[WEC Reports] Janice's love for riding evergreen

The New Straits Times Online
2008/11/05

photo: Janice is most happy when on a horse. (The New Straits Times Online)

JANICE Worthington, at 68, holds the distinction of being the oldest competitor at the FEI World Endurance Championships (WEC). Age, according to the United States rider, will not stand in her way of attaining glory.
With more than 30 years of experience in horseback riding, she's looking forward to a fairytale outing at the WEC which starts at the Terengganu International Endurance Park (TIEP) in Lembah Bidong, Setiu, tomorrow.

This will be Janice's fifth outing in a WEC, the first of which was in Compiegne, France in 2000, followed by Jerez de la Frontera, Spain (2002), Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2004) and Aachen, Germany (2006).

Janice, who has four grandchildren, lives in Illinois where she has a 300-acre ranch and 65 horses. One of them is eight-year-old Golden Lightning which she has shipped out here for the championship.

Despite her age, Janice has chalked up over 48,500km in the saddle and has not showed any signs of slowing down. Just two months ago, she won a 160-km all-night endurance race in the United States.
"Horse riding has been my first love and I am most happy when on a horse. It's all in the mind and there is no such thing as too old to ride.

"As long as you are mentally fit, you can ride. More so in endurance racing," Janice said at TIEP, Setiu yesterday.

"You only have to worry about your horse because it cannot tell you personally if it is tired or needs a rest," added Janice, who is part of a six-member US team.

"I look forward to doing well here. It's hot and I reckon it will be a challenging race."

The other members of the US team are Kathy Brunjes on Theatric, John Crandell (HH Saba Shams), Cheryl Dell (Reason To Believe), Valerie Kanavy (Flash Flame) and Margaret Sleeper (Syrocco Reveille).

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Posted By Steph Teeter to WEC Reports at 11/05/2008 02:20:00 AM

[WEC Reports] Rookie Firdaus out to earn his spurs

The New Straits Times Online
2008/11/05

MUHD Firdaus Hamid's first experience with horses was on a pony when he was just nine years old.
Today, at 15, Firdaus is preparing for the biggest race of his career at the FEI (WEC) at the Terengganu International Endurance Park (TIEP), Setiu, starting tomorrow. The Kuala Terengganu-born rider is the youngest Malaysian competitor in the event.

"My involvement began when I was just nine. Picking up the sport is easy in Terengganu, especially those living in villages as farmers keep horses," said Firdaus, a student with SMK Tengku Bariah in Kuala Terengganu, yesterday.

"My first ride was on a pony owned by my father's friend. My love for horses grew but I ventured into show-jumping first before deciding to make a switch to endurance early this year.

"I was competing in a show-jumping event in Ipoh, Perak last year when another rider told me that I was more suited for endurance. I decided to try it and have not looked back since."
Firdaus made an immediate impact on his maiden endurance competition in Uruguay in June, where he earned his first Certificates of Capability (CoC).

A month later he earned his second CoC, also in Uruguay, and made the cut for the world meet.

"I was not expecting to make an immediate impact. The WEC will only be my fourth 160km race. It's going to be tough but I hope to complete the race and earn a good position," he added.

Meanwhile, a host of local artistes will be performing at the opening of the WEC at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Kuala Terengganu today.

Among those performing are Mawi, Jamal Abdillah, Ramli Sarip and local rock queen Ella.

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, who is also competing in the WEC, will officially open the event.

-- AJITPAL SINGH

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Posted By Steph Teeter to WEC Reports at 11/05/2008 02:16:00 AM

Bahrain: Season-opening endurance horse race set

Equestrianbahrain.com

04 November 2008

The Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef) will host the first endurance horseride of the season on November 22 at the Bahrain International Endurance Village in Sakhir.

The federation, under its president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, approved the 2008/09 season calendar at its board of directors meeting. The inaugural race of the new season will be a 90-km qualifying event for young riders seeking experience in endurance races.

The first official race this year will be the National Day Championship set for December 13 and is over 120km. That will be followed by a 12km open race on January 3 next year.

Other events are the Women's Open Championship on January 31, the National Stables Championship on February 7, His Majesty King Hamad Cup on March 7, the Crown Prince Cup race on April 3 and the Season-Ending Championship on May 1.

Meanwhile, the Breef members also discussed the showjumping season and confirmed the schedule of its events. The showjumping season will get underway on November 7 with the Season Starting Championship, to be followed by the National Day Championship on December 19, then the Breef Cup on February 13.

In other competitions, the Arab League round for His Majesty King Hamad Cup will be held from February 19 to 22, the second Breef Cup on March 27 and the Season Ending Championship on March 10 and 11.

The federation also decided to form a marketing committee to promote its programmes and activities. The committee, to be headed by Shaikh Daij bin Salman Al Khalifa, will start looking for sponsors to support the federation this season.

The meeting was also attended by Breef first vice-president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, second vice-president Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, general secretary Ghalib Al Alawi, assistant general secretary Dr Khalid Hassan, public relations head Faisal Al Ajmi and members Tawfeeq Salehi, Haider Al Zo'bi, Mahmood Abdulsaheb and Fahad Al Rumaihi.

[WEC Reports] Veterinarians Deployed To Terengganu For World Endurance Champi...

Bernama.com.my

November 04, 2008 15:41 PM

KUALA TERENGGANU, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- Veterinarians, including from outside the state, have been deployed to Lembah Bidong, Setiu for the upcoming World Endurance Championship (WEC) 2008 starting Thursday.

Veterinary Services Department Director Dr Azizol Mohd Sharom said up to 10 veterinarians would assist in monitoring the horses' health as well as carrying out quarantine.

Until Monday, 129 horses from participating countries arrived at the Sultan Mahmud Airport here while several others arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

All the horses are now being quarantined at the Sultan Mahmud Airport and in Lembah Bidong.

"Despite the long journey and climate differences, checks showed that the horses are healthy," he told Bernama when contacted.

The organiser would determine whether the horses were fit for the race, he said.

The horses are from Norway, Slovakia, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Hungary, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Colombia and New Zealand.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin will lead Malaysia's charge at the championship. The team consists of 12 riders.

Malaysia is hosting the championship for the first time.

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Posted By Merri to WEC Reports at 11/04/2008 04:49:00 PM

[WEC Reports] Heat and humidity could ruin it for participants

The New Straits Times Online
2008/11/04
Zainuddin Muhammad


SETIU, TERENGGANU:

The race is literally heating up. With the 12th edition of the World Endurance Championship at Terengganu International Endurance Park in Lembah Bidong kicking off Thursday, heat and humidity are being cited as 'fear factors' by some of the participants.
Even veteran Australian Margaret Wade, who is currently ranked sixth in the world, is struggling with the tropical heat astride China Doll, as she trains in preparation for the competition which is being held in Malaysia for the first time.

A first-timer in this part of the world, the 47-year-old said that it is much hotter and more humid here than in Australia, but after almost two weeks of acclimatising, she and her horse are coping a little better.

She said it was not often that she had to ride throughout the night in previous competitions, and it would take a while for her and China Doll to adjust to the new riding environment.

But Wade, one of six members in Team Australia, said it was all part and parcel of the game and after being in the circle for more than 20 years, she knows what it takes to attain success.
For now, she said that training comprises just four hours on the back of her horse in the morning and a walking session in the afternoon to develop fitness and to get to know the area better.

As for her target in the tournament, she said it would be nice to walk away with the champion's trophy, but she would settle for the best possible finish due to the presence of other world-calss endurance riders.

Her teammate, George Matthew, 40, is equally optimistic of his chances, as he said he and his team members had prepared well for the tournament.

He said one other reason for his confidence is his horse, Brookleigh Ricardo, which has been undefeated in the past two years.

Matthew added that he hoped the nine-year-old Arabian stallion could do it again here in Lembah Bidong, but hopes that there would not be a heavy downpour on race night.

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Posted By Steph Teeter to WEC Reports at 11/04/2008 04:40:00 PM

[WEC Reports] Age No Barrier For 68 Year-Old American Rider Janice Worthington

Bernama.com
November 04, 2008 19:04 PM

SETIU, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- At 68, Janice Worthington of the United States is the oldest competitor in the FEI World Endurance Championship at the Terengganu International Endurance Park (TIEP) in Lembah Bidong here from Nov 6-9.

Worthington said age would not stand in the way of her pursuit of sporting fulfillment and glory due her deep passion for horse riding since 30 years ago.

In fact, this is her fifth attempt at the World Endurance Championship. The first was in Compiegne, France in the 2000 edition even though she never came close to winning.

"For me, the adage in endurance racing "that to finish is to win" still applies," she told reporters here today.

Worthington, who has four grandchildren, lives in Illinois where she has a 300-acre ranch complete with 65 horses which she breeds for sale. One of them is the eight-year-old "Golden Lightning", which she has brought here for the championship.

The plucky lady is every bit serious about gunning for the title and did a two-week training stint in Florida recently as the state's climate is almost similar to that of Malaysia.

"To acclimatise myself to the heat and humidity of Malaysia, Florida proved ideal. I think its is very important for the riders to acclimatise themselves especially when it involves hot and humid conditions," said Worthington.

Despite her age, she has chalked up well over 30,000 miles on the saddle and is not showing any signs of slowing down either.

Just a couple of months ago, she won a 100-mile all-night endurance race in the United States.

"Horse riding has been my first love and I am most happy on a horse. It's all in the mind and there is no such thing as too old to ride. As long as you are mentally fit, you can ride. More so in endurance racing," said Worthington, who is part of the six-member American team to the championship.

"I look forward to doing well here. That's why I have taken the trouble to train in Florida because I know I need to prepare the horse and myself to adapt to a different environment which is a challenging one," said Worthington.

The fact that she is in the team will serve as an inspiration to 133 riders from 32 countries who will taking part in the prestigious championship.

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Posted By Steph Teeter to WEC Reports at 11/04/2008 04:36:00 PM

[WEC Reports] Uruguay Team Banks On Women Power in Endurance Riding C'ships

Bernama.com
November 04, 2008 19:26 PM

SETIU, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- Apart from lining up their top most rider, Olascoaga Amaya, who is the world number two and highest ranked endurance rider in the FEI-World Endurance Championship (FEI-WEC) here from Nov 6-9, Uruguay are also fielding four women riders, including two sisters.

Uruguay coach Pio Olascoaga Silveira said their six riders, consist of two men riders, Olascoaga Amaya and Juan Cruz Caceres Aranda who form the backbone of the team, and four women riders, Adriana Basso Mac Gregor, Isadora Machkinnon and sisters Flavia Maria and Sofia Maria Fernandez Danvilla.

"All the women riders are very passionate about this toughest endurance race. They are well prepared to compete against the 142 riders from 32 countries," he said after a training session held at Pantai Merang, here, today.

Asked on Uruguay's target for the championship, Olascoaga said the team's ultimate aim was to win the team title.

He, however, acknowledged that they will face a strong challenge from defending champions France as well as Portugal, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

"In actual fact, we are not too worried about our competitors but rather the hot and humid weather conditions here that might affect our riders and the horses," he said.

Meanwhile, sisters, Flavia, 24, and Sofia, 22, said since they are not familiar with night riding, they are set to face a new challenge as the race starts at 5pm and goes on right through the night.

"In Uruguay, we seldom ride at night. However, to meet the requirement of this championship, we have trained several times at night and now have some knowledge and confidence of competing against the rest," said Flavia who rides Count Spot.

The FEI-WEC, a 160km endurance horse race held at the Terengganu International Endurance Park (TIEP) in Lembah Bidong, is regarded as the toughest horse race in the world as the competition winds around paths along the beach, woods, several water crossings, village settlements, plantations, flat logistic roads and tarmac crossings.

Apart from Uruguay, riders from South Africa, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala, Germany, Holland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, France, Portugal, Qatar, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United States and Britain are competing.

Malaysia are represented by 12 riders and led by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.

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Posted By Steph Teeter to WEC Reports at 11/04/2008 04:33:00 PM