This is Actually a Horserace

Preliminary results from the 4th loop show the UAE firmly in control of the first five spots. Hazaa of Bahrain is fifth and in a real surprise, Mohamed Salah Ibrahim has moved up from 13th to 6th. Half of the Egyptian team is in and we are waiting for the other half to clear and finish the 5th loop to see if they will qualify for the team Bronze.

The first riders have arrived from the 5th loop, a straight flat shot out to the railway tracks and back...perfectly suited to racing... and they are from the UAE. No surprise there, but let's watch the vet check. The Individual awards are sitting right in front of me and in typical "hurry up and finish" style, they are probably going to be awarded even as the later riders are still finishing the course. This really is a rather bad habit...looks totally rude.

I've not been a huge fan of our Egyptian endurance riders over the years and have bee quite exasperated at their lack of patience in a sport that above all requires it. As for FEI endurance, well, let's not even go there. However, at this point, I have to say that I am immensely proud of the work that the Egyptian team has done for this competition.





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Getting Loopy, Number three pulls

It's 2:30 pm and I'm feeling a little schizophrenic. The internet connection is so glacial that I could easily spend hours in the press tent. Then I have to hike to the vet gates for the in/out times and the variation between the front runners and the back of the pack is so huge that there is at least a loop's difference between the two. Right now, as far as I know based on my last print out, the UAE, Qatar and Egypt are the only teams in the running for team medals. Everyone else has lost too many horses to qualify. The UAE are running hard and fast with one rider from Saudi Arabia chasing them at the end of loop 3 (they are going to be out on loop 5 soon however) and one from Bahrain before a trio of Qatari riders is moving up. Of course, by the time I actually get this posted and trot down to the timers, the situation may have changed. AND correction, the two Syrian women were not out of time, they were just running at the back of the pack.


The pulls so far:
Loop 1

Ayman Harrous, Libya, lameness
Mohsen Abood, Libya, lameness
Khalid Rajab, Libya, lameness

Shakib Wahib Qabbani, Jordan, horse cut by stone on coronary band on trail (but ok)
Jehad Shameltoq, Jordan, lameness
Homoad Al Shamari, Jordan lameness

Loop 2

Bader el Fard, Saudi, metabolic
Manal Majeed Fakhrawi, Bahrain, retired (rider option)
Sh. Salman bin Saqer al Khalifa, Bahrain, lameness
Yusuf Ali Yusuf, Bahrain, retired
Mohamed Mdani, Libya, retired

Saif Nasri Nuwwar, Jordan, lameness
Abdul Hamid el Salah, Jordan, retired

Loop 3

Ghazi Mohamed Al Doseri, Bahrain, metabolic
Raed Mahmoud, Bahrain, metabolic
Atta Mohamed Peer, Qatar, retired
Fahad Mohamed Al Hajiri, Qatar, retired
Lutfi Faraj Omer, Egypt, retired
Mohmed Jabar Faraj, Egypt, lameness
Abdul Rahman Al Hawas, Saudi, metabolic






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Loop Two results

After the second loop, the front three runners from the UAE remain unchanged. Hazaa from Bahrain who was 7th has moved up to 4th place, Subose (UAE) who was in 4th is now 5th. Huzaim (UAE) who was 8th is 6th, Sulayem (UAE)who was 6th is 7th, Mohlesi (Saudi) who was 9th is 8th, Al Hawas (Saudi) who was 5th is now 9th, and Hamad Ali Rashid Al Marri from Qatar, riding Tequila for the Al Shaqab Endurance Team has moved from 19th to 10th place.

All of the Egyptian horses are still in the race, trailing...but no one here is terribly worried about their placing. If they can finish the team, everyone will be delighted. Yalla Misr!

There seems to have been an accident involving a Jordanian rider and I'm trying to find out details. Shakib Wahib Qabbani riding Al Andalous was eliminated on the first loop before the vet gate.

Second loop pulls are:
Bader Al Fard (Saudi) metabolic..he was in 11th place on the first loop.
Yusuf Ali Taher Yusuf (Bahrain) exercised rider option on his gelding Samara after finishing the first loop in 15th place.
Sh. Salman bin Saqer Al Khalifa (Bahrain) was eliminated for lameness (10th place loop 1)
Mohamed Mdani (Libya) exercised rider option as well.

Syria has only one rider still out, so it would appear that the two women I saw at the end of the first loop were out of time, but they don't appear on any of the pull lists. Note to self: question the time gate on my next visit.

Jordan, Bahrain, and Saudi have each lost two riders so far and if four finishers are necessary for the team medals, then Jordan is now out since they only started five.

Now for another hike to the timers.





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First Loop finishers

The first four horses for the first loop were from the UAE:
Salem Rashid Ghadier, Maktoum Stable on Dalton Du Capimont recovery time 1 min 9 sec
HE Sh. Majid Mohamed Al Maktoum, Maktoum Stable on Omani Iman, recovery time 3 min 9 sec
Mubarak Khalifa bin Shafiya, Maktoum Stable on Kaysand Farrazah, recovery time 1 min 46 sec
Mohamd Ahmad Ali Al Subose, Maktoum Stable on Kevin De Narthoux, recovery time 2 min 38 sec

The fifth rider is Saudi:
Abdul Raman Al Hawas, Prince Al Walled Bin Talal Stable on Falah Olood, recovery time 4 min 26 sec

Sixth another for UAE
Sultan Ahmed Sultan bin Sulayem, Maktoum Stable on Ryton Remy, recovery time 3 min 18 sec

Seventh rider is Bahrain:
Ahmed Abdulla Al Mohamed Ali Hazaa, Royal Endurance Team on Farhoz De Paute, recovery time 1 min 55 sec

Eighth rider is UAE again:
Abdullah Thani bin Huzaim, Maktoum Stable on Splendacrest Kamolflage, recovery time 5 min 18 sec

Ninth place is Saudi:
Mohamed R. Al Mohlesi, Prince Al Walled Bin Talal Bin Abdula stable on Anwar Al Mamlakah, recovery time 2 min 34 sec

Tenth place is Bahrain:
Sh. Salman bin Saqer Al Khalifa, Al Fateh Stud on Bedouin De Piboul, recovery time 5 min 45 sec

After 10th place the first group of mid runners had much higher recovery times but some of the later riders had recoveries similar to the front runners, so it's looking like some teams are hanging back a bit waiting to see if the leaders can keep the pace. The Qatari's rode the first loop much as a group, as did the Egyptians. The Egyptian recovery rates are in the one to six minute range, which is not bad at all. Yes, there is a partiality here...no question. I'm hoping that enough of the front runners mess up and that our guys keep their cool and maybe get a team medal.

When I picked up the results sheets, there had been 5 pulls in the first loop, all for lameness:
Three Libyan riders, a Jordanian and a Saudi

The Libyans were Aymen Harrous on Saada, Khalid Rajab on Wadi Jaref, and Mohsen Abood on Horra. The Jordanian was Jehad Shamaltoq on Travers, and the Saudi was Homoad Al Shamari on Cherox Juana. The completions and the pulls came to 39 riders and as I was walking to the press tent two women riders from Syria were having a discussion with the timers, so I have a sneaky suspicion that there was a time issue there. One other rider had not shown as yet but the next pickup should clear that up.

One of the Libyan riders was still in for the second loop. They are having a rough day. To have your first international endurance race be something like this is a very tough learning curve.


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More cars than horses on the first loop

It's 7:15 am and the computer in the press tent is bloody slow. There were 42 starters just before dawn here and 53 jeeps that set out in the desert for the first round. Watching them all leave was like looking down the slow lane on a highway. The first loop was fast for the front runners, mostly from the UAE with one Saudi in the first few minutes. The Egyptian team was coming in as the first horses were setting out on the second loop.

There are 6 horses each from Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia started. The Jordanians started 5 horses, the Libyans 4 horses, and the Syrians only 3 horses. Syria and Bahrain both have women riders on the team, so naturally I'm cheering them on. I'm afraid that my saddle didn't make it into the race...the poor rider still couldn't make weight...but apparently my EZride stirrups did, so I'm also cheering for them. I've seen one Libyan horse come in but I haven't seen the vet results yet.

The weather couldn't be better, cool, clear and no fog at all. So far all the horses that I've seen coming in have looked fantastic and most of them are pulling at the bits as they leave for the second loop.

I will collect photos together tonight to post. This connection is hopeless for that. I have a couple of guests from Florida, one of whom is an avid photographer, so there should be a very nice gallery of photos this evening. There seems to be only one net connection here so I will post again as soon as I can collect the pulls for the first loop...and as soon as I can boot someone else off the computer as they are trying to do to me.

Maryanne, reporting from the Cairo SUV festival.


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Egypt: Mayed to play key role for UAE in endurance ride - Nov 19 2007

Gulfnews.com - Full article

Pan Arab Games 2007

By M. Satya Narayan, Staff Reporter
Published: November 19, 2007, 00:02

Cairo: Young Shaikh Mayed Bin Mohammad Al Maktoum on Omani Iman leads the UAE challenge in today's 120-km Pan Arab Games Endurance Ride.

With Shaikh Rashid Bin Mohammad Al Maktoum pulling out, Shaikh Mayed is expected to play a key role as the UAE chase honours in both the individual and team events.

European Open champion and UAE team trainer Mubarak Khalifa Bin Shafya and Asian Games bronze medallist Sultan Bin Sulayem provide the much-needed experience while Mohammad Ahmad Ali Al Subose, Abdullah Thani Bin Huzaim and Salem Rashid Bin Ghadayer make their debut.

Bin Huzaim, who finished third in the Surouh Challenge in Al Wathba on Saturday, will be looking to extend his good start to the season in his debut ride for the UAE.

"This is a good combination of youth and experience. All our horses did not have any problems in passing the pre-ride vet check. We are looking forward to the ride," said Bin Shafya, who won the European Open individual gold in Portugal this year.

Serious challenge

The UAE are firm favourites in the ride which starts at 5.45am. A total of eight teams including hosts Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, Tunisia, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are taking part.

Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia will pose a serious challenge to the UAE's dominance in this sport.

Badr Al Fader, one of the Saudi riders, said his team was keen to make an impact at this event.

"We have been here for over 15 days and have been training hard. Yes, we have not had much success at the international level but we will be making a strong bid to win a medal here," said the 25-year-old who finished 5th in the German Cup earlier this year.