Mohammed?s Orkara wins Florac

By A Correspondent

4 July 2005

DUBAI ? Orkara, bred and owned by General Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence, with Katie Smith aboard won the Florac endurance ride in France.


Florac, one of the oldest rides in France dating back to 1976, is considered by many as the most difficult one in Europe.

Orkara, sired by Bakara, a full brother to Cheri Bibi the sire of Bengali D?Albert, a brilliant Arabian racehorse owned by Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance and Industry.

Orkara, a nine-year-old pure Arabian bay gelding, started his life as a racehorse trained by Bill Smith in the UK. He achieved moderate success on the racetrack which included a win at Stratford (UK) in 2001. Smith describes him as a very good looking horse beautifully proportioned but a ruffian and arrogant and aggressive horse not an easy ride.

When his racing days ended Smith sent him to Pierre Morvan in France for endurance training. In 2004 he completed a 120km ride at a very slow pace then in April this year Orkara finished sixth with Morvan over 160km at Le Vigan in France.

Smith said this win was much unexpected as the horse had been entered just to see if he could cope with the extremely tough conditions.

It was Smith?s daughter Katie that triumphed on Orkara, entering the record books as the first British rider to win Florac in its 30 year history. Smith is a talented rider having won major events in three equestrian spheres Arabian Flat racing, Hunter showing and endurance on a global scale. This world famous French ride that was motivated by the Tevis, the Mother of Endurance, in 1984 Florac was the venue of the first European Championship. It is currently organised by a newly-formed organisation, Association Equestrian Lozere Endurance (LEE) and W?rsan Stables Abu Dhabi were one of the major sponsors.

Orkara true to form was aggressive from the start where he tried his best to dislodge Katie. They were in the leading trio from 77 entries over the first stage of 33.5km ridden by the light of the moon. Katie and Orkara moved into pole position over the second stage of 43.3km the longest which included the climb to the summit of Mount Aiguoal.

They set out with a four minute advantage on third stage of 22.5 km which they maintain as they set out on the fourth stage of just 15.5km, the shortest but the hottest part of the day. Katie led a group of four riders who finished this leg at the same time.

Three of the group Smith, Pascale Dietsch (second place finish) Denis Pesce (third place finish) rode together over the penultimate stage of 18.9km and left together on the final loop of 20.4km which started with the long climb to the Collar of Montmirat christened ?The Justice of The Peace?.

The fourth rider Catherine Roland was eliminated after the fifth stage. UAE rider Adnan Sultan Saif Al Nuaimi, director general of Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club finished 25th out of the 30 riders who completed the ride which also included Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain in the 20th position.

Just prior to receiving the trophy, a jubilant Katie overwhelmed by her success, commented: ?I can?t believe it. It?s unreal.

?He just charged off at the start.

?I had to let him choose his own speed as he would waste too much energy if I fought him.

He was just fantastic as he powered up the mountains. ?The last loop was the hardest a 10km climb then a very step descent. Three of us were riding together. We planned to take the descent slowly but suddenly four riders galloped up behind us so it turned into flat race over the last two kilometre.?

No doubt Orkara?s aggressive nature was an asset as he fought any horse that challenged his supremacy and Katie?s skill as a flat race jockey were a great attribute at this time.

Only fractions of a second separated the winning trio who had averaged 14.60kph.

Surprisingly Katie, a member of the British team for the last European and two World Championships, has not been selected by Endurance Great Britain for the Endurance Championship at Compiegne during the month of August this year.

Bahrain gear up for juniors horseride

PREPARATIONS are in full swing to host the World Juniors Endurance Horseride Championship on December 8 at the Endurance Village premises in Sakhir.

The event will be organised by the Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef).

Breef member Shaikh Daij bin Salman bin Mubarak Al Khalifa said maintenance and upgradation work got underway immediately after the end of last season.

Shaikh Daij said there will be additional stables included at the village to house over 120 horses in addition to a veterinary clinic, a registration office and towers especially designed to hold the television cameras.

Other facilities include a modern cafeteria and seats for spectators and a media centre.

Shaikh Daij thanked Breef president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa for his support and encouragement.

Shaikh Nasser paid a visit to the village and inspected the facilities available.

Meanwhile, the championship's organising committee chairman and the General Organisation for Youth and Sports president Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa yesterday chaired a committee meeting and reviewed latest preparations being made to organise this event.

The committee includes Breef second vice-president Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa and members Shaikh Daij bin Salman Al Khalifa, Ghalib Al Alawi, Arif Al Mansoori, Dr Khalid Hassan, Shaikh Mohammed bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, Mahmood Budrees, Haider Al Zo'bi and Abdulsahib Hassan

Sisters galloping into arms of Great Britain

By Ruth Loney
newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk

25 June 2005
Two of Northern Ireland's leading young international endurance riders, Helen (15) and Suzanne (19) Perry, from Dromore, have defected from the Irish team to ride for Great Britain.

The sisters, the daughters of Ken and Sharon Perry have been successful members of the Irish endurance squad but have now received their licences and in future will be competing for Great Britain.

Suzanne said that although it would be more difficult to qualify for events because of the higher class of rider, she hoped the change would mean they had more support and better competition opportunities.

The girls are aiming to represent Britain at the International Championships later this year at Bahrain. Both are consistent on the world circuit with Suzanne competing regularly in the Middle East and having sold two of her Arab horses to the defence minister Sheik Mohammed Al Maktoum of Dubai.

The Perry family run an extensive Arab breeding programme at Dromore where their international endurance horses are kept fit in a daily routine by Suzanne and her mother Sharon who are full-time in the sport.

Helen has had particular success in the last few weeks having had two major wins in England.

Last weekend Helen, in 28 degrees heat won the three-star 122km endurance race in Cirencester with her stallion Metallica. This was a hectic finish where Helen galloped to the last.

Recently Helen also won the international young riders 120km at Dukeries, Sherwood Forest in Nottingham with Wesam. Suzanne was also successful and won the 160km race with her Arab Irish draught cross pony Merry Dancer. The sisters also won the award for best condition of their animals.

Mrs Perry, said: "The girls are delighted to have both received their licences and are now aiming towards European and world championship selection. Their successes in England have been well noted by selectors and they are looking forward to serious competition."

Suzanne said: "We have been thinking about changing to Great Britain for some time and are both delighted to have received our FEI licences to compete."

Intercontinental Newsletter - 0205

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