MAS: No horsing around

Monday November 5, 2007


“The horse is paramount in this sport. All the rules are specifically geared to protect the horse. It might sound pretty harsh but, at the end of the day, the riders come second, even though they take the glory,” he said.

Horses are subjected to veterinary examinations throughout the race to monitor their health. For instance, the 160km Sultan’s Cup involves seven vet checks to determine if the horse is fit enough to go on to the next loop. If the health of the horse is not good or if it is lame, it will not be allowed to continue the race.

Zulu Liebenberg

“Even if you finish the entire 160km of the race but your horse is not fit at the end of it, you will be eliminated,” said Liebenberg.

“At the European championship this year, the guy who crossed the line first was eliminated because his horse’s pulse stayed too high. He was supposed to bring the pulse down to below 64 beats per minute within 30 minutes, but his horse took 40 minutes, so he was eliminated,” recalled Liebenberg. “The rider has to know how to pace his horse. If he goes too fast, the horse might get worn out too quickly. The rider must know when to slow down and when to go faster.”

While this practice benefits the horses, it results in a race that is conducted at a rather leisurely pace at times, and can last an entire day. For instance, for the Sultan’s Cup this weekend, riders have a maximum time of 16 hours to finish the 160km ride.

The race starts at 4.30pm. The riders will ride through the night because it is cooler for the horses, and finish the race around noon the next day.

Special efforts have been put in to make this Sultan’s Cup a spectator-friendly affair.

“A special GSM tracking system has been put in place for the horses,” said event manager Azrin Zuhdi. “A map will be projected onto a big screen and spectators can see how fast the horses are moving, where they are and who is overtaking who,” she explained. “This will make the race more exciting and spectator-friendly, since we know where the horses are.”

Azrin Zuhdi

Organised by the Sultan Mizan Royal Foundation, the Sultan’s Cup is an annual event that has been running for several years now. However, this year’s race is significant as it is a trial event for the FEI World Endurance Championship 2008, to be hosted by Malaysia.

“Malaysia has been chosen to be the host for the FEI Endurance Championship next year but under a condition by FEI (International Federation of Equestrian Sports). It will be the first time the championship is hosted by a tropical country.

“There is a technical criterion that we have to meet before we get the official confirmation to host the world championship race – 40% of the foreign riders and horses that start must finish the entire 160km within 16 hours.

“Since it is harder for the horses to compete here because of the heat and humidity, the Sultan’s Cup is a trial to see how the foreign horses adapt to the climate here,” said Azrin. The onus is now on the organisers to keep the horses fit before and throughout the race.

Endurance.Net Event Coverage

41 Entrants in 2007 Sultan's Cup

41 Horse/Rider teams are preparing for the upcoming Sultan's Cup Endurance Challenge in Terengganu Malaysia. The event, which is also the pre-ride for the 2008 FEI World Endurance Championship, will start at 16:30 and continue through the night in this tropical venue.

Riders from 12 countries will test their skills and the endurance of their horses on this jungle course.

Initial starting list is now published.

Full Event Coverage

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.

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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