Italy: Spain conquers all in Assisi FEI Meydan City Open European Endurance Championship

Photo by Endurance-belgium.com

Horsemart.co.uk - Full Article

SPAIN’s Maria Alvarez Ponton made endurance history by becoming the first rider to hold both World and European titles at the same time

SPAIN’s Maria Alvarez Ponton made endurance history by becoming the first rider to hold both World and European titles at the same time following a convincing win at the FEI Meydan City Open European Endurance Championship held over the weekend in Assisi, Italy.

Alvarez Ponton has now stood on the medal podium for three year’s in succession. With her 13-year-old French-bred gelding Nobby – world champion under entirely different conditions in Malaysia in 2008 – she also took individual bronze at the FEI European Championships at Barocca D’Alva in Portugal in 2007.

She crossed the line at the end of yesterday’s tough contest in the shadow of the magnificent Saint Francisco's Basilica in 8hrs:10mins: 58secs to complete at an average speed of 19.5km/hr.

The European individual silver medal went to Belgium’s Rachel Jaumotte with Dikruhu (19.1km/hr) while France’s Romain Laporte took individual bronze with Novisaad d'Aqui at an average speed of 18.7km/hr.

The UAE’s Sheikh Abdullah Bin Faisal Al Qasimi finished 10min behind Alvarez Ponton to take the Open European second place with Castlebar Sobia adding to his own recent silver medal winning success at the FEI World Championships for Juniors and Young Riders held in Hungary.

Rachel Jaumotte took the third place in the Open European section.

Fifth-placed Germany’s Sabrina Arnold’s Beau 36 was awarded the coveted best condition award.


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New Zealand: Upper Hutt teen endures for NZ

Stuff.co.nz

30/09/2009

Teenager Emma Mason has earned a first time selection in the New Zealand endurance horse riding team.

The Upper Hutt College year 10 student, and her eight-year-old Arab horse Tararua Mistalight, will be taking on Australia's top endurance horse riders at Ruahine in November.

Emma, who recently turned 15, has more than seven years experience in competitive endurance riding and is more than ready for her first chance at trans-Tasman endurance team eventing on November 21-22.

Her selection is further development of an endurance career which has seen her represent Wellington at the North Island championships and later being chosen for the North Island team to compete at the New Zealand competitions.

Maoribank resident Emma and her mount Tararua Mistalight, who grazes in Kaitoke, along with central North Island rider Michael Wakeling, are the two junior selections in the New Zealand team, which will compete against the Australians in a 100 kilometre race across farmland.

In endurance riding, the winner is determined by which team has the fastest cumulative times recorded by the first three team members to cross the finish line.

The Australian team will compete on borrowed New Zealand horses, while the New Zealand team will later travel to Australia for return competition.

The trans-Tasman contest, described by the endurance racing followers as the equivalent of the Bledisloe Cup, can be expected to be hotly contested as New Zealand looks to wrest back the title.

The trans-Tasman event was first held five years ago and won by New Zealand for the first three years.

Australia: To complete is to win as riders conquer Quilty

Cowraguardian.com.au

28/09/2009

To complete is to win.

It's a simple philosophy Karen Rhodes takes into each endurance ride she tackles.

With that in mind, she is a winner many times over.

The holder of the most buckles for competing in the Shahzada marathon, a gruelling 400km event held over five days, the Woodstock horsewomen maintained her perfect record with trusty companion Shadow in another taxing ride, the Tom Quilty Gold Cup.

Rhodes was one of seven Lachlan Endurance Riders' Club members to tackle the 160km one-day ride in Victoria last weekend.

Only three finished.

Rhodes and Shadow successfully completed their fifth Quilty together, while Alan Lindsay notched his 10th buckle and Mark Lindsay his first, both with a time a tick over 18 hours.

Included among the local withdrawals were former winner Andrew Bailey, Robin Gossip, Mary Symons and Ray Rhodes, all failing compulsory veterinary examinations with their entries.

That's why reaching the finishing line is a major achievement in itself.

"That's the whole thing with endurance, it’s slow but to complete is to win," Rhodes said.

"There's five legs and you have to come in and vet at every leg.

"It was a good, testing ride, not over the top."

Rhodes' finishing time in a touch over 19 hours was more than nine hours adrift of the Matthew Sample and Brookleigh Ricardo winning combination.

That doesn't bother her, though, in a sport she regards as a hobby rather than a business it is now with Arabian interests.

"To complete a ride in that sort of time, they're superb athletes these horses and the people that ride them are professionals. That's what they do," she said.

"Once upon a time it was just everyone's hobby, now it's a business."

Shadow and former horse Kelly have been the mainstays of Rhodes’ endurance riding career.

Between the two they have combined for 14 of Rhodes' 15 Shahzada buckles. She estimates they have clocked 7,000kms each in competitive rides, excluding training.

But all good things must come to an end and Shadow, a striking Arabian Cross stock horse, seems destined for retirement after his latest campaign.

"He could have been a more competitive horse if he had a different rider," Rhodes joked.

"I've been competing on Shadow eight years and in that time he's completed six Shahzadas out of six, five Quiltys out of five and a couple of state championships.

"He's been an incredibly sound horse.

"He's always been ridden slowly so I guess that's why he's lasted so long.

"You get to know them inside out and they get to know you."

It is Shadow's efforts in the Shahzada which will most be remembered.

The NSW Endurance Riders' Association 2008 Distance Middleweight Horse of the Year helped Rhodes to her 15th buckle out of 16 attempts at the Shahzada in the rugged terrain of St Albans where the Hawkesbury River meets the Blue Mountains.

No rider boasts more buckles.

Meanwhile, the Lachlan Endurance Riders' Club will hold a ride at Woodstock Showground on the weekend of October 17-18.

The vet will take place between 9am-12pm with a 20km social ride and a 40km training ride on the Saturday.

On Sunday there will be a social, training and 80km ride.

The club are encouraging people to come and try the sport and enjoy the beautiful countryside, see what endurance riding is all about. Day membership will be provided.

Italy: Gli italiani ad Assisi

Sportendurance.it

27/09/09

Confirmed this morning the official classification of the European Championships of Endurance of Assisi, results that do not include countries outside Europe.

The former Italian champion Simona Garatti Z'Tadore on the Maury and Martina him on Jo Farouza brilliantly conclude their ordeal at the 16th and 18th place by setting the hourly average to 16.62 kilometers. the first and the second at 15.46.

Jacopo di Matteo About Days closes in 21st position at 14.63 kilometers / h but unfortunately the combination was not in the team for so little blurs the bronze but silver. (foto sportendurance)

2009 Tom Quilty Video

A short video from the Camp checkpoint of the 2009 Tom Quilty held at Tonimbuk, Victoria.

Italy: Abdullah finishes second in Assisi contest

Gulfnews.com

September 26, 2009, 22:53

Abu Dhabi: Reigning world champion Maria Alvarez Ponton of Spain won the gold medal while the UAE's Shaikh Abdullah Bin Faisal Al Qasimi took the silver in the FEI Open Meydan City European Endurance Championship held yesterday in Assisi, Italy.

Riding Nobby, the Dubai-based Maria finished the 160km ride in 8hrs:10mins: 58secs while Shaikh Abdullah, who won a silver medal in the World Junior Championships held in Hungary recently, finished second on Castlebar Sobia in 8:21:33.

Mubarak Khalifa Bin Shafya on Koum Des Jamets finished eighth while Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, (Spenda Crest Kamouflage) was unlucky to be eliminated in the final stage, according to provitional results.

Earlier, the UAE's hopes of a team medal suffered a setback when Mohammad Ahmad Ali Al Subose on Kaysand Farrazah was eliminated just before the final phase while another UAE team rider Sultan Bin Sulayem on Maddiran made an exit when his horse was found lame after stage three.

Another UAE rider Ahmad Salem Ali Sultan Al Subose on Kumait was eliminated after the second phase. Yesterday's ride was run in six phases. Team results were yet to be announced.

The results: 1. Maria Alvarez Ponton (Spain, Nobby) 8:10:58; 2. Shaikh Abdullah Bin Faisal Al Qas imi (UAE, Castlebar Sobia) 8:21:33; and 3. Jaumotte Rachel (Belguim, Rukban Dikruhu MMN) 8:22:33

Dubai: Total prizes of Dh1m for endurance race winners

Gulfnews.com

September 26, 2009

Dubai: The Organising Committee of the Majid Bin Mohammad Endurance Race has announced cash prizes of Dh1 million to be given to winners.

The 27km endurance competition will be held under the patronage of Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture, at the Dubai International Endurance City on October 1 at 5pm.

It is restricted to horses from private stables and owned by UAE nationals.

The winner will be given a gold medal and a Land Cruiser, while the second place will get a silver medal and a cash prize of Dh100,000, and the third place will earn a bronze medal and Dh50,000.

A cash prize of Dh30,000 will be given to the fourth winner, while Dh20,000 to the fifth one and Dh10,000 to the sixth winner.

A cash prize of Dh50,000 will be given to the best horse.

Winners from the seventh to the tenth place will be given Dh5,000 each.

Horses should register a maximum heart rate of 64 bpm within 20 minutes after crossing of the finish line.

Maria Alvarez Ponton and Nobby of Spain win European Championship

The official winner of Meydan City European Endurance Championships 2009 in Maria Alvarez Ponton. This is a great success achieved by Ponton, who is already the wolrd, european and spanish champion. Assisi Endurance Lifestyle 2009 celebrates the end of this important competition together happiness the spanish rider and all supporters of this sport.

Complete final results, stories and more photos from Leonard Liesens/Caroll Gatelier to come at

www.endurance.net/international/Italy/2009Assisi

Rush Creek Reunion Endurance Race featured good terrain and weather for riders and horses

TheFencePost.com

September 26
By Jo Chytka
Hemingford, Neb.

On a crisp September morning with the temperature at 56 degrees and the skies totally overcast 18 endurance racers were preparing to compete on the first day of the Rush Creek Reunion Endurance Race. Both days presented ideal racing conditions for both horse and rider with cool temperatures and a light wind until after 1:00 p.m. when it warmed a little and skies became partly cloudy through the finish of race time.

The location was a beautiful meadow alongside Rush Creek, surrounded by huge cottonwood trees creating a horseshoe shaped area for campers along with ride headquarters, staging areas for vetting the race, P & R (pulse and respiration) stations and a large area for cooling, resting and feeding horses during their mandatory downtime between each leg of their race.

The Rush Creek Land and Livestock's Arabian Horse Ranch, located one mile east of Lisco, Neb., hosted the AERC (American Endurance Ride Conference) sanctioned race the weekend of Sept. 5 & 6. Horse Ranch Manager and Ride Manager Lyle Sherfey, along with his wife Teresa and 15 volunteers worked long hours on both days to provide a 25- and 50-mile race on both Saturday and Sunday along with a barbecue followed by an awards banquet each evening after completion of the races.

The races were run on a portion of Rush Creek's land, half-way between Lisco and Oshkosh, Neb., on the south side of the highway. An entirely new course from previous years was laid out. This year's terrain was meadows with sandy soil, high ridges, deep draws and creek crossings. Comments from racers who had attended the races in years past said it was better ground to run on this year with a wonderful campsite.


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Top riders set for FEI European Open Endurance Championship

Fri Sep 25, 2009 By FEI

The countdown is on for a spectacular weekend of endurance competition around the historic city of Assisi in Italy. A huge field is expected to line up with a confirmed entry of 106 riders from 25 nations competing over the 160km circuit.

As well as European riders, the competitors will include representatives from the USA, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Malaysia.

The last FEI European Championships took place at Barroca D’Alva in Portugal with 88 riders from 20 different countries attending the event.

FAMOUS FACES

Leading contenders for the individual championship will include: reigning world champion and bronze medallist in Portugal, Maria Alvarez (ESP) with Nobby and reigning European champion, Jean Philippe Frances of France with Hanaba du Bois; two former world champions, Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum (UAE) and 1998 world champion Valerie Kanavy of the USA, one of the most charismatic figures on the circuit, will be among the strongest contenders. In the team contest, the host nation will be among the firm favourites with France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal among other hopefuls, with the open European contest being a top target for the teams from the UAE and Bahrain, which took team silver two years ago.

THE ROUTE

A tough, technical route has been designed consisting of six loops based around two vetgates. The first “green” loop of 35km will take riders away from the venue to the west of Assisi towards Bastia. The largely flat route will be appreciated by riders who will be setting out in near darkness at 5am. The second loop starts from the vetgate at Valle Di Assisi and will be probably the most challenging of the day. Appropriately coloured red, this 35km stretch takes in some punishing climbs to Collemancio and could be the deciding factor at the finish line according to Italian team rider Enrico Ercoli, “I believe that we must pay attention to the early laps and manage our horses with great care as those who push here are likely to run out of gas!”

The later stages of the race are flatter and could be fast depending on the surface conditions. The third “yellow” loop drops south to Bevagna before heading back to the vetgate at Valle Di Assisi along the Topino river valley. By this point, riders will have the home straight in their sights. At the end of the fourth “blue” loop of 24km, they will leave Valle Di Assisi for the last time returning to the Misura Village venue in the shadow of the majestic Assisi skyline over the steadily climbing 17.5km fifth orange loop. The final phase covering just 14 km will take finishers out over the first part of the opening loop of the day before swinging north above Bastia and doubling back on itself to the dramatic finish line just below the magnificent Saint Francisco's Basilica, in Assisi.

THE SPONSORS

Sponsors Meydan Group will have a purpose-built exhibition booth at the venue. The group’s key activities include: Meydan Racecourse, which is the first project to be launched in March 2010; Meydan Horizons, Meydan Metropolis and Meydan Godolphin Parks.

Mohammad Al Khayat, Meydan Group's Commercial Director said, "This marks our first foray onto the global Endurance racing stage, and we are confident this partnership will continue to re-affirm the camaraderie that exists between both our countries. The UAE and Italy have a longstanding association bound by our equine history and heritage and it is this connection that further strengthens our mutual support of each other and to the dedication we have given to the sport of Endurance racing"

FACTS AND FIGURES

Total Entries: 106

Total European Entries: 81

Total Nations: 25

Total Teams: 19

Total European Teams: 15

Youngest rider: Joona Micklsson (Finland) aged 17

Oldest rider: Jan Buitenhuis (Netherlands) aged 71

2010WEG: Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Tickets on Sale Today

horsechannel.com

The world championships of eight different equestrian sports will begin exactly one year from today.

September 25, 2009

Lexington, Kentucky has been preparing for the World Equestrian Games for three years now, and the one-year countdown begins today.

The World Equestrian Games are held every four years and are the world championship of eight equestrian sports: Dressage, show jumping, eventing, reining, vaulting, endurance, para-dressage and combined driving. The world's best horses and riders will compete at the Kentucky Horse Park from September 25-October 10, 2010. This is the first time in WEG history that they will be held outside of Europe. The WEG will return to Europe in 2014 when they will be held in Normandy, France.

In recognition of the start of the one-year countdown, tickets will go on sale to the general public at noon today. To find pricing information and purchase tickets, visit the World Equestrian Games official website at http://www.alltechfeigames.com/. Tickets can also be purchased through ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets are sold by event and session, and prices range from $25-150. For many Americans, the 2010 WEG will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the world's top equestrians compete in one location.

A variety of volunteer positions are available as well. Visit alltechfeigames.com for more information.

The World Equestrian Games celebrations are underway today in downtown Lexington. For those not in the Kentucky area, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government will be streaming a live video of the festivities at their website from 11 am to 1 pm Eastern time.

Get your tickets here .

Italy: Opening Ceremonies and Trot-Outs for European Championship Open in Assisi

www.endurance.net/international/Italy/2009Assisi

25 September 2009

Leonard Liesens reports from Assisi, Italy on the Opening Ceremonies and the vetting in of the horses for the 2009 European Endurance Championship Open.

Full coverage at www.endurance.net/international/Italy/2009Assisi

Lindsay Graham and Monk Capture Top Honors at the American Endurance Ride Conference National Championship Ride

USEF Press Release
Release: September 24 2009
By Troy Smith

The premiere event of the American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC), the annual National Championship ride, proved to be a weekend of celebration in Northern California on September 11 and 13. At the site of the annual Patriot’s Day ride in Greenville, CA, competitors arrived from all over the western U.S. and Canada to compete for AERC’s top prizes.

The 100-mile championship ride, held Friday, was won handily by Lindsay Graham, a fourth-year veterinary student at the University of California at Davis. Riding Chris Martin’s seven-year-old chestnut Arabian gelding, Monk, Graham finished the technical course in nine hours and 58 minutes, 35 minutes ahead of second-place finisher Brad Green of Auburn, CA, riding Pawnee, his 10-year old Arabian-cross gelding.

“I was planning on just finishing in the required FEI COC time,” said Graham, referring to the International Equestrian Federation’s certificate of capability time of 12 hours and 20 minutes. “We passed people in the vet checks as Monk pulsed down immediately at every check.

“I kept a very steady pace all day. People always passed me downhill, but I passed them uphill, and let him canter on the flats,” said Graham. “He has a very easy big canter and his heart rate drops significantly.”

The win came as a surprise to the 27-year-old with 2,275 AERC miles to her credit. “The day just came together the way people dream of,” she said. “The ‘Monk man’ never slowed down. He gave me an incredible ride.”

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Italy: All Horses have Arrived in Assisi for the European Championship

Reporter Extraordinaire Leonard Liesens sends his first report from Assisi, home to the 2009 European Endurance Championship Open

Thursday 24 September 2009

All horses have now arrived at the venue. An amazing venue of several huge tents accommodating the restaurants, the place for holding events, the commercial stands. Then of course also the VIP tents and the tents installed for Malaysia, Bahrain, and UAE.

The venue is installed on a plain, surrounded by hills. On one hill, the medieval city of Assisi (World Heritage) that will probably intensively be used by photograph as background.

The trail has been described as "tricky" by all teams who pre-rode it. A lot of asphalt roads, some dangerous parts to be ridden on the first loop in the dark.
Among the favorites : Maria Alvarez and Nobby, reigning World Champions, HE Sh Nasser from Bahrain on board Khandela des Vialettes (this horse is one of the best of the world, but the question is "how will he perform on this technical going"), current European Champion Jean-Philippe Frances on Hanaba du Bois.

There will be two vetgates, one at the venue and one abroad that will be used for all loops except the last one.

This evening, the opening ceremony with the presentation of the teams (on the central square of Assisi), then the gala dinner. Tomorrow the real things will start with the trotting of the horses, the chef d’equipe meeting and the preparation work of the crews.

Later,

Leonard Liesens, www.endurance-belgium.com

Great Britain: Adventurer completes world's toughest horse race

Thisislocallondon.co.uk - Full Article

24th September 2009

By Robert Fisk »


FOUR falls, six stitches and a wolf could be the start of a bad joke.

But instead they are the injuries sustained and the foe encountered by Paul Chew when he took part in the world’s toughest horse race.

The intrepid adventurer is recovering at his home in Southfield Road, Shortlands, after coming fourth in the Mongol Derby.

Over the eight days it took him to complete the 1,000km race across Mongolia he kept a diary of his experiences.

Day 1: The Start

After the initial weigh where I officially became the heaviest person in the race at 84.5kgs.

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Italy: Bahrain set for endurance test

Gulf-daily-news.com

Thursday, September 24, 2009

ROYAL Endurance Horse ride team captain Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa will arrive in Italy today to lead the Bahraini squad at the European Championship 2009.

Shaikh Nasser, the Bahrain Olympic Committee president, will be accompanied by Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation president and captain of Al Khaldiya Stables Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

Shaikh Nasser will be riding Kheopsy Du Pilat while Shaikh Khalid will compete on Khandela Des Vialette in this prestigious competition which will be flagged off on Saturday at 6am (Bahrain time).

The two lead some of the finest Bahraini riders in this event which has attracted entries from 26 countries.

Other Bahraini riders are Yousef Taher, Ghazi Al Doseri, Ahmed Abdulla Al Hazza, Abdulrahman Al Saa'd, Raed Mahmood and Jaffer Mirza.

A maximum of six riders from each country are allowed to take part. Besides Shaikh Nasser and Shaikh Khalid, the final line-up for the Bahraini team includes Al Saad who will be riding Zirkonia, Al Hazza will take part on Ganda Koy, Mirza on Mexico and Al Doseri on Khyber.

Countries in the fray include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, UK, Hungary, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, the US and Uruguay,

The race will be sponsored by Dubai Racing Club and will be held over 160kms divided into six stages. An opening ceremony will be held today at the Assisi's municipal square. The championship will be shown live on Bahrain Sports Channel following directives from Shaikh Nasser.

After today's opening ceremony, the horses will be subjected to veterinary examination at the endurance village.

The weight of each horse taking part should not exceed 75 kgs while maximum pulse rate at the veterinary gate after each stage should be 64 beats per minute within 20 minutes.

An International Veterinary Symposium is also set for today at the conference room of the Grand Hotel Assisi.

Canada: Rocking good time for riders

Hope Standard
Published: September 21, 2009 4:00 PM

Endurance Riders Association of British Columbia held its last endurance ride of the season on Saturday, Sept 12th in Westbank. The Westbank Rocker, as it is called, was attended by 70 riders, with three of them hailing from Hope.

Local riders Shelly Taylor, daughter Danielle and fellow rider Denise Pascucci, saddled up for the 22 mile ride through the telemark skiing trails of Crystal Mountain. Although billed as a 22 mile, the trails ended up amounting to 25 miles in total. After getting the all clear from the vets on Friday, all three horses settled in nicely for the night to prepare for the long haul the next day.

The first loop consisted of 16 miles of up and down terrain, a few good mud holes and some spectacular scenery overlooking Westbank and Okanagan Lake. With an 8 a.m. start, the trio completed the first loop by 10:15 a.m., vetted in to make sure all was well with the horses, had their mandatory 45 minute break, then headed out again at 11:35 a.m. The second loop of nine miles proved much more gruelling and technical, having to follow small trails, going through lots of mud and enduring several climbs.

Danielle Taylor, at the young age of 13, maneuvered her horse Sierra, like a seasoned pro, through the ever-changing terrain. The trio returned to base camp at 13:21 having completed the race in 4 hrs, 46 mins. With the final vet in, giving all three horses the clear, the race was complete, the horses unsaddled, fed and groomed and the riders happy with their results. Danielle placed 19th out of 32 riders and 6th place in the junior category, while mom, Shelly, placed 20th and Denise placed 18th overall.

Bahrain: Riders ready for European Open

Gulf-daily-news.com

September 23, 2009

BAHRAIN'S national endurance horse ride team arrived in Assisi, Italy, yesterday ahead of the European Championship Open 2009, which gets underway tomorrow.

The team, being led by Royal Endurance Team captain Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, reached the venue via Amsterdam after spending a night in Rome.

Upon their arrival in Assisi, the team began training to acclimatise themselves to the location prior to the championship. Their horses had already been shipped.

In this weekend's event, which is regarded as one of the world's most challenging championships, the Bahrainis will be looking to conclude their annual camp in Europe on a high note.

Shaikh Nasser spurred the squad to a number of great results in their previous races in Europe this year. The team's first appearance in European competition was in the Compiegne Ride in France where the they successfully took a place on the podium.

That was followed by a first-place finish in the team category of the Thetford Ride in the UK and then they maintained their momentum to claim victory in the 160km Open Championship in Germany.

In this event, Shaikh Nasser will be accompanied by the Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa and some of Bahrain's most prominent riders.

It will be the second time for the team to compete in Italy, having participated in the World Junior Championship in 2003 in Rome where Shaikh Nasser led a group of Bahrainis to their maiden appearance in such an event.

Shaikh Nasser confirmed that the team had reached a good level of fitness and were now set to compete with the continent's best riders, adding that both the horses and riders had been well-prepared during their summer camp in Europe.

The Bahrain Olympic Committee president said he was confident that the team would again clinch a place on the podium after successfully taking an overall third-place finish in the previous edition of the championship in Portugal two years ago.

Morale

Shaikh Nasser confirmed that the team's recent impressive participation in European races would certainly lift the team's morale prior to the prestigious Italian championship.

However, this weekend's event will also be part of the Bahraini team's World Equestrian Games which is set to take place in Kentucky, the US, from September 25 to October 10 next year.

The natural scenario of Assisi has been chosen to host the European Endurance Championship Open 2009, the most important event of the year for this discipline.

The championship takes place every two years, on a distance of 160 km, and involves - like its name suggests - European nations as well as nations around the world, after the decision of the FEI in 2001 to add 'Open' in the event's title given the growing importance of the discipline.

The last edition took place in Portugal with 88 riders from 20 different countries attending the event.

At tomorrow's opening ceremony, which takes place at Assisi's municipal square instead of in the stadium, each nation will pass by in procession with its own flag in a mediaeval atmosphere and setting.

The highlight of the event will be on Saturday when the best world riders will compete against one another, among them the official national teams of the countries of the Gulf region.

Australia: Sample Wins Fourth Quilty

Weeklytimesnow.com.au - Full Article

Fran Cleland

September 23, 2009

THE world famous Tom Quilty Endurance ride was held last weekend in the Bunyip State Park around Tonimbuk, east of Melbourne.

The challenge of riding 160km in 24 hours attracts riders from around the world.

It began in 1966, when the remarkable Gabriel Stecher rode bare-back on Arabian stallion Shalawi.

Queenslander Brook Sample has been riding in endurance events since he was a junior and took out the 1990, 1995 and 2002 events.

Brook, on Tuldar Saladin, and his brother Matthew, on Brookleigh Ricardo, were first to cross the finish line, in a time of 9 hours and 50 minutes. They were awarded the middleweight section.

Angela Hawks, 19, from Toowoomba, won the lightweight section on Crysari in 10 hours and 41 minutes.

Brodie Freeman, on Cedar Ridge Magnetic, won the heavyweight section in 11 hours and 17 minutes.

The junior winner was Shannon Hill, on Judah of Glendhu, in 12 hours and 5 minutes.

The ride began at midnight last Friday. About 150 horses completed. Each was vetted five times during the ride for lameness, high heart rate or dehydration. Any rider that makes it home with a sound and happy horse proudly takes home a buckle.

Italy: Definitive Entries for European Endurance Championship in Assisi

22 September 2009

Riders and horses from 25 countries have been entered in the 2009 FEI Open Meydan City 160-km European Endurance Championships in Assisi, Italy, to be held on 26th September.

For a complete list of entries, click here.