28 riders for juniors endurance race

TWENTY-eight riders will represent Bahrain in the World Juniors Endurance Horseride Championship to be held in Bahrain on December 8 at the Endurance Village premises in Sakhir, said Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation's national teams manager Shaikh Daij bin Salman bin Mubarak Al Khalifa.

Shaikh Daij said International Equestrian Federation rules state that a rider must complete three 120-km races 24 months before the event to book a berth.

Twelve of the 28 riders will take part in the team race while the rest will be participating in the individual event. The 12 riders are still to be announced.

Breef president and Bahrain Royal Team captain Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa will lead the Bahraini team which also includes Breef first vice-president and Al Khaldiya Stables captain Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa and riders representing seven stables - Al Asayel, Al Fateh, Al Salam, Al Mugheerat, Saar, Al Shorooq and Al Nosoor.

Team: Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Mohammed Abdulsamad, Manal Fakhrawi, Salem Al Otaibi, Tawfeeq Jaber, Ebrahim Abdali, Omar Al Omar, Raed Mahmood (Royal Endurance Team), Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Saad Al Yami (Al Khaldiya Stables), Abdulaziz Adam, Naseeb Mahboob, Fahad Sulaiman, Saeed Abdulla, Mohammed Al Thawadi, (Al Asayel), Shaikha Najla bint Salman bin Saqer Al Khalifa, Shaikh Rashid bin Jaber Al Khalifa, Shaikh Saqer bin Khalid Al Khalifa, Mohammed Al Muawda, Shaikha Noora bint Salman Al Khalifa (Al Fateh), Ahmed Abdulaziz, Maytham Ahmed, Hamad Fakhrawi (Al Salam), Ali Mansoor, Jaffer Mirza (Al Mugheerat), Khalid Janahi (Saar), Ali Salman (Al Shorooq), Adnan Al Alawi (Al Nosoor).

Riders rug up for Quilty event

LOGO:LANA BEST - EQUINE TIME * , Tuesday, 7 June 2005

Deviot's Jess Wilson will mount her Crabbet Arabian Kurrajong Zephyr just before midnight on Friday ready to ride into the freezing hills of Sheffield.

The 12-year-old mare, which Wilson has owned for less than a year, will be wearing a light all-purpose saddle, a simple bit or maybe even just a headstall, and her lightweight rider will be in thermal underwear "and at least five jumpers and a coat".

Both will be a little jumpy, breathing steamy nervous breath in the cold, night air.

And then, almost silently, they will trot away into the night, with just a head-torch to guide their way, on the first leg of the 160km journey that is the famous Tom Quilty Gold Cup Endurance Ride.

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Quality field for Quilty

TWO world-class riders from the United Arab Emirates headline overseas entries for the Cradle Mountain Chateau Tom Quilty Gold Cup at Sheffield next month.

The Tom Quilty, Australia's premier equine endurance event, will be held over a challenging 160km course, starting at midnight on June 10.

Abdullah Kharis Ali Saeed, a former world record-holder, and Uousef Ahmed Al Bloushi will be the two Arab riders in a field of more than 120. There will also be five Japanese riders and one from the United States.

The Arabs, American and one of the Japanese will ride horses supplied by Toft Endurance from Queensland.

Ali Saeed has already competed in a Quilty, and is the first Middle East rider to get a Tom Quilty completion buckle when he placed seventh at the 2000 event.

He is ranked as one of the best endurance riders in the world.

In 2000, he won the inaugural 160km H.H. The President of the UAE Millennium Cup in the UAE, breaking the world record for the distance in a time of seven hours, 49 minutes, 13 seconds.

However according to Peter Toft, of Toft Endurance, who is supplying his mount Abdullah "will ride to suit the conditions", ensuring he is a serious contender on the Sheffield circuit.

His mount, BBP Electra Murdoch is now ranked Australia's No.1 endurance horse.

Murdoch carried Toft in the Tom Quilty Gold Cup in South Australia last year, where they won first heavyweight and heavyweight best conditioned.

Al Bloushi finished third in the FEI national championships on his first trip to Australia last year.

Three-time winner Victorian Meg Wade and last year's joint winner Joyce Corbett, of Queensland, will also participate.

US: Wild West tests riders' endurance

Skillman Campground will be the site of the sixth annual Wild West Endurance Ride through the Tahoe National Forest this weekend.

One hundred riders are expected to saddle up for 30- and 50-mile loop journeys out of the campground Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

"We started this because we wanted to share endurance riding, at all levels, in the beautiful trails up in the Tahoe National Forest," said Melissa Ribley, co-manager of Wild West Ride
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Mohammed?s horse claims award

23 May 2005


QUEENSLAND ? An Australian based endurance horse owned by General Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence, scooped the coveted award for Best Condition in the 160-km 3-Star FEI ride at Gatton in Queensland recently.


His eight-year old Arabian gelding, Jordanvale Red Cloud, ridden by Kristie McGaffin, a member of the Australian slver medal team, narrowly missed winning the ride by a mere nose.

The crews and spectators saw two riders emerge out of the darkness holding hands as they rode the last few metres. In true racing fashion the grey mare China Doll stuck her nose out as she crossed the finish line to claim first place for her rider and owner Meg Wade.


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Malaysia:Shaikh Hazza is the favourite

MUSTAPHA KAMARUDDIN
May 20


WORLD champion Shaikh Hazza Sultan Al Nahyan of the United Arabs Emirate will start as favourite in the main 160km event tomorrow at the ar-Raudhah Equine Centre in Kuang.

Shaikh Hazza is one of the six riders from UAE who is participating in this gruelling event.

The others are his brother Shaikh Khaled, Majed Ali Al Kayoumi, Musaid Mohammed Al Mahrami, Tayef Ateeq Sabt Al Falahi and Khamis Ateeq Al Romaithi.
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EnduranceNet Coverage

Mule stuns horse crowd

Taj Mahal easily stands out among his competition.

And it's not just because he hasn't been out of the top 10 in his three years of 50-55 mile endurance races.

The 17-hand, 8-year-old thoroughbred mule is a rarity among a field dominated by Arabians.

"Some of the other riders are not happy with me, especially the Arabian people," says Taj's owner Doris Roesch, who has eight of her own Arabians.

At one race, Roesch stuck with a group of riders near the front and could tell that one woman in particular was extremely annoyed. As the woman's horse tired, Taj Mahal passed her. When they got to the watering hole, the other rider came up from the behind, screaming, "Get that mule out of the water tank! My horse won't drink with him in there!"

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