Great Britain: Molly Malone carries Hannah to a hat-trick

Journallive.co.uk

Dec 20 2008

HEXHAM-BASED Endurance rider Hannah Shotton has won the North Bedmax Trophy for the third year in a row on her Connemara pony, Miss Molly Malone.

The event is run by the Northumberland & Tyneside Endurance group and is open to any EGB or SERC (Scotland) member. There are ten qualifying rides with distances over 48 kilometres held across the North and Scottish Borders. Points are calculated based on the horse’s speed and final heart rate. The faster the speed and the lower the heart rate, the higher the points.

The trophy is awarded to the horse-rider combination with the highest total from four of the rides and prizes are presented to the first three places.

The Northumberland & Tyneside Endurance GB trophies were awarded at their Annual Group Meeting in the Robin Hood Inn, near Corbridge, by vet and sponsor Colin Mitchell, partner at ScottMitchell Associates, Hexham.

He made a short presentation on equine dentistry which was followed by a talk on the activities and hopes of the EGB Young Riders by Hannah Shotton.

Bahrain: Riders Set for National Guard Race

NINETY-two riders are in the fray for today's National Guard Endurance Horseride Championship, starting at 5.30am at the Bahrain International Endurance Village in Sakhir.

The second endurance race of the season, to be held under the patronage of National Guard Commander Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa, will be over 120km.

The race will be divided into five stages. The first and second stages will cover 30km each, 25km for the third stage, 20km for the fourth and 15km for the fifth.

A huge number of riders have confirmed their participation in this challenging event which is open to seniors and juniors of all ages and nationalities.

Among top stables taking part in the senior race is the Royal Endurance Team who will be represented by 18 riders, led by veteran Yusuf Taher who will ride Maraka.

Other prominent team riders include Ghazi Al Dossary, Jaffer Mirza, Khalid Al Ruwaie, Fahad Bakheit, Raed Mahmood, Ahmed Abdulsamad, Abdulhaq Qadoori and Ahmed Abdulsamad.

The remaining Royal team members are Mohammed Batch, Mahindra Singh, Karan Singh, Ahmed Abdulla, Elene Lyon, Morgan S., Abdulrahman Al Zayed and Mohammed Al Thawadi.

Al Talia Stable, another title favourites, will be spearheaded by three riders - Sang Singh Bhati, Samir Singh and Dalpat Singh.

Shaikh Saqer bin Khalid Al Khalifa will lead a three-member team of Al Fateh Stable. The remaining two are Abdulla Al Muawda and Isa Buhazza.

Other stables in the fray include the Kingdom Stable, Al Shuwamekh, Hawar Equestrian, Hossam Mansoor, Jehad Al Sharaf, Awal, Ibrahim Abdali Stable, Al Ruwaie, Falcons, Saar Riding School, Hassan Al Ruwaie, Generation Stable, Al Asayel, Ali Ghuloom and Shabeer Malalla.

In the junior race, the Royal Endurance Team will be represented by Shaikha Maryam Al Khalifa and Ahmed Al Qaud.

From Al Fateh Stable, Shaikha Najla bint Salman Al Khalifa is another favourite to win a podium spot in this category. Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalid Al Khalifa, Isa Al Ghatam and Hussain Aref are the other riders to race for Al Fateh Stable.

Also taking part in the junior races are riders from the Kingdom Stables, Hawar, Al Shuwamekh, Awal, Ras Jameel, Abu Younes, Al Mughairat, Al Ruwaie, Saar, Hassan Al Ruwaie and Al Asayel.

This prestigious championship will also feature two qualifying races over 60km and 80km. These warm-up races mostly attract young riders seeking experience for major events in the future.

In the 80km race, three riders are in the fray and they are Tito from Al Shuwamekh Stables, Nasser Awad from Al Mughairat Stable and Sayed Hussain Sayed Ali from Jawad Radhi Stable.

Six riders will line up in the 60km, including Abdulla Al Qaud and Abdulla Johar of the Royal Endurance Team, Mohammed Al Belooshi and Mohammed Al Khatry and Abdulrahman Ali of Al Asayel Stable besides Amelia Boyd from Abbas Khalil Stable.

Meanwhile, the veterinary examination will be held today from 2.30am until 4.30am at the endurance village. The weight procedures will also take place today during the veterinary examination as each rider should not be less than 75kg in weight.

The veterinarian and grounds jury committee members were announced as Carol B of Great Britain was named head of the ground jury committee which also includes Ghalib Al Alawi, Haider Al Zu'bi of Jordan and Bahrain's Abdulsamad Al Busta, Mahdi Al Kelaiti, Ali Ghuloom and Fahad Al Rumaihi.

Tunisia's Dr Yasine Al Mo'tamiri is head of the veterinary committee which consists of veterinarians from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, Argentina and Bahrain.
Endurance.Net Coverage

USA: Arabian breeder Donald Forbis dies

Horsetalk.co.nz

Longtime US arabian horse breeder Donald Forbis died on Monday in Mena, Arkansas, at the age of 81. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer in June.

With his wife, Judith, Forbis founded the renowned Ansata Arabian Stud in 1958. The couple met in Turkey in 1957 while he was working as an oil well manager and she was with US International Cooperation Administration's Turkish Mission. They married in March 1958.

Both were horse lovers and while living in the southeast Diyarbakir region, bought Arabian horses to race in the local races for "something to do." Don trained them, and Judith rode them in the races. Her book Hoofbeats Along the Tigris chronicles their hazardous racing career as they won races and earned the respect of the Turks, Kurds and Arabs.

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Bahrain: Riders set for National Guard Endurance race

Gulf-daily-news.com

18th DECEMBER 2008

LEADING riders will be vying for top honours in the National Guard Endurance Horseride Championship to be held on Saturday at the Bahrain International Endurance Village in Sakhir.

The championship, which is the second event of the season, will be over 120 kms and is open to senior and junior riders. It will be held under the patronage of National Guard Commander Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Top stables taking part in this event include Al Fateh Stable coached by veteran rider Shaikh Salman bin Saqer Al Khalifa.

Al Fateh Stable will be represented by four riders including Shaikh Salman's daughter Shaikha Najla Al Khalifa who will compete in the junior race.

Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalid Al Khalifa (junior race) and Shaikh Saqer bin Khalid Al Khalifa and Abdulla Al Muawda (senior race) are the other members of the team.

Al Asayel Stable is also entering a strong field led by Khalid Al Khatry. Yousif Isa and Mohammed Al Thawadi are set to take part in the senior race while five riders - Abdulla Al Khatry, Fahad Sulaiman, Abdulrahman Rashid, Khalifa Saad and Mohammed Saifa - are in the fray in the junior race.

Coaches Khalid Al Ruwaie from Hassan Al Ruwaie Stable and Jaffer Al Alawi of Falcons Stables are also confident of their riders putting up a good show. This event will also mark Bahrain's National Day and His Majesty King Hamad's accession to the throne.

Endurance.net coverage

WEG Equine Piroplasmosis Protocol Released

Thehorse.com

by: Edited Press Release
December 12 2008, Article # 13258

After years in development, a plan that allows horses positive for equine piroplasmosis to enter the United States in order to compete in the Alltech 2010 World Equestrian Games was recently presented to the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) General Assembly. The Games, to be held Sept. 25-Oct. 10, 2010, represent the world championships of the eight FEI disciplines. This is the first time the Games will be held outside of Europe.

Equine piroplasmosis is a blood-borne disease that can cause sickness in horses that have not been previously exposed. In areas of the world where the disease is more common, it can be transmitted by carrier horses that have encountered the disease previously and that carry both the causative organism and antibodies in their blood.

The World Games 2010 Foundation coordinated with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) and the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to organize this protocol.

"Effectively negating the piroplasmosis risk for both competition horses and the domestic horse population is a primary focus for our team, as part of our overall importation and quarantine plan," said Kent Allen, DVM, veterinary services coordinator for the event. "We want all horses to enter a healthy environment, and to leave the Games from a healthy environment."

The piroplasmosis organism requires specific tick species to complete its life cycle. For the organism to spread, this species of tick must feed on an infected horse, then drop off and feed on a non-infected horse.

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New Zealand: Harmon shows endurance over testing 102km course

Stuff.co.nz - Full Article and results

The Marlborough Express | Wednesday, 17 December 2008

Linda Harmon outlasted Kylie Avery to take 102km honours at the Marlborough Endurance and Competitive Trail Riding Club's annual endurance ride on Saturday, December 6.

The two Marlborough riders were side by side for much of the four loops over the Easter Marchburn, Ditchling and Chestnut Valley properties but in the end it was Harmon and Landon V'erah who proved victorious.

Harmon crested the final hill ahead of Avery and Silands Jasark and gently cantered her horse down the final strip and over the line in 7 hours 47.26 minutes.

Avery finished 26 seconds later. Landon V'erah completed a double, taking the best conditioned award for the 102km class.

Marlborough junior rider Jaime Heywood, aboard Delights Antar, also completed the 102km ride, in 9.52.14.

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Sport Horse Veterinary Symposium to Run with WEG

Thehorse.com

Edited Press Release
December 16 2008, Article # 13280

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital and Alltech will sponsor a sport horse symposium for veterinarians to be held in conjunction with the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. The symposium, "Promoting Peak Performance in Equine Athletes," will be held Sept. 22-24, 2010, at the Marriot Griffin Gate Resort in Lexington, Ky. In addition to this symposium for veterinarians, Rood & Riddle and Alltech will conduct seminars at the Kentucky Horse Park during the Games for non-veterinary attendees.

The symposium will focus on veterinary care for horses involved in sport horse disciplines, including: eventing, show jumping, dressage, endurance, reining, vaulting, driving, and para-equestrian. An international roster of speakers will present in-depth, current information on orthopedic problems, diagnostic imaging, equine podiatry, gait disorders (lameness versus neurological disease), upper and lower respiratory disease, muscle disease, and nutrition.

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital is the official equine hospital and veterinary partner for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, which will be held Sept. 25 through Oct. 10 at the Kentucky Horse Park.

"Rood and Riddle is delighted to partner with Alltech to sponsor a symposium for sport horse veterinarians from around the world," said Tom Riddle, DVM. "We timed the meeting so that veterinarians could attend the symposium and stay for the Games, which begin the day following the closure of the symposium. We are assembling an outstanding group of speakers who will offer the latest information on veterinary care and nutrition of the sport horse."