Bahrain: Booklet on world military endurance wins praise

Gulf-daily-news.com

June 15, 2012

A SPECIAL booklet on the First World Military Endurance Horse Ride Championship, to be held in Bahrain on December 15, was met with great interest.

Endurance riders, officials and fans in Europe showed admiration for the recently-printed booklet, which was distributed in France at the Compiegne Ride as well as in Germany for the International German Ride.

The Participants commended the outstanding campaign of Bahrain in promoting the World Military Championship that will take place for the first time in the Middle East.

They lauded the content of the booklet, which features useful information about Bahrain and its sporting, social and promotional programmes and activities throughout the year.

They also praised the excellent level of performance of the Bahraini riders and what they have achieved in both rides in France and Germany.

Bahrain was given the right to organise the World Military Championship, which is in line with the directives of First Vice-Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef) president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

The first edition will be organised in co-operation with the International Military Council, with large number of riders from around the world expected to take part. The organising committee is yet to announce further details regarding the upcoming championship.

The working committees, meanwhile, have stepped up preparations for the upcoming event.

Bahrain Military Sports Association president Col. Dawood Hussain Al Manea, along with other committee officials, are sparing no effort to ensure the event is an all-round success.

Australia: Inspiring endurance rider battles back from injury

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

By Horsetalk.co.nz on Jun 15, 2012 in News

“The road to recovery from an Acquired Brain Injury is a lifetime of small steps. I am luckier than most as I have a horse to carry me on this journey.”

So wrote Meg Wade in her acceptance speech for the FEI Against All Odds Award 2011, which she was unable to accept in person due to a last-minute flight cancellation.

Until her fall at an endurance ride in early 2009, Meg Wade was one of Australia’s leading international riders in the discipline.

Her accident left her with a traumatic brain injury. She was in a coma for six weeks and spent nine months in hospital.

“It was when I rode a horse for the first time in November 2010, a fat Appaloosa called Chippie, with Riding for the Disabled in Melbourne, that I felt I was really on the road to recovery,” Wade said.

A few weeks after that first moment back in the saddle, Wade rode in her home arena. In January 2011, her driving licence was reinstated, meaning she could drive to events in an automatic car and ride a quad bike onto courses to monitor the horses she has continued to train and enter into competitions with other riders. For a woman who had been fiercely independent and even made solo helicopter flights across Australia, being able to drive again was empowering...

Read more here:
http://horsetalk.co.nz/2012/06/15/inspiring-endurance-rider-battles-back-from-head-injury/#.T98sQStYtVM

Spain: Interview with National Coach of Raid. Ignasi Casas

El Raid Blog - Gabriel Gamiz

13 June 2012
[google translation]

On Saturday, June 9, 2012, as he was developing the Absolute Spain Championships Casarrubios Raid on the Mount in Toledo, and while we waited for news of the various phases of testing, I got the idea to do an interview with our coach D. Ignasi Casas.
In the course of the morning news while I was, I was putting together the interview, that last hour of Saturday I referred, not to interfere with his duties of a busy day of championship.

Almost by return mail, I forwarded the responses to this interview and thank you on behalf of all readers.

This is the interview:

1 st. - Blog The Raid: How about has been the Championship of Spain of Raid and the level achieved?

coach: The Championship of Spain 2012 has been very interesting, with several pairs in front of the race until the last phase, and a level of competition and quality very attractive.

2 nd. - Blog: Can be selected horses for the World in Euston Park, horses that are running this Championship of Spain?

coach: In principle all pairs that meet the minimum requirements EIF and screening criteria published in his day on the website of the FEI, are selectable. Therefore, horses have not run the Championship of Spain 2012 are not excluded. We aim to be as flexible as possible to always selecting those pairs that we believe will best represent our sport.

Read more here:
http://ggjineteraid.blogspot.com/2012/06/entrevista-con-el-seleccionador.html

Australia: Brook Sample Repeats Tom Quilty Win

9 June 2012

Brook Sample won the Tom Quilty Gold Cup for a record sixth time.
It was a repeat win for Brook and Brookleigh Excalibur, who also won the Tom Quilty in New South Wales in 2012. Time for this year's ride was 9:14.16.

Best Conditioned horses for the Tom Quilty Gold Cup 2012 are:

Junior Division - Beer Street Takone/Alice Mitchell
Lightweight Division - Lockleigh Park Wildfire/Jacopo Di Matteo
Middleweight Division - Brookleigh Excalibur/Brook Sample
Heavyweight Division - Free Spirit Czar/Robbie Walsh

Winner of the Shareym Award was Brookleigh Ricardo and Tarrangower Crescendo (ridden by Akhmed Pshunov) owned by Matthew Sample.

Winner of the Pat Slater Cup was Kristie Taprell & Castlebar Gulfstream.

Winner of the NEWBRIDGE TROPHY was Lockleigh Park Wildfire ridden by Jacopo Di Matteo.

Statistics from the ride:
Ride Completion statistics are

JUNIOR / 17 entries / 8 completions = 47.06% (8 Vet out, 1 Withdrawn)

LW / 25 entries / 15 completions = 60% (9 Vet out, 1 Withdrawn)

MW / 54 entries / 28 completions = 51.85% (23 Vet out, 3 Withdrawn)

HW / 19 entries / 11 completions = 57.89% (7 Vet out, 1 Withdrawn)

Total entries = 115

Total Completion = 53.91%

Australia: Endurance riding - Stepping up to the challenge

Tenterfieldstar.com.au - Full Article

13 Jun, 2012

Tenterfield Endur-ance Riding Club held its 26th ride on May 19 and 20 with the theme of “Step Up”, encouraging riders to elevate to a greater distance.
The theme was carried through with the last riders in the 100km rewarded with a small stepladder kindly donated by Pat O’Brien, a new member with a great sense of humour.

This year’s ride followed on from last year’s successful Hi Ho Silver 25th Anniversary Ride.

Tenterfield is well known to endurance riders both north and south of the border as a challenging and fun ride operated in a welcoming and friendly atmosphere from its unique bush setting in Girard State Forest.

This year a social ride of 20km elevating to 30km was run on the Saturday.

Twenty-three riders entered this event with fantastic completion rates. Ten chose to elevate and ride the extra 10km to complete 30km.

On Sunday morning, 46 riders headed off into the forest at 3am on the start of the 100km ride with 14 completing the full distance and the others choosing to retire at the 80km mark.

At 6am, the training ride of 40km saw 31 riders leave camp with six choosing to elevate and ride the extra 20km.

It is wonderful to see mums and/or dads riding with their children over all distances...

Read more here:
http://www.tenterfieldstar.com.au/news/local/sport/equestrian/endurance-riding-stepping-up-to-the-challenge/2588233.aspx

Oman Royal Cavalry Wins First Place in French Endurance Horse Race

Omannews.gov.om

Paris, June 9 (ONA)---- Ahmed bin Salim al-Hamadani from the Royal Cavalry won the first place in the French endurance horse race (110 Km), which is organized by the International Equestrian Federation with participation of 53 jockeys from different countries around the world.

The race included (4) stages; the first stage amounted a distance of (30 Km), the second (20 Km), the third (34 Km) and the fourth stage (26 Km). Maj. Sinan bin Sulaiman al-Abri, Officer of Endurance Department at the Royal Cavalry and Supervisor of the team racing in France said that the race witnessed strong competition among participants and was characterized by different terrain tracks. He added that the third stage of the race was the most difficult for Ahmed al-Hamdani due to the many slopes in the race route and rains.

It is worth noting that Ahmed bin Salim al-Hamadani is one of the Royal cavalry seven jockeys who qualified for World Endurance Championship due to be held in Britain next August.

Longines named as title sponsor for FEI World Endurance Championships 2012

DATE: 7th June 2012

Swiss watchmaker Longines has become the title sponsor and official timekeeper of the 2012 Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Endurance Championships (25th August 2012) at Euston Park, near Newmarket, Suffolk, UK.

The FEI CEI 4* competition over 160km, organised by Janah Management, will officially be known as the Longines FEI World Endurance Championships.

The 14th running of the FEI World Endurance Championships will see around 160 riders from up to 40 countries lining up for the contest around the undulating Euston Park track.

Reigning world champions, Spain’s Maria Alvarez and Nobby hold the record as the only combination to have claimed two world titles in succession and Spain will be hoping that Ms Alvarez is again among their line-up. The UAE currently holds the team world title. Alvarez’s winning time of 7hr:35min.44sec at the Alltech Kentucky World Equestrian Games in 2010 will be a target for the winning rider at this summer’s World Endurance Championships.

Walter von Känel, President of Longines said: “Longines is proud to be title sponsor and official timekeeper of the FEI World Endurance Championships. Thanks to its long dedication as official timekeeper of equestrian sports since 1881, Longines is considered as an essential partner to a sport which embodies the brand’s values.”

The Swiss watchmaker is a significant partner of the sport of endurance – the HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup presented by Longines is now in its fifth year.

Ian Williams, FEI Non-Olympic Sports Director, said: “The Longines FEI World Endurance Championships 2012 will be an event of the highest sporting quality and we are grateful to the title sponsor for their support.”

Championship organiser James MacEwan said: “We are fortunate to have the support of such a prestigious company at such a high level. We are looking forward to producing a memorable championship in a great year for sport in this part of the world.”

Alongside title sponsor Longines, organisers welcomed two Dubai industry giants, Meydan and Emaar Properties as additional supporters of the championships.

Ahmad Al Matrooshi, Managing Director, Emaar Properties, said: “Equestrian events are part of the Arab world’s heritage, and Emaar has a strong history of supporting such noble initiatives.

“We are honoured to support the FEI World Endurance Championships, which brings together participants from over 40 countries, underlining the strong global interest in the event.”

Saeed H. Al Tayer, Chairman of Meydan Group said: ““The opportunity to support the 2012 World Endurance Championships compliments the focus of the Meydan Group, as the sport of Endurance riding is a great part of the equestrian legacy of the UAE and Dubai.

“We are pleased to serve as one of the event’s sponsors and welcome the opportunity to promote the great sport of Endurance riding in Dubai and across the world.”

With around 1000 participants, riders, crew and officials, the championship will have a significant economic impact on the area around Euston Park and the Newmarket area during the build-up and immediately post competition.

For media information, accreditation or images, please contact Longines FEI World Endurance Championships PR, Elizabeth Peplow;
Tel: +44 07917 647663, Email: wec2012media@gmail.com

Spain: Alex Luque and Louteiro de Eo are National Champions

Alex Luque and Louteiro Eo won the Spanish National Championship at Mount Casarrubios, Toldedo, Spain, on June 9 2012. Time for the 160 km race was 8:34.58, for an average of 18.64 km/h. Louteiro Eo also won Best Condition. Second place went to Alejandra Dachs riding Yesmane in 8:37. Nuria Serrabassa followed 39 seconds later to earn third place on Dakila Pascale

17 of 45 riders completed the race.

For more results, see
http://ggjineteraid.blogspot.com/2012/06/resultados-provisionales-del-campeonato.html

Saudi Arabia: Discovery at al-Magar

Saudiaramcoworld.com - Full Article

by Peter Harrigan
photo courtesy of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities

When Mutlaq ibn Gublan decided to dig a birka (pond) to keep his camels watered, he arranged for a backhoe and drums of diesel fuel to be driven from the road to the site on his ancestral grazing lands in southwest Saudi Arabia. The spot he had chosen, amid finger-like valleys that cut through low sandstone hills, was near traces of an ancient waterfall, which hinted that, in millennia past, nature itself supplied more than a mere birka.

His pond was never completed. As he supervised the excavation, he says, "I spotted a smooth, shaped stone sticking out of the ground. I recognized it was an old and important object." He could tell at once it was a statue of an animal. It was buried upright, head toward the surface, he says. "I paid off the operator and told him to follow his tracks back to the road."

Over the next few years, Ibn Gublan unearthed some 300 objects there. Though none was as large as the first, his finds included a small stone menagerie: ostrich, sheep and goats; what may be fish and birds; a cow-like bovid (Bovidae); and an elegant canine profile that resembles one of the oldest known domesticated breeds, the desert saluki. In addition, he found mortars and pestles, grain grinders, a soapstone pot ornamented with looping and hatched geometric motifs, weights likely used in weaving and stone tools that may have been used in leather processing, as well as scrapers, arrowheads and blades—including an exquisitely decorated stone knife in the unmistakable curved design of the traditional Arabian dagger.

Two years ago, he loaded it all up in his Jeep, drove it to Riyadh and donated it to the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (scta).

"When I first saw the pieces, I just could not believe it. It was, how can I say, incroyable," recalls Ali al-Ghabban, head of antiquities at the scta, his French-accented English giving away his years at the University of Provence. "This is Neolithic material," he states, from "a sophisticated society possessing a high level of art and craftsmanship that we have not previously seen." Al-Ghabban had a laboratory run a radiocarbon analysis on trace organic remains found later alongside some of the objects. That dated the material to between 6590 and 7250 bce, he says...

Read more here:
http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/201203/discovery.at.al-magar.htm

South African Horse Exports Could Surge As Controls Recognized

Bloomberg.com - Full Article

By Tshepiso Mokhema - Jun 8, 2012

South Africa’s horse exports could rise fourfold if the recognition of the country’s controls on African Horse Sickness by the World Organization for Animal Health eases shipments, Racing South Africa said.

The controls were recognized late last month, South Africa’s Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries said on June 6. The country has the immediate potential to export 300 horses annually, Peter Gibson, the chief executive officer of Durban-based Racing South Africa, said in an e-mailed response to questions late yesterday.

“With improved protocols, this figure could double within 24 months,” Gibson said of the country’s potential exports.
Before 1950 South Africa exported a total of about 300,000 horses, according to Racing South Africa. The continent was declared endemic for African Horse Sickness in the late 1950s meaning that South African horses had to be quarantined before if they were sold to buyers in the U.S, boosting costs. The first exports from South Africa took place in 1788.
An outbreak of the disease near the town of Stellenbosch in 2004 halted all exports for two years and horses sent to Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates were subjected to lengthier quarantine periods.

South African horses are prized for sporting use, most notably endurance races and thoroughbred racing, Gibson said. They are also used for polo...

Read more here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-08/south-african-horse-exports-could-surge-as-controls-recognized.html

Serbia: Endurance Horse Race

ENDURANCE HORSE RACE “WHITE HORSE”, Krčedin, 16 June 2012

The competition is organized in accordance with the “Rulebook on Organization and Implementation of Distance Racing” published by the Serbian Association for Equestrian Sport for the Olympic Games and FEI disciplines for horse welfare.

The race is organized by:

1. Equestrian Club “Kremen”, Pančevo; 060/037-1613, Višnja Andrić, hipodrom.pa@gmail.com

2. Equestrian Club “Arandjelovac”; Arandjelovac, Jelena Obradović 060/6711-7057, kkarandjelovac@gmail.com

The race is hosted by Rabbit Burrow Homestead, Krčedin, Uče Zekovića 7, www.zekinsalas.com, e mail office@zekinsalas.com, Radica Gligorić

The endurance race on White Horse Track in Krčedin is run alongside the site of the same name at which the Celtic tribe Skordisci created a huge profile of a horse in white stone, in the manner it used to mark its territory throughout Europe. The WHITE HORSE in Krčedin was still visible at the beginning of the 20th century.

One lap of WHITE HORSE Track in Krčedin is 21km

Recreational riding is available on WHITE HORSE Track on the same day after 4 pm, as well as on every first Saturday of a month, requiring previous booking at 064 641 5572, Slaven Živković, Manager, Rabbit Burrow Homestead, or by e-mail at office@zekinsalas.com

Australia: Short List for 2012 World Endurance Championship

May 26 2012

I am very pleased to have today endorsement from the Equestrian Australia High Performance Manager Brett Mace, on behalf of EA, of the selections of rider and horse combinations made by the panel for the World Senior Endurance Championships, 2012. We are also grateful for EA’s support in administering the processes required to ensure all the official deadlines are met, and in supplying member services to these riders so that they can represent Australia at this event.

So, I am delighted to announce, on behalf of the selection panel of Barb McDonald, Trish Mackay and myself, the short list, in alphabetical order:

Talea Haskow-Stewart and Blake’s Heaven Bombora

Andrea Laws King and Razorback Love Song

Norbert Radny and West Coast Acharon

Matthew Sample and Brookleigh Ricardo

Alexandra Toft and Emily Jones te; reserve horses Travina (and Rupert te, pending final qualification)

Penelope Toft and Travina; reserve horse High Society

All riders and horses have done a wonderful job so far, achieving the stringent qualification standards, engaging with the selection process, and aspiring to represent Australia. We know the team will be in excellent hands, with Chef d’Equipe Peter Toft and team vet Dr Narelle Cribb, and hope that we are all able to support them, in whatever way possible, to achieve their very best.

FEI, OIE Unite to Improve High Performance Horse Transport

Thehorse.com - Full Article

by: Christa Lesté-Lasserre
May 31 2012, Article # 20097

In a major step towards worldwide policy change, the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) has announced its solidarity with the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) in seeking to improve the international movement of high-level performance horses.

Speaking at the opening of the OIE's annual assembly in Paris last week (May 20-25), director general Bernard Vallat, DVM, said his organization recognized "important constraints to the movement of horses" that have come to their attention as international equestrian sport--which has grown 34% over the past three years--continues to expand.

"It is clear that there is a need to define the criteria for healthy, high performance horses as a subpopulation, which reflects the low level of disease risk involved in their movement," Vallat said.

At the 2012 FEI Sports Forum, which took place in early May in Lausanne, Switzerland, the international movement of high performance horses was a hot topic of discussion. It was concluded that having globally standardized testing and quarantine requirements--which currently is not the case--for this particular group of horses, which by necessity must be in impeccable health, would facilitate easier and more streamline international movement...

Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=20097

Australia: Endurance race with a midnight start

ABC.net.au - Radio interview

By Tony BriscoeFriday, 8 June 2012

Horse riders from across Australia will gather at midnight tonight at St Helens on the east coast of Tasmania for an endurance race with a difference.

The 160 kilometre Tom Quilty Gold Cup will be held over a course which involves farmland and forestry.

The endurance ride was last held in Tasmania at Sheffield in 2005, and attracts riders from the city as well as country areas.

Organiser Sarah Adams says the race is very strictly controlled and animal welfare is at the forefront of the race.

Radio Interview with Sarah Adams:
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rural/tas/countryhour/201206/r955076_10228156.mp3

Australia: Just happy to be competing in Tom Quilty

Theadvocate.com.au - Full Article

8 June 2012

FOR Sheffield's Stuart King and stepdaughter Sarah Parker, this weekend's Tom Quilty Cup will certainly be a family affair. The most coveted Australian equine endurance event, the Tom Quilty Gold Cup, will be held at St Helens, starting at midnight tonight.

Horses and riders will travel 160km within a time limit of 24 hours. Teams from all over Australia have converged on the East Coast for the Cup.

For King and 15-year-old Sarah, this weekend has been a long time coming.

"I've been trying to make it to a Tom Quilty for eight years or more now, so it's great to finally get to one, especially in my home state," King said...

Read more here:
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/news/local/sport/equestrian/just-happy-to-be-competing-in-tom-quilty/2584041.aspx?src=rss

Great Britain: Lincolnshire mother and son take on 266-mile horse-riding challenge

Thisislincolnshire.co.uk - Full Article

June 7 2012

A MOTHER and son team are set to undertake a gruelling 266-mile endurance horse-riding challenge starting from Stickney this weekend.

Jane, 46, and Michael Evans, 23, are attempting the gruelling challenge on their faithful horses, Rookie and El, to raise much needed funds for the Stroke Association.

Jane said: "We chose the charity because there's a history of stroke in the family and because my job allows me to see firsthand how the money goes to help change the lives of local stroke survivors."

Starting from Stickney on Sunday, June 10, the duo will follow the Heritage Trail which will lead them through to the beautiful landscape of Yorkshire and will arrive in their home town of Durham two weeks later.

Jane said: "My son and I are both keen endurance riders and it was my best friend, who lives in Stickney, who gave me the idea to do the challenge...

Read more here:
http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/Lincolnshire-mother-son-266-mile-horse-riding/story-16291327-detail/story.html

Great Britain: Man vs. Horse Marathon

http://www.green-events.co.uk/events.html?id=54

The Man v Horse Marathon began in June 1980 following a chat over a pint (or three) in the back bar of Neuadd Arms Hotel. The then Landlord, Gordon Green overheard two men discussing the relative merits of men and horses running over mountainous terrain. The enterprising Gordon, never one to miss an opportunity to promote Llanwrtyd Wells and improve business at his hotel, decided to put it to the test. And so began Green Events and its first, longest standing and now internationally acclaimed event, The Man versus Horse Marathon.

The course was changed in 1982 to provide a more even match between the man and the horse resulting year on year in very close finishes - sometimes with the horse winning by only a few seconds. It took 25 years before a man finally beat a horse, Huw Lobb won in 2hrs and 5mins beating the fastest horse by 2 minutes.

******
http://www.journeymart.com/holidays-ideas/festivals/man-horse-marathon.aspx

When: 9th June 2012
Where: Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales

Man vs. Woman. Normal.
Man vs. Man. Routine.
Man vs. Horse. Bizarre.
~~~~
Horse beats Man. Natural.
Woman beats Man. Way to go.
Man beats horse.
Man beats horse? Wow!
It takes real horsepower to beat a horse at his own game. Many a runner has put his best foot forward but only one man has taken a horse head on and come out ahead. And not just by a nose.
Like all good stories, this one too began in a pub. With a few pints inside him, one man claimed men were equal to horses any given day. Several pints later, it was decided to publicly test his claim and the first race took place in June 1980.
From that year forth, the action takes place in Llanwrtyd Wells, host town for the unique horse vs. man marathon. This year will be the 32nd time when over 300 runners test their legs and lungs against that of 20 horses in a gruelling 22-mile cross country race in the Welsh mountains.
The odds favour the horses despite a 15-minute head start for humans - up for grabs is a substantial booty to the runner who beats a horse to the finishing line. Any takers?

For more information on Wales Tourism | Wales Holiday Calendar

Italy: A New Kind of Endurance

27 May 2012

Italian endurance rider Stefano Chidichimo created a special opportunity for new endurance riders that normally wouldn't have a chance of experiencing the sport. Handicapped riders participated in the first promotional event of endurance and equestrian rehabilitation: a 3 km simulated endurance ride in the Tuscan countryside of Maremma at the Pietriccio Rosso Equestrian Center owned by the Aldi Family.

Stefano reports: [translated] "For the first time, in a special project I made, share and built in only one month with Italian Federation, a ride for people of many different abilities, was in endurance, up and down easily on the hills, like a real champions.

Junior and Senior handicapped riders, blind, with Downs syndrome, and other mental disabilities, came from Tuscany, Sardinia and Liguria, and completed the ride at 5-8 km/h average, perfect at vet gate in 20 min. under 64 beats per minute… Incredible! All participated in a prize-giving ceremony with their high level technicians: Alessandra Pes di San Vittorio, Francesca Gentile and Maria Ignazia Marras and their Staff.

There were no limits for riders Ameri Andrea, Battistini Alessio, Castaldi Gaia, Del Rio Giovanni, Iorizzi Giulia, Marano Vincenzo, Mura Paolo, Ugolini Stefano, Ulivastri Fabio ... Really enjoyed in harmonic concentration and natural free aptitude for a new therapeutic opportunity!"

[slide show]

2014 Normandy: The Team Above All Else!

JEMFEIAlltech2014-normandie.fr

5/30/2012

The Organising Committee took a major step forward at the beginning of April by appointing the team in charge of the eight official disciplines. Getting all these experts together and making them an integral part of the Organising Committee was perhaps the most significant part of this development. In short, being able to mould eight individuals into a team!
To help things along, a working seminar was organised at Le Pin National Stud in the Orne area of Normandy – the venue playing host to the Cross Country of the Eventing competition on 30 August 2014. The eight discipline managers were of course present, along with their counterparts from the Fédération Equestre Internationale, who were, by the way, impressed by the sumptuous setting of the Le Pin Stud. “It’s important to get the FEI involved in our work from here on”, explained sports director, Laurent Cellier, just after the seminar.

"In my view, the most positive thing to come out of this experience is the creation of a collective movement that goes above and beyond individual expertise. We have always explained that we would encourage team spirit and with this new group we have everything we need to create a truly great event in 2014.”

This is a feeling shared by the discipline managers, and most notably by Michèle Pfender, the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy’s “Mrs Reining”: “I was delighted to meet the team and find out about all the work that had been done beforehand by the members of the Organising Committee, who are young, competent and enthusiastic. Reining is a relatively unknown discipline and so I was touched by the openness and curiosity that the other discipline managers showed.”

Michèle Pfender also appreciates the spirit of the World Equestrian Games, “particularly the respect shown towards the horse which is a fundamental principle, and then the idea that the event won’t just be a one-off affair but will leave a lasting legacy. That’s really important for reining.”

Other similar seminars will probably take place every six months or so. “The next one will be in Caen in October, so that we can get to go to other competition sites after our stay in Le Pin, explains Laurent Cellier. We are already going over the technical issues to be raised with the FEI. And by then, our discussions will have become more and more regular.”

Mohammed congratulates Hamdan on UK race win

Emirates247.com

By Sheikh Mohammed's website
Published Tuesday, June 05, 2012


His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, watched as Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, rode to victory clinching the UK endurance ride title at Austin Park.

Sponsored by Meydan, the CEI*** endurance event in the UK is organised by the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) under the supervision of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed claimed the title finishing in 7:43.00 hours despite the harsh weather conditions of heavy rain and cold wind. Riders from 14 countries participated in the endurance event.

Mohammed Ahmed Al Abbar came in second place finishing in 7:56.08 hours, while the third place went to Mohammed Ali Al Shafaar.

The UAE team's participation in the event is part of their preparations for the FEI World Endurance Championship scheduled for 26 August, 2012 in the UK.