Australia: Riding to Victory

Blayney Chronicle
18/07/2008 10:24:00 AM
Dianne Luker (right) and Anabriar Khaboul cross the finish line in style after a grueling 160

Dianne Luker truly beat the odds, battling night blindness and a last minute call up, to take out the 2008 Horseland NSW State Championship endurance ride on Anabriar Khaboul.

Anabriar Khaboul’s Wellington based owner and rider, Peter Cooper, was recovering from heart surgery and thus unable to compete in the grueling 160 kilometre event and called upon Luker to ride in his stead, a choice that proved successful.

Luker had ridden Anabriar Khaboul previously and was on the horse, ready for the 2am start at Manilla, north of Tamworth, along with the race’s 85 other entrants.

“I had ridden the horse earlier in its career but it is 10 times the horse it was then,” Luker said.

“He’s just an awesome horse.”

It wasn’t easy going for Luker either, as the experienced endurance rider suffers from night blindness.

It made the early start in the race difficult.

“Friends of mine are aware of my poor night vision and there is always someone to stay with me during the dark,” Luker said.

The horse was a favourite going into the race and didn’t disappoint, with Luker crossing the finish line holding hands with Stuart Hitchcock to signify that the race finished in a tie in a time of 10 hours and nine minutes.

Hitchcock, on the horse Farras, had caught up at the end of the fourth stage and the two riders agreed to finish in equal first, with Luker winning the lightweight division and Hitchcock the heavyweight.

Both horses were deemed the fittest in their divisions by the vet panel.

Luker said it was not unusual for two horses to tie the race because the motto for endurance racing is “to complete is to win”.

“The ride organisers did not want a gallop finish, as it could be dangerous and a bit rude to ask a horse to do that after he had taken a person 160 kilometres,” Luker said.

Endurance riding involves five stages over 160 kilometres with a one hour rest and vet check betweens stages.

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Australia: Endurance test for Fleming

The Invernell Times
18/07/2008 10:06:00 AM
HARDWORK: Clare Fleming and Arab gelding Mangueira Moksha at the Queensland State Championships. Photo: Mick Goater

INVERELL endurance rider Clare Fleming has returned successful from the NSW and Queensland state championships.

The events were only one week apart this year and Fleming said her motto was “to complete is to win”.

The endurance championships involve a 100 mile (160km) ride in one day, which is divided up into a minimum of five tracks.

Horses are presented to the vetting team before the ride begins and then at the end of each track.

Only if the horse is deemed fit to continue, the rider is able to set off onto the next part of the ride.

“After vetting through successfully at the end, riding 100 miles (160km) in one day, I definitely feel like a winner,” Fleming said.

It was a long week for Fleming, it started with a 2am start on Sunday when she saddled up her bay Anglo mare Birramalee Queen of Hearts and set off to ride 100 miles in the countryside surrounding Manilla.

There where five legs - 43km, 43km, 30km, 30km and 14km.

After riding for fourteen hours and one minute, Fleming’s mare was judged by the vetting panel to be sound and healthy.

Together, they placed eighth Lightweight, and were among the 53.49 per cent of the initial 86 riders that completed the ride successfully.

Fleming was very pleased with this result because last year, at the QLD State Championships her mare was vetted out after riding the 100 miles.

Then less than one week later at 1am on Saturday, Fleming again saddled up.

This time, she rode her grey Arab gelding Mangueira Moksha.

This ride was based at Imbil in QLD, and consisted of six legs: 37km, 32km, 30km, 35km, 21km, and 15km.

At the fourth leg of the ride, the vets were very concerned about the tenderness displayed by Moksha at the touch of their hand in the saddle area. It looked like he was going to be vetted out.

Fleming then applied ice to his back, changed saddles and rode a lot slower in the last two legs of the ride.

This strategy worked with Fleming and Moksha successfully completing the ride with a time of 13 hours and 56 minutes.

Together, they placed second Lightweight and were amongst the 52 per cent of the 55 riders that completed.

Fleming said it was a very challenging ride in the mountains.

The Red Truck Raggers, made up of Fleming, Leila Calander and Ian Davidson, won the team event with the fastest combined riding time for the 100 miles.

They were presented with the Timms Trophy.

This year the Tom Quilty Gold Cup Ride is at Nanango in QLD.

Fleming is hoping to compete in this international event and in just 10 weeks time she will again saddle up one of her endurance horses to ride 100 miles in one day.
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Tasmania: Sassafras today, tomorrow the worlds

The Advocated - advocate.com.au
BY MARTIN AGATYN
18/07/2008 12:00:00 AM
A WORLD CUP qualifying event at Sassafras tomorrow has attracted international endurance riders to one of the biggest equestrian events in Tasmania in years.

The 160km ride is a Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) three-star event and has attracted entries from Malaysia, New South Wales and Queensland.

The ride is being conducted by the Burnie Equine Endurance Riders club (BEER) and will be the first time a world cup qualifying event has been held in Tasmania and the first FEI-rated event to be held in Tasmania for more than three years.

The ride will be based at Smith and Others Rd at Sassafras and will use tracks on nearby pine and eucalypt plantations.

The gruelling ride will be one where physical stamina and the mental fitness of both horses and riders will be pushed to their limits.

The endurance event will start at 2am tomorrow and riders will need to complete the six legs in under 12 hours and 20 minutes, finishing by 5.20pm (including compulsory hold and vetting periods), to qualify for the world cup, which will be staged in Malaysia in September.

The six legs will vary from 20km to 30km in length and riders will be given a maximum of 15 hours to complete all six legs.

Queensland's Peter Toft is expected to be a strong contender and will be looking for more success in Tasmania.

Toft won the sport's most prestigious national event, the Tom Quilty Gold Cup, when it was held in Tasmania in 2001.

A strong Tasmanian contingent of riders is also expected to compete, including Lilydale trio Noel Lockhart, Alison Dent, and Bradley Hill.

A youth section will be incorporated for riders between 14 and 21 years old.

As leader of the Tasmanian junior points series, Bradley Hill is keen to ride his horse Lockleigh Park Star against national competitors.

Alison Dent and Noel Lockhart will also be hoping for a good result.

About 30 Tasmanian riders are expected to contest the shorter 80km, 40km and 20km non-qualifier events, in addition to the entry list of 20 riders for the 160km endurance ride.
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NZL: Horses for Sheik

Herbert-based endurance horse
trainer Kevin James, with
daughters Jorja and Bridgett.

Kevin James and Sarah Hamer train endurance horses for Sheik Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Endurance riding horses involves riding long distances (50-150km) over several days with vets constantly checking the animals.

Kevin and Sarah used to have 20ha at Mayfield on which they trained the horses but were able to sell their farmlet at a high price and buy a 40ha block at Herbert nearly four years ago. Not only is the land cheaper in Herbert but there is no crime, facilities are good including the school. The couple have four children under the age of eight, the youngest about six months old.

Kevin who is in his early 50s has been doing speed endurance riding for 30 years. He was part of the New Zealand team which won the world championship in 1998 in Dubai. It gave him great exposure and people from around the world wanted him to train horses including the Sheik. In 1999 a Sheik's representative asked him to buy and train horses for the UAE's vice-President, Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai.

Kevin says the Sheik has thousands of horses based around the world and until the equine flu horses were sent from Australia to Herbert. A batch came in just before the restrictions came on.

They are training about 16 horses which they prepare to a certain stage. Only six are from the Australian programme the rest are New Zealand sourced.

While people living in or outside cities spend 30-40 minutes or even longer travelling to work each day, he walks out the door.

[Original Article]

Dubai's Al Maktoum family attends European Open

Gulf News
Staff Report
Published: July 14, 2008, 00:08

Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Sunday attended the European Open Endurance Women's Championship.

Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Events Management Corporation, and Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, also attended the race.

Shaikha Latifa Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum won the individual title.

Shaikha Latifa, Shaikha Mariam, Shaikha Futaim and Shaikha Shaikha, the daughters of Shaikh Mohammad, won the team title.

Twenty-six riders, representing many European countries, took part in the race.

This victory comes as a new addition to the previous accomplishments achieved by UAE.

[Original Article]

Colombia: Mutis and Ga0na set sights on 2008 WEC

FEI Press: Italy - Forty-Six Riders Compete over the 160 km Track at CEI 3* Assisi

photo: Simona Garratti for Italy with the French bred Z’Tadore Al Maury in a ride time
of 10hr 30min 18 sec
(c) Gilly Wheeler

The weather forecast was unfortunately one hundred percent correct as thunder lightening and heavy rain engulfed the riders at Assisi, almost as spectacular as the fireworks at the welcome party.

At 5am on a very cold morning 46 riders from nine nations set out on the 160km course that had already been battered by the heavy rain of the preceding days. The course had been considerably altered from that used for the 120km ride last year, no longer containing the section along the cobbled streets in the centre of the most beautiful and historical town of Assisi.

The general opinion was that is was a good, technical but difficult course and a vast improvement compared to last year.

Technical delegate John Robertson (GBR) commented, “It was an excellent ride at which the inclement weather conditions showed up the shortcomings , which is the idea of a trial ride and will be corrected for the FEI Open European Championship next year.”

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