Malaysia: Edaran Endurance Classic moves to Terengganu

from Equestrian.com.my



by Peter Ibrahim Abisheganaden. Photos by Natasha Mustapha.

The 5th Edaran Endurance Classic was launched today with an endurance horse and rider mounting up at Saffron Restaurant in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

For the first time, the Edaran Endurance Classic will not be held at Ar-Raudhah Equine Centre, its home for the first four editions. In support of Malaysian endurance, the Edaran Endurance Classic will instead be held at the Terengganu International Endurance Park in Lembah Bidong, Setiu, Terengganu, the venue of next year's World Endurance Championships, from 26th to 29th July 2007.

In moving the event to the WEC course, it gives Malaysian and visiting riders a chance to familiarize themselves and prepare for next year’s World Championships. As a CEI 3-Star 160 km event, it provides riders with another opportunity to gain their first stage of the Certificate of Capability that is required for participation in the World Endurance Championships.

Malaysia currently has eight riders who have obtained the first stage of the CoC by completing a 3-Star event inside 13 hours 20 minutes at a speed of 12 km/h. They are Nik Sabaruddin, Dato’ Abdullah, Faizal Ismail, Zul Sha’ari, Hj. Shu’aib Ishak, Amir Abdul Ghani, Nadiah Tajuddin Ramli, and the Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.

A field of 20 riders is expected for both the 160 km and 20 km rides. Both are FEI recognised 3-star events. The 120 km ride also serves as a Junior and Young Rider international event. There are also 80 km and 40 km rides. A total of 120 riders are expected to take part in the various categories.

Five foreign riders from Australia, Belgium and U.S.A. are expected at the event. In response to an Equestrian.Com.My question, we were told they would ride Ar-Raudhah owned horses.

“Foreign riders present real benefits to the sport of endurance riding in Malaysia through the sharing of knowledge and technical “know-how” and we re happy to welcome them to our rides,” said Dato’ Abdul Hamid Mustapha, the Joint-Chairman of the Organising Committee.

He also welcomed Dato’ Seri Dr Salleh Mohd Nor as the Joint-Chairman. Dato’ Seri Dr Salleh Mohd Nor represents Yayasan Di-Raja Sultan Mizan, who run the Terengganu International Endurance Park venue.

Dato’ Hamid Mustapha also said, “Winning the bid to host the WEC2008 did not come without effort and due credit must be given to His Majesty the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong for playing a key and major role in winning the bid. It is now the responsibility and duty of all of us to ensure that the WEC2008 is held successfully if Malaysia is to enjoy the benefits of hosting this World Class event.”

In the Question & Answer session, Equestrian.Com.My asked if there were any participants from Sabah, specifically Melinsung Ranch. The response from Competition Director Mohamad Din bin Mat was that whilst they had been invited, they were not expected to attend.

Bahrain: Shaikh Khalid sixth

Gulf Daily News
LEADER of Al Khaldiya Stables team Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa finished sixth in the St Galmier Endurance Race for the Bahrain Cup, held yesterday in France under the supervision of the International Equestrian Federation.

The 120-kilometre race was won by Inora Paulgans of France, who bested 91 other riders from the Czech Republic, Brazil, Britain, Denmark and Bahrain.

Shaikh Khalid presented the Bahrain Cup to Paulgans at the end of the race, which consisted of five stages: the first was over 35km, the second 30km, the third 20km, the fourth 29km and the fifth for 10km.

Shaikh Khalid's Al Khaldiya team included Yousef Taher, Ahmed Abdulsamad, Ahmed Abdulla and Jaffer Merza.

Leader of the Bahrain Royal Endurance team Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa phoned Shaikh Khalid to congratulate him for the result and his excellent effort and performance.

FRA: CEI**120km Bahrain Cup Results

The CEI** 129km race has completed. There were 80 starters in the event, with 56 placements at the finish and 24 eliminated during the course of the event. Enora Boulenger, riding Idais Tobiha surged at the to pass Celine Schwartz on Hevenroz de Paulte and finish first. Schwartz nd Isabelle Boyor on Djalba du Barraly had ridden a close race during the first 3 phases of the race, running 1 and 2 for the first 90km.

The race ran the yellow (30km) and green (29km) loops each two times. These phases will also be used during the upcoming 160km National Championship event.

Complete Results on EnduranceEurope.net

FEI Endurance Task Force Starts Work

July 12, 2007 FEI Press

The six selected Chairmen of the newly established FEI Endurance Task Force held conference calls over the last two weeks to discuss and agree on their respective timetables and reporting procedures.

Each Chairman, together with their two co-members, will now start to review the various areas which have been designated to each Division.

Specific email addresses have been established so that National Federations can send any comments and suggestions they may received from their members directly to the Task Force Chairman.

Regular reviews will take place each month after the respective Chairman has provided the FEI with an updated report on the progress achieved. These reports will also be featured on the FEI Endurance Web pages.

A fuller report will be issued in October 2007 which is the half way point in the review process. The final report is scheduled to be released in March 2008 when the proposed new rules will be circulated to National Federations for comment and feedback.

Those new rules will come into force in January 2009.

FRA: National Championship of France

The 2007 Edition of the French National Championship will occur this Saturday. The Hippodrome in St. Galmier will be the primary venue of this event.

Endurance.Net and EnduranceEurope.net will have Merri Melde and Alice Proust at the event to provide images and stories from their unique perspectives. The official event web site is: http://ceistgalmier.free.fr/ - coverage will be provided at:

EnduranceEurope.net

More to Come!!

Top endurance horse Vlacq Khamul put down

From

horseandhound.co.uk
Abigail Butcher, H&H news editor

11 July, 2007
Top international endurance horse Vlacq Khamul has been put down after a "catastrophic" pastern injury.

The 12-year-old pure-bred Arab, known at home as "Kham", was owned and ridden Tricia Hirst from Meifod, Powys. The pair had competed around the world — most recently as part of Team GB at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen (August 2006).

"I am absolutely devastated," international endurance rider Tricia told H&H. "He was a horse of a lifetime — he took me around the world to places I never thought I would go to."

Kham was destroyed on Saturday at Rossdale & Partners in Newmarket where Tricia had taken him for a second opinion for a niggling lameness in his left fore.

"We'd had X-rays, nerve blocks, everything — but our vet found nothing, only a small hole at the back of his pastern," said Tricia. "So, because I was competing at Euston Park over the weekend, which was fairly near to Rossdales, I took him there for an MRI scan. They did more X-rays and an MRI but found nothing.

"So Marcus Head said he wanted to do another lameness work-up from scratch, starting with nerve blocks."

Tricia set out on the Euston Park ride with her daughter, but received a call on Saturday to say that the Arab's pastern had catastrophically broken down in front of staff during the trot-up. There was no choice but to destroy the much-loved family horse.

"He was part of the family. In 2004 he was ranked 9th in the world and was the 6th best pure Arab. In 2005 he partnered me at the European Championships in Compiegne and then my son Philip rode him in Bahrain at the Young Riders World Championships," said Tricia. "But I just had to carry on at Euston, it was awful."

Tricia said she had a number of other young horses at home, and a two-year-old by the same sire as Vlacq Khamul that she has bred herself.

"But none are quite like him," she added.

Horse and Houng article

All African Games: Endurance as Equestrian sport

(source: China, Peoples Daily Online)


The ninth All-Africa Games is to be unveiled on Wednesday in Algiers, capital of the North African country Algeria. The following is a brief introduction of this year''s edition of the Games.

The Algerian authorities have chosen Algiers, Tipaza town, Boumerdes and Blida town to host the games. The four venues are scattered over a radius of about 60 km, Kenyan media reported

According to material on the official web site of the Games, over 20 events will be held in this year''s games. The events for the disabled such as athletics, wheelchair basketball are also included in the timetable.

Equestrian sport will make its debut at the ninth Games and will involve endurance riding and show jumping. The sport was first included in the Olympic Games in 1900.

High-profile events will be athletics, swimming and weightlifting in which Africans conquer the world in past major international sports events. For athletics, three-time world cross country championship Edith Masai has predicted that the heated contest between Kenyans and Ethiopians will extend to Algiers.

Kenya has sent its ever largest team to the pan-African event since the country hosted the 1987 Games in its capital of Nairobi.What brings more limelight to the games is that it is part of the qualifiers for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in some events, while in other events like table tennis, it is the sole chance for African sports people to fight for slots of the Olympic Games. Many countries have attached importance to the process of choosing team members.

In addition, several athletes have said that their aim is not just to end up in the medal bracket but using the continental games to prepare for the World Championships in Osaka this August.