Arab sheikh backs wild horses for endurance

photo: horsetalk.co.nz

Could Australia's wild horses be about to take the endurance world by storm?

Thirteen wild horses from Western Australia have been plucked from the wilderness, and, in a tale reminiscent of "My Fair Lady", now find themselves living in air-conditioned comfort in Dubai with personal grooms.

Their mission is to make their mark in the sport of endurance in what will be an interesting tussle between the survival-of-the-fittest law of natural selection and the selective breeding of horse owners.

The whole exercise had its roots in a website built by Broome woman Libby Lovegrove to alert the world to the plight of horses in the broad expanses of the Kimberley.

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THE FEI WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP 2008 LAUNCHED WITH A BANG!

June 21, Kuala Lumpur: The FEI World Endurance Championship 2008 (FEI WEC 2008) was officially launched at Dataran Merdeka.

The launch started off with a parade of 48 horses and riders from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall and the Royal Malaysian Police mounted units accompanied by police outriders, 2 marching bands, from the Malaysian Prison Department and the Kuala Lumpur City Hall along with a convoy of 10 cars and 15 motorbikes from Sime Darby Motor; the official vehicle partner for the FEI WEC 2008. The parade began from Lake Titiwangsa to Dataran Merdeka, along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

The Official Launch in Dataran Merdeka began upon the arrival of Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong (The King and Queen of Malaysia) and it started off with a colourful performance from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall Cultural Group.

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Endurance Discipline Manager Selected for WEG 2010

TheHorse.com
June 26, 2008

Emmett B. Ross has been selected as the Endurance Discipline Manager for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

Ross brings more than 20 years of international endurance riding experience, acting as trainer, Chef d'Equipe, manager, participant, organizer, and consultant in more than 100 FEI 2 to 4* endurance events in more than 14 countries.

"I am honored and delighted to take on the role of endurance discipline manager, and look forward to working with the team of disciplines managers to help create a world-class competition environment and endurance course for the upcoming 2010 Games," Ross said.

Ross is one of eight discipline managers responsible for planning, managing and directing the world championship competitions in eight equestrian sports.

As an athlete, Ross was a Gold medal team member in the first North American Championships, and a three-time, top-10 finisher in the Tevis Cup in Auburn, California. Ross is the only trainer and coach in the world with FEI endurance wins in nine different countries.

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Royal Bahrain Team set for Austria ride

Bahrain Gulf Daily News

BAHRAIN's Royal Endurance Team arrived yesterday in Graz City in Austria as they prepare to make debut in Austria's International Endurance Horseride scheduled for Saturday in Bad Blumau.

The team, to be led by Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, will be among 120 riders from 12 European countries taking part in races over 120km and 160km, both on Saturday.

After a long journey via Frankfurt Airport, the 25-member delegation reached the Austrian city without Shaikh Nasser who is due to arrive tomorrow to join the team training prior to the championship.

Commenting on his team's participation, Shaikh Nasser said they recently decided to take part in this race which replaced Thatford Race in the UK due to similar weather conditions in Austria and Malaysia, which will host the World Championship from November 9 to 11.

The Bahrainis are seeking to have as many riders qualified as possible for the World Championship to be held at Terengganu International Endurance Park in Setiu Terengganu.

Shaikh Nasser added that this will be the first time for the team to participate in a race in Austria, having mostly competed in the UK and France, besides Ireland, Germany and Portugal.

Team manager Dr Khalid Ahmed Hassan said the team is confident of doing well in the race, stressing on the importance of finishing the event without being disqualified in their bid to reach the World Championship.

NZ names World Champs endurance team

Three horse and rider combinations have been named to New Zealand's team to compete in the 2008 World Endurance Championships in Malaysia in September.

Jenny Champion and Freckles, Philip Graham and Wolfgang Amadeus, and Andrea Smith and Sierra Nevada have been selected.

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Malaysia: King launches FEI World Endurance Championship

photo: Colourful handover: The King receiving the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) flag from Ian Williams, FEI director of non-Olympic sport.

KUALA LUMPUR: Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin launched the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) World Endurance Championship 2008 at Dataran Merdeka on Saturday.

Earlier, 41 horsemen paraded through the city via Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, Jalan Pahang, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Jalan Raja before marching past the King at Dataran Merdeka.

The championship, which will be organised by Yayasan DiRaja Sultan Mizan (YDSM), would be held at Lembah Bidong in Terengganu from Nov 6 to 9.

Besides the 41 horsemen, each holding the flags of participating nations, there was a spectacular parachuting display by four paratroopers from the Royal Malaysian Air Force. They carried the Jalur Gemilang, the flag of Terengganu, FEI and YDSM.

The FEI flag was handed over by its director of non-Olympic Sport Ian Williams to the King who then passed the colours to YDSM to declare the championship formally sanctioned to be held in Terengganu.

In his speech World Endurance Championship chief executive officer Datuk Dr Salleh Mohd Nor said about 140 endurance riders from all around the world were expected to take part in the event.

Entries from 41 countries have been confirmed.


Full Article - TheStar.com.my

Sudan's First Endurance Ride

On the 9th May, KICS Riding Club held the first ever endurance ride in Sudan. Of course we had big plans to hold it out on a farm about 80kms out of Khartoum, but unfortunately due to last minute problems we had to hold it in and around Soba. We managed to change the plans at the last minute and still have a succesful weekend.

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