Mayed leads UAE's clean sweep

photo: Shaikh Mayed Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum completes his golden ride on Omani Iman at the Pan Arab Games in Cairo.

Gulf News Article


By M. Satya Narayan, Staff Reporter
Published: November 20, 2007, 00:27

Cairo: Shaikh Mayed Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum led a golden display by the UAE riders who picked up two gold medals and a silver and bronze apiece in a total sweep of the medals on offer at the 11th Pan Arab Games here on Monday.

Shaikh Mayed, on Omani Iman, crossed the finish line just ahead of UAE teammates Salem Rashid Bin Ghadayer and Mohammad Al Subose with the three completing a 1-2-3 finish in the individual event.

Mubarak Khalifa Bin Shafya finished fourth to extend the UAE's domination and help the UAE win the team gold also. The team members were Shaikh Mayed, Sultan Bin Sulayem, who was eliminated in the fourth stage, Bin Shafya and Ali Subose.

"We are very proud with this achievement which has helped the UAE once again assert its supremacy in this sport. We are also happy to finish as the Pan Arab champions in both the individual as well as team event," said Shaikh Mayed after his win.

Shaikh Mayed and Omani Iman completed the 120-km ride in a timing of 6 hrs 43 mins and 56 seconds.

Later, Abdullah Thani Bin Huzaim on Spendacret Kamouflage took fifth place to make it a memorable day at the Saqqarah Endurance Village here.

This was UAE's second sweep of the medals after they won both the individual and team gold medals at the Asian Games in Doha last December apart from also bagging the individual bronze.

Chilly weather

Early yesterday, a total of 42 riders got off to a 6 am start and with the temperature remaining chilly for almost the first two loops the horses seemed to have it easy. However, the loose sandy terrain littered with stones and rocks made it a bit treacherous but the UAE riders managed to steer clear.

Salem Rashed led the UAE pack with Shaikh Mayed in second place after the first stage of 36 kms, followed by Bin Shafya and Al Subose with Bin Sulayem in sixth and Bin Huzaim in eighth positions.

Shaikh Mayed, along with Bin Shafya, was close behind up to the third loop at which stage they had covered a distance of 85kms.

With two stages left, the gap had widened and UAE looked headed for a double triumph. The Libyan squad had four of their riders making an early exit while both Saudi Arabia and strong contenders Bahrain also had two riders eliminated.

That eased a lot of pressure on the UAE front-runners but the tricky terrain was still the danger as most of those eliminated were due to lameness.

In the team championship, the UAE team had mustered an incredible 105 minute lead over Qatar while Saudi Arabia were third a further 20 minutes behind at the end of the third stage.

Results

1. Shaikh Mayed Bin Mohammad Al Maktoum (Omani Iman) 6hrs 43 mins 56 secs
2. Salem Rashed Bin Ghadayer (Dalton Du Capimont) 6:43.58
3. Mohammad Ali Al Subose (Kevin Du Narthoux) 6:44.01
4. Mubarak Khalifa Bin Shafya (Kaysand Farrazah) 6:44.03
5. Abdullah Thani Bin Huzaim (Spendacret Kamouflage).

Just 700 flu cases in NSW likely to still be active - Nov 20 2007

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Story

Disease specialists estimate there are now only 700 active cases of equine influenza in New South Wales.

Epidemiologists, who study the patterns of diseases in populations, have been monitoring the flu outbreak closely, using information collected to report the situation and make predictions.

They say their findings provide strong encouragement that the disease is under control and eradication is achievable.

Some of their findings are shown in the two accompanying maps.

The infections are placed in one of three categories.

There are those under 21 days, which are deemed "recent" and still likely to be active. Those over 21 days are deemed "older" and are expected to be inactive. The third category is resolved, where officials have tested inactive areas and formally declared them disease-free.

Their research shows that the number of cases under 21 days old peaked late in September, and started to decline from about the second week of October to reach the current level of about 700 cases state-wide.

Numbers of older cases has increased progressively since late September. Increasing numbers of cases have now been resolved, with work progressing to actively resolve cases, particularly in outlying areas and clusters. The total number of cases is starting to level off at around 5500 to 6000 as the number of recently reported IPs declines.

There have been a total of 73 newly infected premises identified during the last week, compared to 85 last week and 255 the week before that. The great majority of new cases have been in the purple zone, with additional cases in clusters at Wee Waa, Grenfell, Gunnedah, Armidale/Walcha, Dubbo and Parkes.

The estimated dissemination rate (EDR) for a disease is the average number of new cases generated by each existing case. An EDR of greater than 1 indicates that the disease will continue to spread and the epidemic will continue. Conversely, an EDR of less than 1 means that the epidemic will gradually die out.

The graph below shows that the EDR for horse flu has progressively declined since about mid-September and has been below 1 for most of the time since early October. The dotted lines show the 95% confidence limits for the estimate. The slight ups and downs of the EDR over time are probably due to variations in reporting over time.

"Although the EDR estimates are probably affected by some under-reporting, the graph provides strong encouragement that the disease is under control and eradication is achievable," the epidemiologists said.

And the Winner Is....

For once I'm in the right spot for something as the awards ceremony is just about to begin within the regulation time after the arrival of the front runners. Tables are being filled with boxes and bags of gifts and tasteful silver and gold plate trophies line up in front of a sign for the sponsors of this event, PMA, which is some kind of investment company. The platform in front of the cafeteria is full of white robed men with either glistening white or red and white head scarves carefully folded back over their shoulders. There are, in fact, horses standing not 10 feet away who have not yet gone out to do the final loop but what the hay? There are people here who, I suppose, have seen enough endurance today. Everyone is waiting to award the individual prizes in the competition.

First place and individual gold goes to HE Sh. Majid Mohamed Al Maktoum
Second place and individual silver goes to Salem Rashid Ghadier
Third place and individual bronze goes to Mohamed Ahmad Ali Al Subose
Fourth place goes to Mubarak Khalifa bin Shafiya

All four are riding horses from the Maktoum stable in Dubai.

And that's all folks.







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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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