't sore after the race because you have to be riding them everyday so they are nice and fit," she said.

"You don't just go straight into a 160km race, you build them up over a period time running them in 40 or 80km races."

The sport doesn't have a high profile but has been going since the 1970's according to Crafter.

"There's no other sport like it," she said.

"There would be a race on every weekend around the state but you don't really hear about it.

Going the distance is its own reward

Going the distance is its own reward
No shame in Tevis Cup finish for back-of-the-packers

By: Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer
Sunday, July 24, 2005 10:50 PM PDT


Rider John Matthews finds a spot to sit after finishing a problem-plagued final stage of the Tevis Cup trail ride. Matthews was Sunday's final finisher. Photo by gus thomson/ Auburn Journal

The glory of finishing the 100-mile Tevis Cup endurance ride was escaping John Matthews as he sat hunched on the dirt floor of Auburn's McCann Stadium infield before dawn on Sunday.

Seconds earlier, his legs had buckled and the Manhattan, Kan. rider had dropped to the ground while his horse was being examined by a veterinarian at the finish line.

Matthews had made it. He'd get the silver buckle to show he'd ridden the Tevis trail - 100 miles in one day. But just barely.

Matthews and his horse, Knight Legend, completed the arduous trek through the Sierra to Auburn as the clock ticked down the final second on the 24-hour deadline for finishers. Nursing a bottle of Sierra Nevada beer soon after his dramatic drop to the ground, Matthews joked that the ride had been a "piece of cake," but the pinched expression on his face and forced words betrayed troubles on the trail.

"It was kind of a long trail ride," Matthews said, in deliberate understatement. The 69-year-old Midwesterner will go down in the record book as the 51st Tevis Cup ride's final finisher. The fact that Matthews and his horse finished at all turned into a testament not only to inner reserves of grit and determination but the willingness of others to help a fellow rider in trouble on the trail.

Matthews was on track to finish the ride with minutes to spare. But after he dismounted near No Hands Bridge at the American River Confluence about five miles from the Auburn finish line, things went terribly wrong. His horse bolted up the trail, leaving Matthews nearing the end of the ride without a mount.

"My saddle was slipping," Matthews said. "He got away from us and went down the trail. He wanted to go home."

One of the oldest riders in this weekend's competition, 80-year-old Jim Steere of Petaluma, soon approached and temporarily put aside his own plans for the final ascent up the walls of the American River canyon to the Gold Country Fairground to help Matthews find his horse.

Minutes later, Matthews' Wesob was found about a quarter mile up the trail. A rider farther along had caught the horse and tied its reins to a tree.

Steere continued on, to finish seconds after 5 a.m. - and 15 minutes ahead of the 24-hour cutoff. Matthews struggled up the same route and beat the clock by the slimmest of margins, marveling at the help he received from the octogenarian Good Samaritan.

"I didn't think I had a chance," Matthews said. "I don't believe I'll be riding when I'm his age. He's a marvel."

With little over a half-moon to guide them, the final finishers in the Tevis Cup ride suffered no shame as they made their way into McCann Stadium. They were far from stragglers. In fact, the flow of finishers was relatively steady as the riders who had slowed their mounts and timed their trek finished at their own pace.

Decatur, Texas rider Jonni Jewell arrived at the finish on Hank at 4:46 a.m. Jewell said that with no mountains to speak of in Texas, she brought her horse out to Southern California in June to get ready for the 17,000 feet of climbing it would face. The extra work paid off, with Hank stumbling on occasion over mountain trails but going the distance.

"It was tough on him but he's tough - amazingly tough," Jewell said.

Dave Rabe, of Carson City, Nev., celebrated with a Miller High Life at the finish line. Along the way, he was quaffing gifts of tequila, beer and wine from onlookers to help fuel the journey.

"People out there are really nice," Rabe said. "If you're conservative and pace yourself you have a chance to finish."

Rabe finished with about half an hour to spare - no disgrace in his books.

"Who cares if you finish 20th or last?" he said.

Tevis first-timer Logos Hall of Altadena logged a finish 10 minutes before the ride's official shutdown.

"I started getting nervous (about finishing) this afternoon," Hall said. "We did one vet check at a time. There were some stumbles but she got right back up every time."

Before an official finish, there was a final veterinary checkup at the stadium and then a chance to make a celebratory loop around the infield to the finish line. By 5 a.m. no one was in the stands to cheer on the finishers. Some took the victory lap with smiles denoting the victory they had achieved over the heat and rock-strewn dangers of the trail. About 250 horses and riders were signed up for the annual trek. Less than 90 finished.

Veterinary checkpoints along the route could make or break a rider's chances for a buckle.

With glow-lights the only signs of their movement along the trail, riders filed in to the Lower Quarry veterinary checkpoint as the final hours counted down. They were met by veterinarians like Chico's Jim Edwards, who has been volunteering for the ride for 37 years. At that point, veterinarians have to make tough calls on whether to keep a horse in the ride or pull it. Five horses were pulled out at the Lower Quarry checkpoint during this year's Tevis Cup competition, including two-time champion Potato Richardson's Garcon - a leader at the time and on track for a possible win.

Edwards said Richardson's horse had fallen farther up the trail and when it rolled over, suffered shoulder cuts and a bruised muscle that left it favoring a leg. Riders know that veterinarian decisions are final and several horse doctors can be brought in to explain in detail why the call to take a horse out was made, Edwards said.

"Usually they're very convinced that we're very convinced," he said. "Potato took it well."

Navaho Nation: After the dust settles

By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau

Enduring temperatures of over 100 degrees, reporter Kathy Helms had to lead Buddy through the bottom of Navajo Canyon after he broke his bridle

WINDOW ROCK ? Tom Robbins said it best in his book, "Still Life With Woodpecker": "It's never too late to have a happy childhood."

Bearing this in mind, I set out for the 10th Annual Navajo Nation Council Ride which left from Navajo Mountain Chapter House on Monday, July 11, with a do-or-die attitude.

I spent Sunday night camping under the stars with my tent-mate and lead wrangler, Stephanie, 11. We oohed and aahed at the clarity of the Milky Way and talked about the fact that stars are actually different colors though distance makes them appear white. Excitement kept us talking way into the night. Also, we were having trouble adjusting to the sound of horses chewing hay and banging on water buckets

[More ...]

Tevis Trek Goes Hi-Tech

Ride's tone changing from cowboy hats to molded saddles, GPS

By: Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer
Sunday, July 24, 2005 4:05 AM PDT

Jogging his horse DWA Sabku into the Foresthill checkpoint of the annual 100-mile Tevis Cup Ride, Christoph Schork, of Moab, Utah, wears high-tech sport clothing and a helmet as opposed to the cowboy attire used in the early years of the 51-year-old ride. Photo by Karina Williams/Auburn Journal

The Tevis 100-mile endurance ride is more than just one rider, one horse these days.

In its 51st year, the ride this weekend is a parade of high-tech equipment far removed from the 1950s and 1960s, when riders in cowboy hats, boots and western shirts spurred their mounts on the trail.

Many of today's horses sport saddles padded with the same shock-absorbing materials runners pound the pavement with in the soles of their shoes. Their horseshoes can be just as much a plastic composite as steel. And for several years now, Tevis horses have been guzzling electrolyte drinks similar to Gatorade, as they make their way from Robie Equestrian Park, south of Truckee, to Auburn.

High in feather-light, injection-molded saddles, riders' cowboy hats have been doffed in favor of lightweight helmets, padded and protective trail-running shoes have replaced cowboy boots, and running tights, shorts and sweat-wicking shirts from the endurance running world have replaced the jeans and pearl-buttoned Western wear of yore.

For many horse-rider teams navigating the twists and turns, ups and down, and heat and cold of the Sierra, a global positioning system and heart-rate monitor are standard equipment. And canteens have given way to plastic bladders with flexible straws strapped to the back of riders.

Pilot Hill's Steve Elliott was on the sidelines during this weekend's Tevis Ride, but as owner of Equine Performance Products he's on the cutting edge of many equestrian innovations. Elliott's working with a design factory in Italy on a new, high-tech saddle and was one of the early champions of GPS and heart-rate monitoring for horses.

"It's like an onboard black box," he said.

Elliott sees opportunities in the future to increase nutrition. Horses, like their human counterparts, are already gulping down glucosamine to strengthen and rebuild cartilage.

But when the starting line is staring a rider in the face and a horse is prancing in the first light of dawn to set out, all the accoutrements of the modern world take second fiddle to some basic tenets.

"It all comes down to good conditioning and luck," Elliott said.

That means some of the high-tech tools are finding some resistance from riders in an event that is steeped in tradition.

Three-time Tevis winner Hal Hall of Auburn, one of the veterans of the Tevis trail, doesn't use GPS but will strap a heart-rate monitor on his horse occasionally.

Like many riders, he's a purist on the trail during the Tevis - riding not only to test his own mettle and the endurance of his horse, but riding against the best equestrians the event has put on the route over five decades.

"I don't want to be regimented by a number," Hall said. "They can't tell us if our horse has a stomach ache or a sore foot."

Hall was trying something new on this year's ride - reflective clothing designed to keep the UV rays off the body.

Two-time champion Potato Richardson of Greenwood distances himself from the GPS crowd, who can track distance, elevations and temperatures with an onboard unit.

"When I go out, I just want to have a good ride," Richardson said. "When someone says 'How far did you go?' I say 'I don't know.' Instead of more gadgets, I want to get to know the horse."

Virginia rider John Crandell III, said he's played with the monitors and GPS systems but would rather be reading a twitch of a horse's ear than a digital read-out.

"When the metal hits the road, I'm a minimalist," Crandell said. "Sometimes the numbers can distract you."

Cool's Erin Klentos, another two-time Tevis winner, said that GPS is a benefit for on remote trails but in and around the Western States, she has no need because she's ridden those trails all her life.

"And I didn't inherit my mother's ability to lose her car in a parking lot," Klentos added.

The Journal's Gus Thomson can be reached at gust@goldcountrymedia.com

Tevis: And the Winner Is??

This year's Tevis Cup field is wide open as riders vie for the coveted Tevis and Haggin Cups Saturday

By: Todd Mordhorst, Journal Sports Editor
Friday, July 22, 2005 9:20 AM PDT

Jeremy Reynolds, last year's Tevis and Haggin Cup winner, poses with his horse CV Eli after winning the Haggin Cup last year. Reynolds returns to defend the Tevis Cup after sharing it with Becky Spencer in a tie for first place. Photo by Ben Furtado/Auburn Journal
Around 250 riders will line up with their horses for the 51st annual Western States Endurance Ride Saturday at Robie Park, near Truckee.

They'll be competing against each other for the coveted Tevis Cup, which goes to the first finisher, and for the Haggin Cup, which goes to the finisher in the top 10 whose mount is judged to be the most fit.

But mostly, the competitors will

be battling the 100 miles of rugged trail and a heat that will no doubt be

unrelenting in the deep canyons Saturday afternoon.

While there are plenty of riders with great credentials and hundreds of great-looking horses, there isn't a clear favorite for Saturday's ride.

ADVERTISEMENT

"I never go to win," said Debbie Lyon of San Luis Obispo, who's finished six times. "I'm going to wait and see what kind of day the horse is having. If he's having a really good day and things go right, I wouldn't mind slipping into the bottom of the top 10. That would be really nice, but the goal is to finish with a sound, happy horse."

Many participants at Wednesday's pre-ride barbecue echoed Lyon's sentiments regarding the heat. Riders from this area have had several weeks to adjust to the unusually warm weather.

They may not have a home trail advantage, but it seems that California riders have had a distinct home state advantage in recent Western States Endurance Ride history.

Last year, 19 of the top 20 finishers in the 100-mile ride hailed from California, the lone exception being Ali Kahlfan Abdulla Hamdan Al Jahouri from the United Arab Emirates.

Los Gatos resident Jeremy Reynolds tied for the Tevis Cup last year and took home the Haggin Cup as well. Ride organizers assured there will be no ties this year, or in the future, changing the rules after last year, which was the third tie in the history of the event.

Reynolds is back this year to defend his titles, along with his wife, Heather Reynolds, the 2003 Tevis winner.

Auburn's Becky Spencer, who tied with Reynolds last year, is not entered in this year's ride, but third place finisher Lila Abdul-Rahim is back with her horse, Clancey. Fourth place finisher Gabrielle Mann is also returning with her horse St. Patrick.

Auburn's Hal Hall, a three-time Tevis Cup winner and three-time Haggin Cup winner, will be riding Bogus Thunder after sitting out last year's Tevis ride. Ann Hall, Hal's wife, rode Bogus Thunder to a sixth-place finish last year.

Potato Richardson and Cathy Rohm Richardson, of Greenwood, are back in the Tevis field. Cathy placed ninth last year and she's back on SMR Fifi d'Or for this year's ride.

There are several husband and wife duos in this year's field, including Robert and Melissa Ribley, of Grass Valley. The Ribleys plan on riding together on Saturday.

"I think our horses travel better together," said Melissa, who finished Tevis as a junior rider in 1981 and has since worked as a veterinarian at the event numerous times. "Horses are kind of herd animals and they're used to being in their environment with their stable mates, so I think they'll do well together.

"We're looking forward to the challenge. I think it will be an extra challenge because of the heat, but we enjoy taking on the challenges."

Marcia Smith, a veterinarian from Loomis, was planning on riding a young mare this year, but her horse came up lame recently and she was forced out of the ride. But Smith, who has three Tevis Cups and one Haggin Cup on her resume, knows what it takes to do well at Tevis.

"It will be an interesting race because it's so hot this year," Smith said. "I think tactics will be key. I would probably go fast early, before it gets hot, and then go slower in the middle of the day in the canyons, when I'm afraid it's going to be exceptionally hot. And then I'd plan to go faster at night when it cools off again."

There are several international riders that could be factors in the race for the hardware. Last year, Ali Khalfkan Abdulla Hamdan Al Jahouri, from the United Arab Emirates, rode to an impressive fifth place despite suffering a broken arm along the way.

This year, Ali Al Muhairi, Abdullah Khamis Ali Saeed and Jaber Bittar will represent the UAE. Jacky Laurent, from Tahiti, adds a Caribbean flavor to the field. Peter and Penny Toft, of Australia will also ride and Peter is hoping for continued success after placing fourth in 2003.

"I'm interested in how Peter Toft will do. He's here from Australia with Murdoc (his horse)," Smith said. "They were here two years ago and finished in the top 10 and they're back here together."

Considering the scope of the field and the countless factors involved, predicting a Tevis Cup winner is a crapshoot. There has not been a repeat winner since Chris Knoch in 1994.

Cool resident Michel Bloch held a sizeable lead in last year's race at Michigan Bluff, but his mount came up lame at Foresthill and he was forced to withdraw. Bloch is back on the same horse, Monsieur Joseph, hoping for better fortune this year.

Chuck Mather, of Colfax, served as the Tevis Cup ride committee chairman, helping prepare for this year's event. He's also fit in time for training with his horse Dance on Hallani. The two have finished 12th, sixth and 10th in recent years and Mather is looking forward to Saturday's ride, despite the prospect of a very warm day.

"I guess we'll find out if he's a heat horse," Mather said.

One of the intriguing aspects of the Tevis Cup is the unpredictable nature of the event. As the ride unfolds Saturday, there are always surprises.

"I suspect it's going to be a typical Tevis year in that the early frontrunners might not be the first finishers," Smith said. "The tactics are going to be more important than ever this year."

Tevis: Riders from Far and Wide

By: Andrew DiLuccia,
Auburn Journal

More than a dozen international riders highlight Tevis field

For Madeleine Kirsch, once you've ridden the Tevis Cup, you have to come back for more. Even if that means traveling over five thousand miles to do it.

Kirsch is one of 14 international riders who's traveled the globe to be a part of the field of 250 for Saturday's Tevis Cup Endurance Ride.

The German native, who currently resides in Salzburg, Austria, is competing in her fourth Tevis Cup. She's finished in the top 10 twice, taking seventh in 2003 aboard Desha BL and finishing 10th in 2002 on Desha BL again. Last year, the 35-year-old Web designer took 37th atop Fausto BL.


[More ...]

Italy: Results of Nakheel Cuore Verde 120km

• Ride Results (PDF)
• Pull List
• Starters List
• Entry List
• Photo Gallery

[More ...]

Italy: Nakheel sponsors prestigious Cuore Verde Endurance Cup

Nakheel, the Middle East region's premier property developer, has announced that it is the official sponsor of the prestigious 'Cuore Verde Endurance Cup' to be held in Perugia, Italy on July 16, 2005.

The Cup is part of a three day event including a Grand Gala that opened the event on the 14th July, and the "Go to Dubai" conference on 15th July to promote Dubai as an investment destination.

The events was opened by the Endurance Grand Gala on July 14th, held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence, and was attended by over 500 VIPs including executives of top Umbria and Italian companies, and politicians.

The history of the race dates back to 1989 and the 'Nakheel Cuore Verde Endurance Cup 2005' is the country's biggest endurance race of the half-season. There will be around a 100 horses running in the Cup. The UAE team will be represented by Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman Nakheel, who will be riding a horse from Sheikh Mohammed's stable. The race is split into four phases and tracks a distance totalling 120km. The first three phases will be sponsored by one of Nakheel's premier projects (The Palm, The World, and Dubai Waterfront), with the final phase sponsored by Nakheel Corporate.

[More ...]