Equestrian Endurance at Asian Games

Equestrian endurance at Asian Games (Reuters)

29 November 2006

Factbox on the equestrian endurance event, which will feature for the first time at the Asian Games in Doha between Dec. 1 and 15:

WHAT IS THE ENDURANCE EVENT?

· Endurance riding is an extremely strenuous form of horse racing which tests the speed and endurance of a horse. It involves racing at controlled speeds over distances of many tens of kilometres. During the 15th Asian Games, the endurance course will cover 120 km.

· A good endurance horse is characterised by balanced body structure, relatively light weight and a strong back. Any breed can compete but Arabians, endowed with natural stamina, generally dominate at the top levels. Most importantly, the horse?s temperament must suit the rider.
HISTORY

· Wendell Robie, an American breeder of Arabian horses, is credited as the pioneer of the modern sport of endurance riding. In 1955, he founded the founded the Western States Trail Ride, a 160-km, one-day ride from Lake Tahoe to Auburn, California, via an old Pony Express route.

· Endurance was a demonstration sport at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and was recognised as an official discipline by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) in 1983. The sport makes it Asian Games debut in Doha.
RULES

· An endurance ride is a competition against the clock. The horse that finishes the course in the shortest time wins. The winning team is the one with the best time after adding the classifications of the three highest placed competitors.

· Horses must be at least six years old to qualify. Competitions are held in phases, with no phase longer than 40 km. When the condition of a horse is assessed at the end of each phase, its heart rate must be no higher than 64 beats per minute.

· FEI guidelines state that the course should not contain more than 10 percent of hard surface roads intended for vehicular traffic. Also, the most demanding part of the course should not be near the finish.

Sources: Reuters; Doha Asian Games Web site (www.doha-2006.com); FEI (www.horsesport.org)
[Khaleej Times]

UAE: Al Bloushi completes hat-trick of wins

Dubai: Yousuf Ahmad Al Bloushi from the Al Reef Stables registered a hat-trick of wins for the all-conquering stables here yesterday.

Yousuf, the UAE's top trainer and third-best rider on points, and Al Reef Stables, last season's top stables which belongs to Shaikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, scored their third straight win of the current UAE season.

Yousuf, who trained the winning horses in the Boudthib Junior Ride and the First Gulf Bank Challenge ride in Al Wathba last week, emerged as winner with a superb display of riding in the Dubai Equestrian Club's 120-km ride yesterday.

[More ...]

Successful Completion of 2006 Sultan's Cup in Malaysia

UAE: Endurance season gets under

By M. Satya Narayan, Staff Reporter

Dubai: The Dubai Equestrian Club's endurance season, which kicks off today at the Dubai International Endurance City, will also feature an innovative addition - Dubai Endurance Challenge for whole the season.

Announcing details at a press conference, Saeed Humaid Al Tayer, Vice President of the Dubai Equestrian Club, said today's inaugural ride sponsored by Dubai World will carry a total prize money of Dh700,000.

Meanwhile, the Dubai Endurance Challenge unveiled yesterday, is also worth Dh700,000 and will take into account all FEI rides staged at the Dubai International Endurance City for the 2006-2007 season.

During the season Riders, Trainers, Horses and Stables will earn points depending on their finishing position in the selected rides.

At the end of the season the highest point scorers will be crowned the Dubai Endurance Challenge Champion Rider, Trainer, Horse and Stable respectively.

Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem, Chairman, Dubai World, who is also a top rider, said, "Support for any equestrian sport comes naturally to us in the UAE. This is particularly so when it comes to events featuring Arab Purebred horses. These noble animals are a part of our cultural identity. Dubai World is especially proud to be sponsoring the opening race in this year's Endurance calendar and we look forward to enjoying the show."

Saeed Humaid Al Tayer said, "We value the support of each of our sponsors who help to make each of the races a reality. The sport is closely linked to the culture and heritage of the people of the United Arab Emirates and we invite everyone to attend the races at the Dubai International Endurance City to enjoy the spectacle that is Endurance racing."

Meanwhile, Al Reef Stables will be looking to complete a hat-trick in today's 120-km CEI Three Star ride.

They won the first two rides of the season held in Abu Dhabi and will be strongly represented in today's 100-plus line-up of starters.
Gulf News

Shaikha Madiya Leading the way

Young Shaikha Madiya bint Hasher Al Maktoum has many achievements to her credit. She proudly wears the mantle of the rich sports legacy of the ruling Maktoum family, is an accomplished horse rider and a fitness enthusiast as well. She speaks to Sue Steven in an exclusive interview.

Shaikha Madiya bint Hasher Al Maktoum, the niece of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is at ease in the place she loves most ? the Maktoum stable, located 37 kilometres from Dubai. Not forgetting her roots, she has a very modern outlook to life and is at ease talking to Weekend. A very down-to-earth person, she is comfortable wearing blue jeans, a white full sleeve shirt with the colours of the UAE flag on one of the sleeves and a cap with 77, her lucky number, embroidered on it. She sits on a wooden bench outside one of the buildings with her two dogs, Lily and Stinky who keep a close watch on her.

Shaikha Madiya is a very strong advocate of fitness and exercise. She has endorsed The Middle East Fitness Summit ? MEFIT06, scheduled to take place in Hall 4 at the Dubai World Trade Centre from November 27-29. The summit is part of Sportex, the largest sports, fitness and leisure show in the Middle East.

?Women have to make fitness a part of their daily routine. There is a dire need for education in health and fitness. I feel the Fitness Summit is a very relevant initiative to address a lot of topics, concerns and myths associated with health and fitness,? she says, as she urges women in the UAE to be conscious of their physical well-being.

?RPM and Bodycombat are my favourites,? the Shaikha adds without hesitation.

RPM, part of the Les Mills programme, is the indoor cycling workout where you ride to the rhythm of powerful music. You take on the terrain with an inspiring coach who leads the team through hills, flats, mountain peaks, time trials, and interval training. ?You can discover your athlete within ? sweat and burn to reach your endorphin high. You can cycle for 45 minutes or 60 minutes,? she says.

Bodycombat, on the other hand, is the empowering cardio workout where you are totally unleashed. This fiercely energetic programme is inspired by martial arts and draws from a wide array of disciplines such as karate, boxing, taekwondo, tai chi and muay thai. Supported by driving music and powerful role model instructors, you can strike, punch, kick and kata your way through calories to superior cardio fitness.

Shaikha Madiya practises what she preaches. She herself is very particular about her fitness routine on a daily basis especially running and jogging. She is up at 4.30am in the morning and by 5.30am is training her horses. In the afternoon, at 2.30pm, she again takes them out and trains them for endurance.

The Shaikha does not hide her passion for horses. She is very vocal about it. ?Initially my family was worried that I would get hurt while riding. So I started being involved in this sport only after I completed 16 years. I learnt at my uncle?s stable. He supports me and helped me train for endurance.?

She speaks out of experience: ?If you are a horse person you will know the language of the horses. You can talk to them and play with them. You have to change their mind to endure the sport. If they hate what they are doing, they will not do it well.?
She welcomes national women to participate in the sport. ?My stables are open to national women who would like to pursue the sport, ride and learn,? she says.

Horse breaking, sometimes called starting or gentling, refers to the process used by humans to get horses to let themselves be ridden or harnessed. Before such a learning process is accomplished, a horse will normally reject attempts to ride it. Once it has accepted basic handling by humans, additional forms of training can be used to teach the horse any number of specialised skills.

Presently Shaikha Madiya has 49 horses in her stable that were brought from the US. ?They have to get used to the ground and to the heat. It is a slow, step-by-step process,? she adds.

How long does it take to train a horse? She says, ?Every horse is different and so the time of training also differs. Some horses even get injured during training. You have to win them over and by two years break them, which means put the saddle and bridle on them. They learn to have human contact as the rider sits on it. Endurance training takes place after the horse completes five years.?

While training horses, the trainer is learning as well. Shaikha Madiya has firsthand experience of taking care of her horses. ?Experience is invaluable. Every time you ride, you learn something new from the horse. It has been 10 years since I started, and I am still learning,? she admits, frankly.


Shaikha Madiya could be compared to a horse whisperer, a horse trainer who adopts a sympathetic view of the motives, needs, and desires of the horse. She admits that she loves the challenge to rehabilitate horses that have become vicious and difficult.

?I love crazy horses as you have to fix them. I take the horses to different race courses like Nae Al Sheba. They enjoy the experience. She uses GPRS that specifies the location and even has an instrument to monitor her heart rate.

How is endurance racing different in the UAE? In the UAE, it is speed that matters, the Shaikha says. The ground is just flat, not hard. In the US, the ground is hard, so one can?t go fast. If you do, you get hurt. In the US, each race is different as the terrain is different like mountains, hills and flat areas.

She advises national women to join some kind of sport. ?If not every day, find time for at least three times a week for physical activity. It is good for your body and mind.?

Shaikha Madiya hails from a family of six children, four girls and two boys. Her sister is in the volleyball team of Al Wasl while her brother loves shooting. ?I love challenges, horses, fitness, everything,? she says.

In future, she would like to be a fitness instructor and help other local women. She strongly believes that a healthy body will have a healthy mind and raising awareness about nutrition is paramount. ?I teach my niece to eat in a healthy way. As a result, she refuses junk food now,? Shaikha Madiya says with pride.
When asked where she gets her energy from, she says that she sleeps early and gets up early. Shaikha Madiya strongly believes in the ?early to bed, early to rise philosophy,? that supports her fitness initiatives.

Khaleej Times Article

Spotlight will be on Majid and Hazza

Published: 18/11/2006 12:00 AM (UAE)

By M Satya Narayan, Staff Reporter

Abu Dhabi: Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Shaikh Hazza Bin Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan are part of a nearly 100-strong line-up for today's 120-km First Gulf Bank Challenge endurance ride.

The 120-km ride is being held under the patronage of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Presidential Affairs, at the Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba.

Other top riders in the five-stage ride which gets off to a 6am start include Shaikh Khalid Bin Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Shaikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum and Shaikha Madiya Hasher Mana Al Maktoum.

Riders from the Al Reef Stables, the champion stable of last season will be looking to add to their triumph in the junior ride last week.

Other consistent performers in the fray are last year's top domestic rider Marzooq Salem Al Merri, Yousuf Ahmad Al Bloushi, Ali Mohammad Al Muhairi, Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri, Abdullah Khamis Ali Saeed and Spain's Jesus Manuel Berna.

A strong team of riders from Uruguay along with riders from India, Pakistan, Australia, Great Britain, France Saudi Arabia, Canada, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are also in the fray.



[article website]

Drought cause tough ride conditions

photo: EQUAL AT FINISH: Pat Dickinson (left) and Noble Navaar Crystal Rose and John Symons and Worobil Baringa who crossed the line together at Sofala on Sunday.

Mudgee News: Friday, 17 November 2006

Mudgee riders had mixed results when the participated in the 30th Sofala Endurance Ride last Sunday.

The 52 riders in the 80klm main ride started off in daylight at 5.30am without the need for torches and headlamps but some of the Mudgee contingent made a late start after they missed their wake up call.

Word is kangaroos caused havoc in the camp overnight and kept them awake and by the time the alarm went off they we sound asleep.

Riders appreciated a well marked track and the humid conditions that developed as the day wore on were tempered by colder conditions with good clud cover.

The course was testing, however, with many climbs and descents on the mountain made difficult where it was rocky while the drought conditions ensured conditions were hard underfoot.

The conditions may have proved too much for Gloria Mills and her mount Glendos Sabodie as they had to withdraw at Wattle Flat when making the return stage of the first leg.

Mills, who has had a super year with her horse and will be the Mudgee club's top middleweight for the year despite Sunday's setback, said she withdrew because she felt the horse wasn 't travelling well.

Those Mudgee riders who did have a good result were Bernice King (Noble Navaar Destiny), Pat Dickinson (Nobla Navaar Crystal Rose and Paddy Smith (Shata) who were all successful in the long ride.

Daphne Phillips enjoyed the return to endurance of her former ride winner Crown Crest Phantom whom she steered around the training ride.

Wendy McLehose (Bruwenic Raina Girl) enjoyed the training ride with her eight year old son Nicholas (Bruwenic Strawberry) who was in his first ride.

Nicholas was so excited at finishing the ride that he was talking of another ride next week.

Another debut rider was Virginia King (Kalentish Tips) who enjoyed her initial endurance experience.

Woody Pilley (Mystery) had a flock of junior riders in tow for the event in his sons Justin (Box Hill Breaker) and Blake (Meroo Downs Dolly) and was also accompanied by the boys' friend Seaton Croake (Reggie) making the ride an enjoyable family event. All these riders completed the 30 klms training ride, which had 33 participants.

In the overall result four riders crossed the line in an equal fastest time of 4 hours 29 minutes.

They were Kate Pilley of Windeyer riding Pancho who was first in lightweight; Jamie Mollema of Bathurst riding Billywillinga Rocky who was first junior and Jennifer Gilbertson of Webbs Creek who shared first middleweight.

Fittest horse in the catchweight (a combination of lightweight and junior divisions) division was Pancho.

The ride was a great success with organisers especially pleased with the number of junior and first time riders taking part a boost for the future of the sport.
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