Shaikh Ahmed to ride in today?s National Day Cup

By Amith Passela

15 December 2005


ABU DHABI ? The 2002 FEI World Equestrian Endurance Champion Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Maktoum takes a crack at today?s National Day Cup before heading to Bahrain for Saturday?s FEI World Endurance Championship for Junior and Young Riders.

Shaikh Ahmed, 18, lead?s a strong six-member UAE team after missing out on his senior title defence in Dubai last year due to illness. He will be an obvious favourite for the Bahrain event that has drawn a record 33 countries and for the first time is being staged in the Middle East.

Shaikh Ahmed was slated to ride 11-year-old Arabian gelding Rafail Stormy Petrel in the First Gulf Bank sponsored CEI Three-Star race run over 120 kilometres here at the Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba.

Shaikh Ahmed will have the company of his elder brother Shaikh Hamdan, who is set to ride seven-year-old mare Ro Fantasia. They have had a lot of success both at international and domestic competitions to start among the favourites for today?s prize.

The National Day Cup was run in Dubai last year as a prelude to the 2004 FEI World Championship. General Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence, and Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Presidential Affairs, were declared joint winners of that ride.

Shaikh Hamdan and Shaikh Ahmed will face the strongest challenge from the in-form Al Reef and host Al Wathba Stables from the field of over 100 entries.

Al Reef is on song. They have made a clean sweep of the season?s four rides, including the two races for Juniors and Young Riders, and would be looking to extend their winning streak by grabbing the first of the two big endurance silverwares in Abu Dhabi.

They have nominated the biggest list of entries led by Yousef Ahmed Al Bloushi, who has won both the senior rides of the new season.

Yousef?s stable companion Abdulla Khamis Ali Saeed has a fantastic record in this race to be another front-runner for the coveted prize.

Yousef will be astride 13-year-old gelding Spoutnik and Abdulla Khamis onboard nine-year-old grey Peoria Valediction.

Al Wathba?s lead-man Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri hasn?t had the desired results so far, but can strike when spearheads the home challenge on nine-year-old mare Nuit Fauve, a daughter of flat race horse sire Nuits St Georges.

Ali Al Muahiri and Mubarak Khalifa bin Shafya have definite chances of claiming a share of the prize provided a trouble free run, and so are the Dubai based Spanish quartet of Shaikh Mohammed endurance training wing Antonio Moreno, Eduard Pou Fabrego, Jaume Punti Dachs and Maria Alvarez.

Rebecca and Stefanie Arnold have flown in from Germany, and Janice Worthington from the US, to be among the UAE based international riders that include Iona Rossely of Ireland, Australian Adrian Brickly, Abdul Hafiz Al Turkomani of Saudi Arabia and a number of Asian and Arab expatriates from the endurance stables.

The race scheduled at 6.15am will be run over five loops of 32km, 30km, 24km, 18km and 16km. Some stages of the race will take the riders through forest areas for the first time in the redesigned loops. The top 10 riders to finish will share a purse of Dh 600,000.

UAE team for Bahrain

By A Correspondent

15 December 2005


DUBAI ? A six-member endurance team has been provisionally chosen to take part in the FEI World Endurance Championship for Juniors and Young Riders (CH-M-E-JYR) to be held at Bahrain International Endurance Village premises in Sakir, Bahrain, on Saturday.

The championship is being organised by the Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation under the supervision of International Equestre Federation, FEI.

The first day will feature a number of official meetings and will be followed by an opening ceremony and a dinner banquet in honour of the participating countries. The second day will include veterinary tests and a meeting during which participants will be briefed about the race rules, regulations and route.

The main ride, which is a 120-km event, will be run on Saturday in five stages of 30km, 30km, 25km, 20km and 15km respectively.

The members of the UAE team include Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Shaikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Shaikh Juma Dalmook Al Maktoum, Shaikh Khalid bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Shaikh Abdullah bin Faisal Al Qasimi and Rashid Saeed Al Kamda.

Shaikh Ahmed will ride eight-year-old chestnut gelding Jazyk, Shaikh Majid will partner nine-year-old bay gelding Orkawa, Shaikh Juma will ride nine-year-old bay bending Wind Wood Zaatri, Shaikh Khalid will ride eight-year-old chestnut mare Miss Dancer, Shaikh Abdullah will ride 12-year-old bay mare Coolahlee Park Charlene and Rashid Saeed will partner 11-year-old grey gelding Silver Majesty.

As many as 180 riders from different parts of the world including Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, USA, Great Britain, Brazil, Chile Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Russia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Namibia, Botswana, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Slovak Republic and Uruguay are vying in the championship. Most of the participating countries have sent in a six-member team to compete for the Team Gold.
Being the host country Bahrain has deputed a 12-member team which is being led by Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation President Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and includes Federation First Vice-President Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

Qatar team confident for World Championships

Published: Wednesday, 14 December, 2005, 10:13 AM Doha Time
The Qatar Endurance racing team has reached Bahrain in a confident mood for the World Junior Endurance Championships to be held there from December 17.
Ibrahim Saeed al-Malki, the team manager and trainer said he was confident about Qatar?s chances in the event.
?We have trained hard and we hope to do well in the World Championships,? al-Malki said.
Five riders from Qatar are to take part in the event to be held in Sakhir, Bahrain. Around 153 riders are participating from 30 countries across the world and Bahrain is confident that it will host an exciting competition.
The team will be led by Qatar Endurance Committee Chairman Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.
Sheikh Mohammed rides Du Park Brolga, Saad Waheed al-Kuwari rides Tison, Hamad al-Marri rides Ballistic and Sheikh Mohammed bin Nawaf al-Thani will ride Joab. Khalid Hamad al-Atiyah, the other member, rides Debonair.
Saad Waheed had performed well in Pau, France, finishing the 120km endurance championship as 2nd place. Sheikh Mohammed successfully completed the gruelling 160km endurance ride at the Dubai World Championship last January.
Endurance racing is a team effort and is a test of the horse?s condition, stamina and the rider?s intelligence. The gruelling test takes horse and rider long distances - 50 to 100 miles - over varied terrain.
Because of the rigours of the race, which is based on speed, it is done under veterinary supervision. It takes a ?pit crew? to compete in this kind of racing.
The horse will be checked for any soreness or change in attitude, pulse, respiration and other physical factors. Failure to meet any of these criteria for racing can stop a horse from completing the course.
Quarantine manager Dr Alex Atock said having 140 horses under one roof was very difficult and by achieving it Bahrain has proved its organisational skills.
?Most of the delegations have fielded six riders each which is the highest number of entrants allowed for this event,? he told the Gulf Daily News.
?With so many horses in the fray, Bahrain still managed to reduce the number of horses in each stable to give more movement for freedom around that area,? he said.
Endurance Village director Khalid Fakhro said the village was well geared and ready to host any world championship.
?The village with all its hi-tech facilities and supplies can be compared to any world class villages. The whole world will be watching the best riders competing here and the Bahrainis should be proud for hosting the event,? he said.
Fakhro said the village was built in a short time for this event. ?For the past few days, all the teams have been practicing at the village and they praised the conditions here and the overall atmosphere,? said Khalid.

FEI: Banned Substance at European Championship

12/12/2005

FEI Legal: Positive Medication Case

The analysis of the urine sample collected from the horse Orkara at the FEI Open European Championship which took place in Compiègne (FRA) on 26 August 2005 revealed the presence of Guanabenz and its metabolite Hydroxy-Guanabenz, which are prohibited substances under FEI rules. The confirmatory analysis requested by the Person Responsible, Sheik Majid Mohd Al Maktoum, confirmed the presence of the above substances.

The Person Responsible has been requested to submit his explanation as to the presence of the prohibited substance and any relevant evidence to be taken into consideration by the FEI Judicial Committee by 9 January 2006.

Note to the editor
Sheik Majid bin Mohd Al Maktoum / Orkara were placed 3rd individually in the FEI European Open Championship and were part of the Open category winning UAE Team.

Guanabenz is a long active reversible sedative and analgesic. The substance is used in humans to lower blood pressure and decrease heart rate. The substance is graded ?1? by the FEI Medication sub-committee (1 = high potential to affect performance).

The Laboratoire des Courses Hippiques (LCH) issued its analysis report with respect to the A Sample on 26 September 2005 and the Racing Laboratory of the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) issued its analysis report with respect to the B Sample on 20 November 2005.

The list of prohibited substances for horses is published on the FEI website www.horsesport.org section Veterinary ? medication control. The FEI complete legal procedure for positive medication cases is published in the Legal section of the FEI website

FEI Web Site

German riders in upbeat mood

By RAMI HULAYYEL

THE all-women Germany team are in an upbeat mood ahead of the Gulf Energy World Junior Endurance Championship to be held in Bahrain from Thursday to Sunday.

The delegation, which arrived in the Kingdom two weeks ago, consist of six women riders aged between 17 and 21.

Aylissa Zwicki, Babette Frank, Stephanie Schrader, Sonja Gobel, Marina Berchtold and Joana Al Samarraie will be among 140 riders vying for glory in this 120-km event which will be held at the Endurance Village in Sakhir.

The race itself is divided into five stages. The first two stages will consist of 30 kms each while the third and fourth will be of 25 and 20 kms respectively. The final stage will be held over 15 kms.

Team's chef de equipe Roy Thiele said the team had a long-term preparation programme for this event which started in January this year. Right now the youngsters are looking forward to this prestigious championship.

"The riders have been training individually in different areas like as Kaiserslautern and Heidelberg. The team could only assemble last month in Luneburger Heide, North of Germany, for four days before coming to Bahrain," said Thiele.

Among the team's most influential rider is Babette, a 20-year-old hopeful, who will be riding Bashira in this championship.

Interestingly, she won all the three 120-km qualifying races earlier this year which makes her one of the top contenders for the title.

Crew member Gabriele Reiser said the horses were carefully selected from different stables in Germany where there are a few Arab horses as well.

The riders were also selected after the Germany Equestrian Federation organised a number of selection races throughout the year. The best six riders out of 60 were included for this championship.

Meanwhile, defending champions Italy completed their line-up for the championship with the arrival of their crew members and assistants.

Six riders, including Nicola Tarducci and Enrico Ercoli, who took part in the last edition in 2003 in Rome, will be hoping to retain the title.

Tarducci finished 33rd in that championship while Ercoli was unable to compete the race after his horse suffered an injury.

Other team members are Guilia Belfanti, Elena Di Valvassone, Francesco Iovino and Chiara Marrama.

Compete

Tarducci said he is pleased with the team's preparations and praised the Bahrain course which he said was quite different from what they are used to back home.

"We have been training in Italy for about a year but with each rider practising alone at his area," said Tarducci who was training at Sansepolcro City, North of Italy.

Tarducci said he is hoping to complete the race without any problems and is aiming to be among the top five riders by the end of the race. He tipped the UAE, France and Bahrain to be on the podium.

Meanwhile, Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation's second vice-president Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa met with delegation heads and conveyed the greetings of organising committee chairman and General Organisation for Youth and Sports president Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa.

Bahrain riders set for race

BAHRAIN's national endurance team completed their preparations for the Gulf Energy World Junior Endurance Championship starting in Sakhir on Thursday.

The team, captained by Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef) president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, includes Breef vice-president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Shaikha Najla bint Salman Al Khalifa, Mohammed Abdulsamad, Abdulaziz Adam, Salem Al Otaibi, Ahmed Hassan, Shaikh Saqer bin Khalid Al Khalifa, Maytham Ahmed, Ebrahim Al Jebouri, Mohammed Abdulaziz and Fahad Sulaiman.

The 12 were selected from 24 riders according to their performance and results in previous races.

Shaikh Nasser asserted his pride in hosting this championship which will be held in Bahrain for the first time. He also said it is quite an achievement for Bahrain in organising this 120-km event in which 30 countries represented by 140 riders are taking part.

"Hosting such a prestigious event is a big challenge for Bahrain where endurance races started only five years ago," said Shaikh Nasser.

He thanked the International Equestrian Federation for giving Bahrain the honour of hosting the race to be held on Saturday and divided into five stages.

"This championship will draw the attention of millions around the world with riders from 30 countries taking part, which has never happened in any event in the past," said Shaikh Nasser.

He tipped the UAE, France, Belgium and Australia to clinch podium positions and said these teams have a vast experience in endurance races.

However, Shaikh Nasser said he is confident that the Bahraini team will put up a good performance in the championship and show competitive spirits.

"Our team has prepared very well for this championship. They have been training seriously and are determined to give off their best," said Shaikh Nasser.

The Breef chief praised the efforts of the organising committee, headed by General Organisation for Youth and Sports president Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, which made necessary arrangements in preparing the endurance village which will be the venue of the race.

Shaikh Nasser thanked His Majesty King Hamad for supporting this sport and for his directives to make major upgrades at the village and establish new facilities which gained the admiration of the participants since their arrival in Bahrain.

"This support from His Majesty adds more responsibilities on us as Bahraini riders to assert the good reputation of Bahrain's endurance sport. The recent upgrade work on the village will certainly contribute to improve the level of the Bahraini riders in future local events," he said.

Shaikh Nasser also expressed appreciation for the efforts of vice-president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa during his stay abroad for academic commitments. Meanwhile, the final rehearsal of the opening ceremony is scheduled for today at 5pm at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir where the ceremony will be held.

French riders optimistic

By RAMI HULAYYEL

FRENCH team members are optimistic of their chances in the Gulf Energy World Junior Endurance Championship to be held in Bahrain from Thursday to December 18 in Sakhir. The team which arrived a week ago, headed by their chef de equipe Jean Louis Leclerc, consists of six riders. The team is presently training hard in the Zallaq area ahead of this prestigious event.

"We started preparations for this championship very late due to a problem with our federation which could not support us financially much earlier," said Leclerc.

But the team were fortunate to get the required support from the Sport Ministry in France. "We are very grateful to the Ministry of Sport. They gave us what we needed which was quite costly," he said.

The first selection included 22 riders but were later reduced to 15 and the final team was selected after a 60-km competition on November 13 in France and the top six were approved for the Bahrain event.

The age of the horses range from seven to 14 years while the riders are in the 16 to 21 age group.

The squad is captained by 21-year-old rider Legrand Florian who is the eldest member of the team. She will be riding nine-year-old horse Imanh.

Other team members are Belle Oceane, Pulicani Andrea, Perringerard Sara, Vasquez Nicolas and Mourou Justin.

Florian said the team members were surprised by the surroundings in Sakhir as it is completely different from what they are used to in France.

"It was a big shock for us," said Florian. "In France, we have mountains, trees and the surface is also different. I think will be difficult for us," he said.

His best achievement so far is finishing eighth in this year's European Championship in France.

Sixteen-year-old Mourou, who is the youngest member of the team, started riding at the age of seven.

She took part in many rides in France and her best record is a third-place finish at the 2005 Ribiers Race in France. Mourou is presently in the second year of a secondary school and is aiming to go to college.

Interestingly, the remaining members of the team have been riding since they were just four years old.

Vasquez, 20, is the team's most talented rider having quite a good experience. He has won several rides in France. He won one of the qualifying races in Pau City this year and also finished top at the Formigueres Race in France three years ago.

He is the only team member who is presently studying at a college called Albi in south east France.

Belle, aged 17, won the Guingamp Race in France last June. Her first appearance in an official race was in 2002 when she finished 13th in a local championship. She is in the second year of secondary school and will give her midterm exams once she returns home from here.

Perringerard is a talented 16-year-old rider who won three rides last year - Montcuq Race, St Galmier Ride and a selection race in Pau City.

She was one of the first selections and is hoping to finish among the top five in the Bahrain race. She is also studying in secondary school with one year left for her graduation.

Seventeen-year-old Pulicani snatched first position in Italy's Tongnon Race earlier this year. She won all her qualifying races which makes her a favourite to win a place on the podium in Bahrain. Pulicani is in her last year in secondary school