[WEC Reports] Horse show a public sensation

New Straits Times

November 1 2008

KUALA TERENGGANU: The National Horse Show was a hit with 10,000 people turning up at the Terengganu Equestrian Resort in Kuala Ibai on its opening day yesterday.

The show was officiated by the Yang di- Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin. Among the activities held during the ceremony were a performance by the mounted unit of the Royal Malaysian Police and a horse-riding challenge by the Malaysian Pony Club members.

Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah also presented prizes to winners of the Secondary School Horse Art competition. Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Sulaiman bagged the RM5,000 first prize while SMK Padang Midin and SMK Tengku Bariah walked away with the RM3,000 second and RM2,000 third prize, respectively.

Other attractions on the first of the three-day show were the start of the seventh Asian Regional farriery competition, Horse Carnival, Equine Exposition, Horse Breed and Carriage Display.

Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said the event and the coming FEI World Endurance Championships would bring in more visitors to the state.

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Posted By Merri to WEC Reports at 11/01/2008 05:52:00 AM

[WEC Reports] Riders to star in Terengganu

New Straits Times

November 1 2008

URUGUAY'S Pio Juan Olascoaga Amaya, the current World No 2 and the highest ranked endurance rider to feature in next week's World Endurance Championships (WEC), is the favourite to win the individual title at the Terengganu International Equestrian Park (TIEP) in Lembah Bidong, Setiu.

Amaya has been outstanding in several competitions -- especially in Uruguay -- where he has won two 160km Costa Azul events held in April and September, respectively.

He will be riding his trusted horse -- Ar Vale -- at the WEC.

The second highest ranked rider in the competition is Mohd Ahmed Ali Al Subose of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The world No 4 has proved himself in several competitions and finished on the podium several times this year.

His latest win was in the United Kingdom, where he captured the Euston Park competition on Oct 10 while his compatriot, Abdulla Thani Huzaim, the World No 5, is also a strong challenger in the WEC.

The other challenger, Prince Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohamed Al Maktoum is the only rider from UAE to have won the individual world title. He did it at the 2002 edition in Spain.

From the local front, Datuk Kamaruddin Abd Ghani is the highest ranked Malaysian rider at 93rd.

Kamaruddin, a former Sea Games gold medallist, has been involved in endurance riding for more than a decade.

He has competed in five tournaments so far this year and his most memorable outing was in Uruguay, where he finished third in the Costa Azul competition in April.

Kamaruddin will be riding Navidad at the world meet. Among other Malaysians competing are Ismail Faizal (World No 107), Abdul Halim Alihan (161), Zainuddin Yusof (168) and Rosdam Mohd Noor (192).

The 12-member Malaysian team will be led by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.

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Posted By Merri to WEC Reports at 11/01/2008 05:46:00 AM

UAE: Endurance riding growing among women in UAE

Gulfnews.com - Full article

By M. Satya Narayan, Senior Reporter
Published: November 01, 2008, 00:01

Abu Dhabi: Women's endurance riding has been given a boost by the Al Asayel Endurance Village and the 2008-09 season will see the first GCC Ladies Championship.

Encouraged by the success of the rides held at this endurance venue in Sweihan in Abu Dhabi, the Al Asayel Endurance Village will be hosting the inaugural GCC Ladies Championship, a 120km ride in January.

The Shaikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Challenge, a three-round series of races for female riders, was a major success last season with each of the event attracting over 30 participants.

More...

UAE: Long Ride

Gulfnews.com

By M. Satya Narayan, Senior Reporter
Published: November 01, 2008, 00:01

Abu Dhabi: The UAE's 2008-2009 endurance season gets off to a soft opening today with the Boutheib Endurance Cup for Juniors and two qualifier rides being staged at the Boutheib Endurance Village in Al Khatem, Abu Dhabi.

After today's rides the season takes a pause as the 2008 World Endurance Championship is being held in Malaysia next week.

Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Culture and Arts Authority, are part of the strong six-member UAE team at the World Championship being held in Terengganu, Malaysia on November 7-8.

Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem, Mubarak Khalifa Bin Shafya, Abdullah Thani Bin Huzaim and Mohammad Ahmad Ali Subose complete the UAE line-up. A week later, the UAE's endurance season resumes with the first competitive endurance ride in the Open category to be held on November 15 at the Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba.


More...

[WEC Reports] Wendy Benns off to the races

TheScugogstandard.ca

By Blake Wolfe/The Scugog Standard

October 31, 2008

A local equestrian and familiar face at the Uxbridge-Scugog Animal Control Centre will be heading to Malaysia next week to represent Canada at an international endurance race.

Wendy Benns and Supreme Justice, her nine-year-old Egyptian Arabian, will be attending the World Endurance Championships on Nov. 7, hosted this year in Terengganu, Malaysia. The one-day event consists of a 100 mile race, with 150 horse and rider teams from around the world at this year's edition, including six members of Team Canada representing the top six horses in the country.

Back home, Ms. Benns works as an animal control officer at the Uxbridge-Scugog Animal Control Centre, and takes the photos of pets seen in the 'For Adoption' pages of local publications like The Scugog Standard.

"Travelling to a tropical region to compete means a lot of stress for the horses," said Ms. Benns of the challenges she will face in the competition, "especially the travel and acclimatization." She added that this particular race requires years of constant training and conditioning for participating horses.

In addition to this year's event, her first World Endurance Championship, Ms. Benns has also competed in three Pan-Am Games as a member of Team Canada, making the jump to the international level of competition in 2006. Ms. Benns originally got into equestrian through the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club, which introduced her to the various types of competition.

Ms. Benns also added that she was "overwhelmed" and thankful for the sponsors who helped her along the way, especially for what she described as a somewhat unconventional sporting event.

"Endurance racing is a difficult sport to attract sponsors to," she said, "as it really isn't a spectator sport. Horses and riders race on trails in remote areas."

"I'm hoping to help Canada become a medal contender in this competition," she said of her hopes for the race.

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Posted By Merri to WEC Reports at 11/01/2008 12:02:00 AM

[WEC Reports] Tuanku Mizan Opens National Horse Show

Bernama.com

October 31, 2008 23:23 PM

KUALA TERENGGANU, Oct 31 (Bernama) -- The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin on Friday opened the three-day National Horse Show at the Terengganu Equestrian Resort here.

The event, held for the first time in Terengganu, involves various programmes like horseshoe pitching contest, a horse carnival, equine exposition as well as exhibitions on horse breeding and horse carts.

Tengku Mizan, who was accompanied by Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah and the Regent of Terengganu, Tengku Muhammad Ismail Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, also witnessed a dressage event performed by the Royal Malaysia Police's cavalry unit.

Also present were Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said and State Youth and Sports Committee Chairman Datuk Abdul Rahin Mohd Said.

The show is jointly organised by the Terengganu government, the Royal Terengganu Endurance Stables and the STC Equestrian and Sports Centre.

In conjunction with the event, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Malaysian Equine Council (MEC) and the Equestrian Federation of Australia (EFA).

The MoU was signed to give MEC the rights to use EFA specifications in Malaysia.

The show is a prelude to the World Equestrian Championship to be held at Lembah Bidong, Setiu from Nov 6 to 9.

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Posted By Merri to WEC Reports at 11/01/2008 12:00:00 AM

USEF News: Kanavy and McCarty Score Wins in the American Endurance Ride Conference National Championships

Release: October 30 2008

By Troy Smith

Five weeks after Hurricane Ike devastated trails in the Clark State Forest in Indiana, the 100-mile and 50-mile American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) National Championship riders and horses enjoyed excellent weather and trails on October 16 and 18.

“The only reason the ride took place was because of the nearly 300-plus hours in manpower it took to get the trails in excellent condition,” said co-ride manager Cindy Young. “Few people realize what a mess those trails really were and without some key people working diligently on some 35 miles of trails, the championships would probably not have happened.”

For a sport where weather and trails can collude to make for precarious conditions, especially this late in the season, this year’s national championship was nearly perfect. “Trails were excellent, the weather was perfect, and the knowledge and expertise of all the workers helped to make the national championships run flawlessly,” said Young. “It truly was a great event!”

The well-attended ride had 45 starters in the 100-mile event and 114 starters in the 50-mile event.

“The level of competition and the caliber of riders truly made for a national championship on all levels,” said Young. “We had competitors from 26 states as well as Canada, Switzerland, Holland and Namibia.”

100-Mile Competition
Winner of the 100-mile contest was AERC Hall of Fame inductee Valerie Kanavy with King Ali Gold. With a time of 9 hours and 53 minutes, they were 45 minutes ahead of the next competitors. Best Condition went to Hot Desert Knight, ridden by Farzad Faradyi, who were the second finishers.

Top weight division finishers: Joni Buttram and Cash Bonus (Junior), Kirsten Kimbler and Cody Canuck (Featherweight), Valerie and Ali (Lightweight), Farzad Faradyi and Hot Desert Knight (Middleweight) and Ed Kidd and Merlin (Heavyweight).

There were 31 completions out of the field of 45 starters in the 100-mile event, held October 16.

50-Mile Competition
Teresa McCarty and Spectacular Gold were first to finish the 50-mile event, with a time of 3 hours and 58 minutes, and also won Best Condition.

Other top weight division finishers were Austin Shaffer and Pearl Jam (Junior), Katherine Shank and Wind Dancer-Bey (Featherweight), Deb Shaffer and Sheik Abu Galihad+ (Lightweight), and Roger Barrett and Blueberry Bey (Heavyweight).

There were 114 entrants and 98 completions in the 50-mile event, held October 18.

The prestigious endurance ride was held in conjunction with the Arabian Horse Association’s Arabian and Half-Arabian Endurance Championship.

For more information, check out the National Championship website at www.dbdr.info/NC%20Home.htm.

Next year’s AERC National Championship will be held in Northern California on September 11 and 13.

For more information about AERC and endurance riding, visit www.aerc.org or phone the AERC office at (866) 271-2372.