Uzes Young Horse Championship

by Sophie O’Hara-Smith, Endurance GB Senior Elite Squad Member 2007
A very warm welcome was extended to the four British riders, Sophie O’Hara Smith, Larissa Whiley, Philip Hurst and Rachael Claridge, who went over to Uzes in the south of France as guests of the Society Hippique Francais (SHF). Not only had the organiser Guillaume DeThore provided a translator but had also prepared special copies of the crew routes etc in English, and had decorated some of the tables in the restaurant the marquee with union jacks.

This event is the national showcase for young horses from all over France. It was set up 14 years ago and started with just 40 horses. This year there were over 400. It is designed to pin point potential elite horses and influence their early training so that they are brought in a controlled and well planned manner. I understand it has become a successful a commercial event which was not the original intention and many horses are for sale.

[More ...]

Bahrain: Endurance race season set to begin

Gulf Daily News BAHRAIN's Royal Equestrian and Endurance Team is set for the inaugural endurance race of the season scheduled for tomorrow at the Bahrain International Endurance Village premises in Sakhir.

The team will be led by Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef) president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and includes top riders like veteran Yousif Taher, Aabdulhaq Qadoori, Khalid Al Ruwaiei and Fahad Ismail.

Team manager Dr Khalid Ahmed Hassan said the team started their preparations for the new season after returning from the FEI European Endurance Championship Open in Companhia das Lezirias, Lisbon were the team finished second overall.

But Hassan said the team's true preparations right after the month of Ramadan with two daily training sessions.

Three stages will be featured at the race. The opening race will be over 90 kms and consists of stages each over 30 kms.

Another race will also be held on sidelines of the main event which is a warm-up race. The race aims to qualify new riders as well as recently-brought horses in this sport.

The Breef, under its president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, earlier approved the schedule of this season which includes races of 120 and 160 kms.

The opening race is to be followed by the National Day Championship on December 12 and will be over 120 kms. Next will be a 120-km Open Endurance Race Championship on January 12 while the fourth race is the 120-km Breef Open Championship scheduled for February 9.

British Riders At The Young Horse Championship Uzes 2007

A very warm welcome was extended to the four British riders, Sophie O’Hara Smith, Larissa Whiley, Philip Hurst and Rachael Claridge, who went over to Uzes in the south of France as guests of the Society Hippique Francais (SHF). Not only had the organiser Guillaume DeThore provided a translator but had also prepared special copies of the crew routes etc in English, and had decorated some of the tables in the restaurant the marquee with union jacks.



This event is the national showcase for young horses from all over France. It was set up 14 years ago and started with just 40 horses. This year there were over 400. It is designed to pin point potential elite horses and influence their early training so that they are brought in a controlled and well planned manner. I understand it has become a successful a commercial event which was not the original intention and many horses are for sale.



The competition took place over three days. Two and three year olds were shown on the Friday and there were competitions for four five and six year olds. All the horses were competing at the relevant distance for the first time. The four year olds at 40k with two 20k loops run between 10-12k with an hours hold; the five year olds at 60k with two 30k loops run between 12-15k with a 40 minute hold and the six year olds at 90k with three 30k loops and no speed limit. We rode in the five year old 60k class.

The venue was at the Haras National (National Stud) with beautiful manicured grounds. It was lively and bustling, with lots to see with vetting going on most of the days. There was a running commentary, electronic information on the races and places to sit and watch the vetting and trade stands, and of course the horses at the stud.



There were large open sided marquees providing food for riders crews and visitors and a VIP marquee with lovely food which we were given passes for. Another nice feature of the weekend was the aperitifs that were provided in the evenings by the SHF which brought the riders and crews together.

On the Saturday we watched the 6 year olds competing. There were some 180 declared with 157 starters of which 91 finished. Only 15 received the coveted elite award by gaining three points, 30 were excellent, 29 tres bon, 12 bon and 5 classe and 66 eliminated or retired. The top successful speed was 18.2 kph.

Later on three of us got to meet our prospective mounts, all except Rachael who rode hers for the first time in the event. The horses all came from well known endurance homes and it was very generous of the owners Francois Atger, Antonio Noguera, Virginie Simone and Stephan Chazel to provide such potentially good horses for us to ride.

In the evening we were treated to a Gala dinner with a display of traditional Carmargue riding. The French team were at the dinner and were presented with gifts to mark their success in Portugal to the rousing strains of Queens “We are the champions of the world”!!



Our 5 year old class was on the Sunday. The 60k ride is run between 12k-15k in two 30k loops with a 40 minute hold. At the end the pulse is taken at 10 minutes. If it is 54 or under the horse scores one point if not it returns at 30 minutes and has to be under 64 and sound. The horses that pass the initial heart rate parameter then come back to be assessed for condition and attitude and trot up in front of the vets and others.

There were 135 starters and we set off in groups of about 10 at five minute intervals. According to reports on last year’s event the organisers had decided to avoid having a mass start after excessive speeds, especially for the 6 year olds. With the number of horses involved I was fully in support of this decision!



The ride was considered flat with a 400m change in levels over the course. There were two different 30k loops from the venue. The first loop was undulating and set off along the road and quickly lead onto a series of broad sandy tracks which had been specially prepared with a new top surface for the ride, these were interspersed with some narrow wooded quite stony sections and hard tracks. There were quite a few minor road crossings and the route took us through several small villages where the tarmac was very very slippery. The lead horse in my group went down on the road but was OK.

The second loop was mostly over flat open agricultural country with less of the beautifully prepared sandy sections. There was one significant climb which gave a fantastic view from the top towards the Cevenne mountains to the north.


We managed to get three of the four horses home within the10 minute pulse rate parameter of 54 which was not bad considering our mounts had had less training than their stable mates, mine was on it’s third ever ride! Three passed the trot up and attitude test, mine shied and failed to get a second point, so we ended up with two excellent and two tres bon. Overall there were 62 horses graded excellent, 48 tres bon, 21 classe and I believe only 4 retired or were eliminated. The owners were delighted and we were presented with tee shirts and stable plaques at the prize giving.




The organiser Guillaume DeThore extended an invitation for us to bring GB horses another year if we wished and said he could organise for us to join the French Federation to be eligible. Anyone wanting any more information could contact me through EGB http://www.endurancegb.co.uk

Endurance riding to start non-racing rides

HorseandHound.co.UK
Abigail Butcher, H&H news editor

27 October, 2007
British endurance riding is to introduce two new categories in the sport in a bid to offer more to existing members and develop interest in the UK.

John Yeoman, chairman of Endurance GB (EGB), told H&H that the new campaigns answered members' requests.

"We want to bring people in at the bottom of our sport, and that's pleasure riding," he said. "A number of our members wanted to have a pleasure riding championship or ride without racing."

The 2008 Pleasure Ride Championship, sponsored by insurance company KBIS, is open to all competitors taking part in any pleasure ride organised by EGB, Scottish Endurance Riding Club (SERC), the British Horse Society and affiliated riding clubs.

Pleasure ride distances vary between 10-40km, and one point is awarded per 1km covered successfully. The combination with the most points at the end of the year wins a championship trophy.

Although people are not required to join EGB to qualify for the trophy, riders must complete at least four rides organised by EGB or SERC.

"We hope to encourage people to come and see what we're doing and maybe have a go at an endurance ride too," said Mr Yeoman. "We're also organising a series of endurance rides for people who don't want to race, called the Performance Equestrian Endurance Challenge Series."

This series also runs on a points-for-distance-completed basis, but over multi-day rides of up to 80km per day. As well as a trophy, there is £500 to the end-of-season winner, £300 for second place and £200 for third.

Nottinghamshire-based Denise Hutchins regularly takes part in pleasure rides, but she said the new points system and trophy would not lure her into "competing".

"As a pleasure rider it probably wouldn't interest me," she said. "I like to get a rosette at the end of the day, but I do pleasure rides because I don't want to compete."

She added: "I'm thinking about joining EGB anyway to do a novice season with my youngster, but I do think of pleasure rides and endurance riding separately."

Mr Yeoman denied that the move is directed as competition to Sport Endurance, a breakaway organisation set up two years ago, saying he hopes Sport Endurance will be part of it one day.

EGB currently has 2,000 members.

www.endurancegb.co.uk

HorseandHound.co.UK

FEI World Endurance Forum – Paris 2007 Task Force Areas of Review

Interim Report to be published by. 31.10.07. •

Final Report published by. 31.3.08.

Current Working Document - Taskforce Format

A Call to Action: Southern California Wild Fires

Donate Now to the USEF Equine Disaster Relief Fund

By Brian Sosby

Make a Donation

Lexington, KY—Over the last few days, the Southern California area has been engulfed in flames caused by wild fires aggravated by the Santa Ana winds. These winds that annually cross the Southern California area have been much stronger than usual, making an already dry area even more prone to catastrophe. These fires have spread quickly over the weekend and ravaged the region.



San Diego County has seen widespread evacuations as a result of the fires. Nearly one-million people have been asked to leave the area as of today. President Bush has declared the situation a Federal emergency. Many evacuees have sought shelter at local community centers and schools, but the largest number—more than 10,000 people—has made Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego their temporary housing.



The situation is particularly difficult for those with large animals. Evacuating and housing horses has its own set of concerns. According to national media reports, the fairground in San Diego County is currently boarding 2,000 horses, with many others finding refuge from the fires where any safe space can be found, including mall parking lots. Some horses have been moved several times due to the widespread fires.



In response to past disasters and in hopes of assisting in future ones, the United States Equestrian Federation established the USEF Equine Disaster Relief Fund and is now requesting contributions from individuals and organizations wishing to assist those in the Southern California area.

Money donated to the USEF Equine Disaster Relief Fund assists equines of any breed that find themselves victims of disasters, including but not restricted to hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, blizzards and fires. The money will be held by USEF in an account restricted for this purpose and disbursed only upon authorization of the USEF Chief Executive Officer.

“During situations like this, it’s imperative that we gather forces to assist in any way possible,” said USEF Chief Executive Officer John Long. “Thankfully, the weather forecasts are good. However, Southern California just experienced the largest evacuation of residents in our country’s history. Of course, that has had an impact on the countless horses that call that part of the state home. The Federation wants to do what it can to assist those horses and owners.”

Donations may be made online at www.usef.org by clicking on the following hyperlink – https://www.usef.org/_AUAIFrames/DisasterRelief/DisasterRelief.aspx. If you wish to contribute to the effort by check, please make it out to the USEF Equine Disaster Relief Fund and mail it to: The United States Equestrian Federation, 4047 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington, KY 40511.

For more information regarding the USEF Equine Disaster Relief Fund, contact Joanie Morris, USEF High-Performance Communications Manager, at jmorris@usef.org or (859) 225-2052.

Sultan's Cup - International Riders and Horses arrive

The 2007 Sultans Cup Terengganu Endurance Challenge to be held November 9-11 in Terengganu, Malaysia will be hosting several foreign riders and horses from all parts of the world. Most of the horses have arrived by now and are stabled at the quarantine complex of the Terengganu International Endurance Park. Riders or grooms are allowed to view certain parts of the course on horseback, following strict quarantine separation rules.

Heather and Jeremy Reynolds from California, USA, have settled in and Heather has kept a diary of their first days in Terengganu:

----------Friday, October 19:
Hi everyone,
We are waiting to take our final flight to arrive in Terranganu. We left on the 14th and will arrive the 20th! It is very hot here and currently raining which happens at least once a day. We saw Kuala Lumpur, the most beautiful city we have ever seen in our lives. We also saw wild monkeys, very cute. All 4 USA horses are well. Talk soon.
Heather & Jeremy

----------Saturday, October 20:
Hello again,
Our last flight which was supposed to be a 50 min flight turned into an all day mission. We flew to Terengganu (pronounced Train- GA- nu) and as we were to land the pilot decided it was unsafe as there was little visiblity so we turned around and flew back to Kuala Lumpur. They unboarded us, gave us luch vouchers and leisurely collected the passengers again and we waited onboard for about another hour and a half and finally flew again with success. all the while our horses, who were supossed to be on a parallel flight had landed first try and were there with out us.
The quarantine barn is huge. It is all screened in. It has 56 stalls. We have 4 horses:) the weather is very sticky and hot. Today it is 89 degrees with 80% humidity.
The pool at the hotel overlooks the ocean and has a disappearing edge. Beautiful. The dining area is open and the ocean breeze comes through. Wish you were all here. Horses are still good.
Heather & Jeremy

-----------Sunday, October 21:
Hi again,
We had our first ride in Malaysia. It was very hot to say the least. Cal has requested to have fans and ice following him:) I rode for 40 min and all I did was walk jog. His body temp. was 102.2. Very disturbing. I hope that with more time adjusting and water available on trail will help this. I also rode during the day, the race will be at night.
Last night Jeremy and I spent much of our sleeping time trying to find a mouse that was in the headboard of our bed. It sounded like he was on our pillows. no luck in finding him. Jeremy even had his headlamp out to try to see him. The food here is terrific. There are many local fruits that I have never heard of that are great.
While running yesterday Jeremy and I saw a group of monkeys making a lot of noise. They were also jumping thru the tree tops. I also had a group of school girls giggling at my running outfit. The school bus was driving on the dirt trail that the horses go on. The bus was the size of a tour bus! While running we saw many local non endurance horses. Very skinny. There are a lot of cats as well, mostly feral.
We have been told that there are tigers, cobras, vipers, elephants and monkeys. But rest assured we have been told that there will be anti venom on ride day:)
Last night we went for a romantic walk on the beach out in front of the hotel. That was all fine and nice until you walked beyond the hotel and realized that the jungle borders that beach and there aren't any lights. All of the sudden we were too paranoid to enjoy the ocean breeze. We got the heebee jeebees and turned around quickly. There were neon glowing flashes in the ocean which I assume are some tropical fish.
Everyday at least once there is a tremendous downpour of rain. Hasn't come yet today, it will.
Well we are headed off into town, we have been here 3 days and John and Kathy's pallet with there clothes and all horse gear is MIA. We will go shopping with them for basics.
Heather

Updates and photos will be posted on the Endurance.Net Sultans Cup coverage site at http://www.endurance.net/international/malaysia/2007SultansCup and at the official 2008 WEC & 2007 Sultans Cup website at http://www.malaysia-wec.com .

I leave Idaho tomorrow and will travel via Los Angeles, Seoul (Korea), and Kuala Lumpur and will arrive in Terenngganu approximately 40 hours after departure! It's a long way around this globe...

Stay tuned-

Steph Teeter
Endurance.Net