La Baule: Spotlight on Jack Begaud

By Pamela Burton
EnduranceWorld.net


Jack Begaud is one of the ongoing French endurance stars.

Begaud has been an integral part of the "coming of age" of endurance in France and Europe. On the race scene as a veterinarian since 1982, Begaud quickly decided he had to be in the middle of the competition and not on the fringe. In 1984 Begaud began his endurance rise with LOUSTIC, whom he rode to the Championship of France in 1989 and 1990,
and to a Silver Medal Team World Championship in Barcleona in 1992.

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The 2004 Biltmore Estate Challenge

Biltmore Estate Challenge Event Coverage
Angie McGhee/John Teeter



The 2004 Biltmore Estate Challenge will take place on 8 May. This year, the Biltmore will have CEI***/**, Open AERC (100 & 50), and also host the Region 12 IAHA 100 Mile Championship. The event will again be hosted on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate in Ashville North Carolina. Ride Manager Anne Ayala and the Biltmore staff wil host an expected 180 endurance competitors during the 3 day event.

Angie McGhee, having ridden 11 previous Biltmore Challenges, will provide first hand reports from Asheville. We look forward to providing timely information on Saturday as the rides progress as well as background information on the Estate and the riders competing at this years event.

This years Biltmore is also the first of 3 USEF National Endurance Team Training Events. (The other two will be Fort Howes on June 13th and the Abu Dhabi Arabian Nights ride on August 28th). All 10 USEF National Endurance Team Members will be attending these events, riding where/when practical and helping when not. The Biltmore will provide a suitably competitive venue for the first of these tests.

EnduranceWorld.net will provide before, during, and after the ride coverage of this years Biltmore. We wish all participants, organizers, volunteers, and especially Anne the best of luck for this years challenge.

More to come at the ride coverage site:

http://www.enduranceworld.net/events/2004biltmore/

John Teeter (and Angie - although she didn't get to proof-read this....:)

Intercontinental newsletter: 08/04

Intercontinental Newsletter
News & Messages
8/04

In this letter you’ll find:

• Message from Maciek Kacprzyk, Poland
  
• News from the FEI Endurance Committee - Important
  
• Message from Sergio Tommasi: Answer to Ian William’s letter (15th April 2004)
  
• Message from Sergio Tommasi: The History of Endurance in Italy
  

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Ultramarathons -- on horseback

Ultramarathons -- on horseback: "Ultramarathons -- on horseback
Teens attracted to the challenge of long distance
By JENNIFER LANGSTON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
STANWOOD -- On her first 100-mile horseback riding race, Jessica Anderson hallucinated, seeing elongated, droopy cows on the side of the trail.
On her second, she found herself lost in the California desert -- in the wee morning hours, with her partner's leg full of cactus thorns and a shrieking cold wind that blew away the glow sticks lighting their path.
It is at times like these that the competitive 16-year-old wonders why she loves this sport, which appeals to the ultramarathoners of horseback riding."

[More...]

La Baule: The Competitors

La Baule: The Competitors
Pamela Burton


Winner of the 1st La Baule, CEIO in 2003, Sh Rashid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum of the UAE has been a consistent top finisher in European and Middle Eastern endurance rides since he began competition in 1999. Now 23, he was just 19 when he rode to 7th place at the WEC in Compiegne, France, in 2000 on DIANGO, one of two UAE riders to finish in the top 10 in that event. His 2003 Competition Record includes:

The UAE, with 3 riders in the top 10 World Rankings, will have competition from the French, who will send some of their best riders including Anita David, Sunny Demedy, Jean-Philippe Frances, Emilie Lambert, Barbara Lissarague, Cecile Milleto and Virginie Simon.

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~Abu Dhabi~ Arabian Nights 100 CEI***

Ridecamp
27April04


The August 28 100, CEI*** ride in Oreana, has a new name:

~Abu Dhabi~ Arabian Nights

, and a new sponsor '

Emirates International Endurance Village

'.

We're going to make this a fun weekend for all, food-entertainment-goodies, as well as a top notch event. The course was designed for the US Squad in preparation for the 2004(5) WEC in Dubai - so it will be fairly flat and fast.

But* the good news is that if you don't want to race, there will be a full moon - and you can just dawdle along (or hang out in the shade) during the heat of the day, and finish the ride at night, by the light of the moon! You will have 24 hours to complete the course, and there are no cutoff times. We will have some very special turtle awards, and the Owyhee desert is spectacular in the moonlight...


This is an open AERC 100, and an FEI CEI*** ride. I can mail you an entry packet, or you can print off the website:

http://www.endurance.net/oreana/arabiannights/

Steph


p.s. Bill Basham, the Gourmet Chef will be cooking all weekend!

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La Baule 2004

La Baule CEIO*** Event Coverage
Pamela Burton



Premier riders from 12 nations including Australia, Britain, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, and the UAE are expected to arrive for the May 8 Super League endurance ride at La Baule, France.

The endurance venue, which begins at 8:30 AM beach-side in this lovely Atlantic Coastal town, will travel inland through 6 stages and several small villages before returning to the beach for the before-dark expected finale. Sixty riders are expected at this years ride, twice the amount of entrants in 2003, the 1st CEIO at La Baule.

I will be covering the La Baule ride for EnduranceWorld.Net....tough assignment, but someone had to do it. France is very organized in it's Equestrian competitions, more-so than many countries, as it is totally underwritten (read morally and financially) by its National Federation.

EnduranceWorld.Net will explore this lovely coastal area of France and take you along on the competition trails that will travel some of the medieval backroads of Brittany.

This event is the CEIO for France for 2004. The designation is given to one country for one competition per year. In order to obtain this label, the event must be of the highest quality. This top quality event will give endurance riders a venue to further hone their skills, looking forward to the World Endurance Championship in January 2005.

The UAE will surely maintain the challenge to duplicate the individual first place last year of Shk. Rashid bin Mohammed Al Maktom, while the French team, who won the first CEIO at La Baule in 2003, will be looking to repeat their Gold Medal win.

The International teams will look forward to two other CEIO events, Newmarket in Great Britain on June 27, and Gubbio, in Italy on September 17-19 in this Competition series .

In France, Endurance is the second largest equestrian discipline by number of licensed participants, after jumping.

In 2003, a crowd estimated at 3,000-4,000 people watched the finish of the competitors, who had begun their ride at 7 am. The 2004 ride will still start at the beach site at low tide at 8:30 am, and will travel through many of small and medieval cities in the area. Some ride modifications have been made to reduce road travel, and the trail is slightly more difficult in technicality as a result.

A la prochaine, Pamela

Event Coverage Site