Brazilian horse registers first win in UAE

EnduroOnline.com.br
Al Galyb HCF is the first Brazilian horse to win a ride in the UAE. He finished first place with Ahmad Saeed Al Kamda the HH SH MANSOOR BIN ZAYED AL NAHYAN ENDURANCE CUP on January 24, 2009, in Al Wathba. Al Galyb was bought at Haras Endurance Auction on April 2008.

Before goes to UAE, AL GALYB HCF competed in endurance rides in Brasil, finishing first the CEI*** 120 km in Brasília on December 2007.

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Saudi Arabia: The Prince Khaled's Cup Endurance Challenge 2009 to boost Endurance sport in the Kingdom.

Located at Al Khalediah Farm, Tebrak, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (K.S.A), the Prince Khaled Endurance Cup will be the premier FEI ride on the K.S.A calendar this year.

The event which will take place on January 27th is a joint venture between the Al Khalediah Arabian Horse Festival and Intl. Endurance Equestrian Events.

The event is patronized by His Royal Highness, Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin AbdulAziz Al Saud.

Al Khalediah Farm, Tebrak, which is 90km from Riyadh on the road to Makkah (Holy place), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (K.S.A). provieds excellent facilities and infrastructure, the venue is set to provide excellent facilities suited to overseas and local participants, officials and visitors.

The Prince Khaled‘s Cup Endurance Challenge 2009 will be a door opening event to the FEI World Class Endurance in the K.S.A. In the challenge, riders will have to plot through various terrains, undulating slopes and sandy areas in the subtropical cool air in the morning and night. The Looping will be marked with flags prominently at strategic points to guide the riders for looping distance and direction. Along the trails, there will be designated water points providing drinking water and ice water for cooling at approximately every 5km. Throughout the course, riders will need to go through compulsory stops after each loop called Vet Gate, for cooling their horses, whilst ensuring the safety and welfare of their animal from the checks performed by a highly expert team of endurance veterinarians. Endurance sport is still fairly young in K.S.A. and as part of the state‘s efforts to promote sports tourism, the staging of The Prince Khaled‘s Cup Endurance Challenge 2009 will help boost this sport in the Kingdom.

The managing directors of Intl. Endurance Equestrian Events are two well-known figures in the equestrian world, Ahmed Ali Al-Hammadi and Mohammad Essa Al Adhab both are FEI four-star Grand Jury members along with chief steward and Technical Delegate. They have more than twenty years of working experience in equine industry.

The Timing System from Intl. Endurance Equestrian Events is best in the world due to its handling a heavy load, it can handle unlimited number of horses per race, and it can handle more than 20 horses each 5 seconds on the arrival gates or vet in gates. This system is robust and it has managed successfully Endurance races more than 13 years in U.A.E.

Intl. Endurance Equestrian Events has already conducted endurance rides world wide in countries such as Qatar, Egypt ,Malaysia and now in recently world endurance championship ( WEC) 2008 in Malaysia. Now in K.S.A. it will perform its job in The Prince Khaled‘s Cup Endurance Challenge 2009.

Qatar: International Season Begins for Al Shaqab Endurance Team

Al Khalediah Festival Cup Endurance Challenge Scheduled for Tues, Jan. 27

26/01/09, Doha, Qatar – The Al Shaqab Endurance Team, member of the Qatar Foundation, will begin its international season in the Al Khalediah Festival Cup Endurance Challenge, Tuesday, January 27, Tebrak, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The event marks the first international competition for the Al Shaqab team since representing Qatar to a dramatic silver medal finish in the 2008 World Endurance Championship held in Malaysia.

Al Shaqab entered a team of six riders that will be headed by: Owaida Al Hajeri, general supervisor; Hadi Nasser Al Ramzani, manager and trainer; and Jabr Nasser Al Ramzani, assistant trainer.

Riders competing for Al Shaqab: Atta Mohammed Beer, Faleh Nasser Saleh Bughenaim, Mohammed Tahous Saif Al Naimi, Hassan Tahous Saif Al Naimi, Abdul Rahmen Al Sulaiteen, Khalid Al Malki Al Jehani.

The event is a 120 km FEI sanctioned CEI *** event and the course will include a mix of various terrains, undulating slopes and flat sandy areas. It will be divided into five loops and after each loop the horses are stopped for a mandatory veterinary inspection. They will be checked for heart rate, respiratory and dehydration. Only those horses that pass the veterinary check are allowed to continue the race. Any horse that is determined unfit by the veterinary team, due to fatigue or lameness, is eliminated from the competition.

Abu Dhabi: Al Kamda registers first win at Shaikh Mansour Cup

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

M. Satya Narayan
January 24, 2009

Abu Dhabi: Ahmad Saeed Al Kamda registered his first career-win riding Al Galyb HCF in the Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Endurance Cup, a 100-kilometre ride restricted to riders and owners of private stables.

It could have been a 1-2 for the Al Kamda family but Rashid Saeed Al Kamda, who finished holding hands with the eventual winner Ahmad Saeed, was eliminated after his horse Jeelan failed the post-ride vet check due to metabolism reasons.

Layla Abdul Aziz Al Redha, who has won such an event for private stables, finished second while the young Aliya Ali Mohammad Al Marzouqi was third.

"I have been involved with horses since a child and have been riding for well over a decade but this is my first win," said the 25-year-old Al Kamda.

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Abu Dhabi: Al Beloushi ends season's drought

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

M. Satya Narayan
January 24, 2009

Abu Dhabi: Yousuf Ahmad Al Beloushi, one of the most consistent performers in the UAE's domestic circuit, finally ended his wait for his first win of the season at the Emirates International Endurance Village on Saturday.

The champion trainer-cum-rider scored an emphatic win, leading from start to finish, in the 120-kilometre Al Wathba Cup.

Yesterday's ride, sponsored by Sorouh Real Estate, China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation and the Breeding Stables of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Presidential Affairs, in Normandy, was attended by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The Al Reef Stables' star rider Yousuf, who has trained winners in nine of the rides held so far this season, had missed winning on quite a few occasions but when the win did come it was an authoritative one. Riding 11-year-old Roherty Bold, Yousuf set the pace early as he registered a speed of 27.77 kilometres per hour in the opening loop of 32 kilometres and from then on was in control, scoring his fourth win on the bay gelding.

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Malaysia: Tuanku Mizan To Participate In RTES Endurance Ride

Bernama.com

January 24, 2009

SETIU, Jan 24 (Bernama) -- The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin will lead 51 participants in the Royal Terengganu Endurance Stable (RTES) Endurance Ride 2009 that will be held at the Terengganu International Endurance Park (TIEP) in Lembah Bidong here Sunday.

The General Manager of the RTES, Che Mat Din Ismail, said the King will take part in the 80km category together with 26 others with the start being at 6.30am. The ride is expected to finish at 4.30pm.

"Besides the King, also in the Endurance Ride is the Regent of Terengganu, Tengku Muhammad Ismail, and his sister Tengku Nadhirah Zaharah who will take part in the 40km category," he said at a news conference here Saturday.

For the 40km event which is expected finish at 12.30pm, he said there were 26 entries received but two were rejected as the horses did not pass the health test while another withdrew at the last minute.

According to him, the Endurance Ride is a warm-up event for the sport and beginning this year it will be held every month to have more young talent take part in the sport in the country.

He said beginning this year the competition will be coordinated by the Malaysia Endurance Riders Association (MERA) which was newly set up and each rider who wanted to participate in an endurance horse race abroad must take part in the local endurance ride circuit to collect points before representing the country at the international level.

The international races include the World Junior Championship in Hungary and the European Open Championship in Italy, both to be held in September.

He said the besides the TIEP in Terengganu the local circuit would also include parks in other states including Melaka, Kedah, Pahang, Kelantan and Perlis.

Besides MERA, the endurance races that will be held monthly will also be organised by the Equestrian Association of Malaysia and the Ministry of Youth and Sports through the National Sports Institute.

Abu Dhabi: Ladies endurance day

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

M. Satya Narayan
January 24, 2009

Abu Dhabi: Afra Khalifa Al Suwaidi and Australian ace Margaret Wade drove away with a 4WD car each after finishing first and second in yesterday's Sorouh-sponsored Shaikha Fatima Bint Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Ladies Endurance Challenge 90-km ride at Emirates International Endurance Village.

For Afra, it was a great win as she started the final stage behind the experienced Wade, who has won the Australian National Championship four times and has a lot of experience riding in the World Cup.

But riding Al Reef horse Kassalo, Afra rode the final 16 kms at an average speed of 27.55 kms to finish with almost two minutes to spare. Wade, who finished the first 30-km stage in second place then forged ahead and led for the next two stages of 24kms and 20kms.

However Afra's horse Kassalo, a 14-year-old part Arab trained by champion Yousuf Ahmad Al Beloushi, did well to overturn an 18-second deficit into a comfortable win.

"Last year I won at the Al Asayel Ladies championship series and this is another great win for me. It was really very tough as the pace set by the riders was very high," said the winner, who was given the keys to her car by young Shaikha Fatima Bint Mansour Bin ZayedAl Nahyan.

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