UAE: Mohammed wins endurance ride

Gulf News




Euston Park, Norfolk: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, clinched the top spot in the 120-km Euston Park Endurance ride on Monday.

Shaikh Mohammad won the gruelling "Ride with the Stars" event in a time of five hours, seven minutes and 47 seconds. Finishing second, a split second behind in 5 hours 07.48 seconds, was Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.

A strong field of 118 riders from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Italy, Luxemborg, the United States of America, Australia, Ireland and England participated in the ride.

Shaikh Mohammad was riding Acadini, while Shaikh Hamdan partnered Jazyk.

Fauiz Al Turkmani finished in third place aboard Ridasa in a time of 5 hours 08.09seconds while Hussain Ali Al Mazroui was fourth. His time was 5 hours 08.10 seconds.

Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture, also participated in the ride.

Present at the event was Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, Shaikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, Shaikh Mansour Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Shaikh Zayed Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan.

Experienced Spanish rider Maria Mercedes Alvarez Ponton finished fifth in a time of 5 hours 08.09seconds while her compatriot Jomi Ponti took sixth place.

A trio of French riders occupied the next three places. Cecile Totain was seventh in 5:16.15, O'Riley Campi eighth in 5:19.15 and Cecil Melito ninth in 5:26.39.

Karen Belanger from Belgium occupied tenth place.

UAE: Shaikh Mohammed made to wait

The National
Zoë Griffiths
August 04. 2009

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will not be allowed to compete in International Equestrian Federation (FEI) endurance horse races until October 3 after an inquiry – the results of which were made public yesterday – confirmed one of his horses had been given banned substances.

He removed himself from events in April after his lawyers said horses at the Emaar Stables in Dubai had revealed traces of banned substances.

The investigation focused on Tahhan, a horse he rode at the CEI 120 kilometre endurance event in Sakhir, Bahrain on January 10 and the CEI 120 kilometre event in Dubai on February 28. The horse was found to have traces of two banned drugs in its system.

They were Guanabenz, a drug used to manage hypertension in humans, with a calming and pain relieving effect on animals, and, the anabolic steroid 16-b Hydroxy-Stanozolol, used by Ben Johnson at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

The FEI’s tribunal panel yesterday banned Sheikh Mohammed for six months, backdated to April, and fined him 4,000 Swiss Francs (Dh13,840). His trainer, Abdullah bin Huzaim, received a ban of 12 months and a fine of 4,000 Swiss Francs. Bin Huzaim admitted giving the horse drugs without Sheikh Mohammed’s knowledge.

Under the governing body’s strict liability approach to anti-doping rules, the FEI found Sheikh Mohammed the principle person responsible and his trainer as the secondary individual responsible

Bin Huzaim defended his actions, saying he believed the horse was in need of the medication. In a letter to the tribunal panel, Sheikh Mohammed said that with an ownership stake in 700 endurance horses he could not be expected to be aware of each horse’s medication. He is one of the world’s leading owners and breeders of thoroughbred racehorses.

Sheikh Mohammed’s wife, Princess Haya of Jordan, is the president of the FEI and has been campaigning to clean up its doping problems. He is allowed to compete in non-FEI events.

South Africa: Local Lanel ranked nr 3 in the world

Limpopo Informant - full article
Grade 11 Stanford Lake College learner, Lanel van Nieuwenhuizen, has been chosen to represent South Africa in endurance riding at the Young Rider World Championships on 5 September in Babolna, Hungary. She and the rest of the team will be competing over a 120km distance. She is currently the number one Fei endurance young rider (14-21 years) in South Africa and is ranked third in the world.

Grade 11 Stanford Lake College learner, Lanel van Nieuwenhuizen (17), was recently chosen to represent South Africa in endurance riding at the Young Rider World Championships that will take place on 5 September in Babolna, Hungary.

She and the rest of the team will be competing over a 120km distance on horses especially hired for the team from France. The horses will be sent from France to Hungary for the championships.

The Van Nieuwenhuizen family lives in Louis Trichardt and when she is not at school, Van Niewenhuizen is riding one of her horses. Endurance riding is definitely a family activity. Her mother, Leonie, developed her love for all things horsy at an early age and bought her her first horse when she was just 7 years old. She.started endurance riding when she was 10 years old on her horse Studvet Sam. She still has Studvet Sam and he is her favourite out of the eight horses she currently has, although he is no longer her main competition horse. Her main competition horse is now Jozami Foxin. She has competed in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Chili and Hungary – all on horses that she had never ridden before and, even more remarkably, finished in the top three riders every time.

Up until the age of 14 years, Van Nieuwenhuizen was not allowed to participate riding alone (as per this sport’s rules) but this was no problem as her mother is also a keen endurance rider and a Springbok.

Van Nieuwenhuizen’s father, Johan, is her groom. In endurance riding, the horse has to return to a certain spot every 30km for grooming and a check done by a veterinarian.

To date, Van Nieuwenhuizen has done over 8 000km in competition on 17 different horses. The basics of endurance riding is dressage and she has done numerous training and jumping courses.

Van Nieuwenhuizen is the number one Fei Endurance Young Rider (14 -21 years old) in South Africa. She is also currently the number three Fei Endurance Young Rider on the Fei world ranking list.

She represented South Africa for the first time when she was 14 years old and received her permanent Springbok number when she was 15 years of age. She also has her Protea colours. She has competed against senior riders over distances of 120km and 160km in Italy and South Africa. This means her saddle had to be loaded with weights for her to be able to pass the minimum weight requirement of 75kg. Van Nieuwenhuizen does well academically and when she is not on a horse, she plays hockey and netball. She plans to become a veterinarian or an equine physiotherapist and wants to continue endurance riding after school. Endurance is the fastest growing horsesport in the world and at an average ride in South Africa, one would find over 200 horses competing.

"Lanel loves her horses and loves riding and is very hard working," says her mom of her. - Karen Venter

USA: Individual Gold Determined by One Second at the North American Young Riders Endurance Ride

USEF Release: July 30 2009
By Leah Oliveto

The North American Young Riders Endurance ride took place on Friday, July 24. It was run concurrently with the FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC) and for the first time all three North American countries were represented.

Held in the rolling hills of Henryville, IN, riders competed against the clock for team and individual medals. Heavy rains left the ride’s 75-mile course a bit more treacherous, requiring riders to be extra cautious.

The Individual Gold and Silver medals were determined by a mere second. Kelsey Kimbler and Junior CAHR finished with a winning time of 8:19:11, Jennifer Stevens and Sha Strike Two took Silver with a time of 8:19:12. Finishing 12 minutes later to capture the Bronze was Alexandria Kirkland and Latteefah.

Team medals are determined by combining the times of the fastest three completers from each team. Team Gold went to USA Mountain/Pacific with a combined time of 28:10:46, Team Silver went to International, comprised of two Mexican and three Canadian riders, which were one of the only teams to have all five riders complete the course. USA Central, led by Kimbler and Kirkland, took home Team Bronze.

The coveted Best Condition Award was given to Junior CAHR, ridden by Kimbler and owned by Kirsten Kimbler. This award is given to the horse judged to be in the best condition, using a scoring system that takes into account veterinary score, time to complete the course and weight carried.

The winning teams traveled back to the Kentucky Horse Park and were recognized during the NAJYRC closing ceremonies held on Sunday.

Tevis 2009: We're Going Home, K-Zar! Southern Horse Wins

thehorse.com

photo:Sarah Engsberg and K-Zar take their victory lap celebrating their 2009 Tevis win.

K-Zar Emanuel, 15-year-old gray Arabian gelding won the 2009 Tevis Cup, crossing the finishing line at 10:20 p.m. Saturday (Aug. 1). Four miles from the finish, after crossing No Hands Bridge in the California moonlight, rider Sarah Engsberg urged her mount on with the words, "We're Going Home, K-Zar."

Engsberg, from Fairburn, Ga., arrived in California early to ride K-Zar three times over the final miles in the days preceding the event to assure he knew where "home" lay. He responded by cantering most of the final four miles to win by 11 minutes. Melissa Ribley, DVM, finished second, followed one minute later by Marcia Smith, DVM.

It was the first Tevis attempt for both Engsberg and K-Zar, although they did finish 6th in The Biltmore 100 in June 2009. The Tevis ride celebrated its 54th running this year, and many endurance riders consider Tevis to be the most demanding 100-mile horse event in the world.

Alison Bailey, K-Zar's owner, waited with a tense crowd at the finish line above the fairgrounds in Auburn, Calif. Frontrunner Jeanette Mero, DVM, Mariposa, Calif., was "pulled" only six miles from the finish line. Using cell phones and internet connections, the crowd attempted to learn the positions of their favorites.

When Engsberg and K-Zar emerged from the dark, tree-covered trail to canter across the finish line, cheers and a few shouts of surprise rippled through the crowd. With owner and crew pulling his saddle, KZar drank from the well near the trail's end. They sponged him with cool water and within minutes his pulse rate had dropped and he walked across a small wooden bridge to the official veterinary check. As Engsberg ran alongside the gelding for his presentation to judge his soundness, cheers again rose from the spectators. His obvious soundness confirmed his status as the first-place finisher.

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Poland: The Kuźnia endurance contest – good organization and attendance

Polskiearaby.com

The Kuźnia endurance contest – good organization and attendance. Kamilia Tobiasz became Polish Champion

Author: Maciej Kacprzyk | 2009-07-28

Mistrzyni Polski Kamilia Tobiasz, fot. Mateusz Jaworski

During the last weekend (24th - 26th of July) in Kuźnia Nowowiejska Equestrian Center (Poland) the International Endurance Contest, as well as the Polish Contest and the Polish Championship, was held. During three days, nine contests attracted as many (as for an endurance competition) as sixty five pairs from eight countries that participated: Czech Republic, Finland, Holland, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, United Arab Emirates and Poland, of course.

Yara de Boer z Holandii na Riki's Macho Man, fot. Mateusz Jaworski


On Friday the CEI/CEIJY2* 120 km contests as well as a domestic L-class 30 km contest were held. In all 9 pairs – 6 seniors (a CEI2* contest) and 3 juniors and junior riders (a CEIJY2* contest) – started in the 120 km contest. In the CEIJ2* contest the Young Riders and Juniors Polish Championship was about to hold. Unfortunately it didn’t come off because only one Polish pair took part in the contest and therefore the condition of the minimum of 4 pairs taking part necessary to the Polish Championship to occur, wasn’t fulfilled.

full article at polskiearaby.com

Mongolia: Elite endurance vets assist Mongol Derby organisers

HorseandHound.com
Abigail Butcher, H&H news editor
31 July, 2009

Top international endurance vets are to assist organisers of the Mongol Derby in ensuring the welfare of horses involved in what is being dubbed the "longest, toughest horse race in the world".

Last week, H&H reported on the international row that had broken out over concerns that the welfare of 700 horses taking part in the 1,000km race would be compromised (news, 23 July).

But since then, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has stepped in to offer elite veterinary assistance to organisers, via the Mongolian government.

On Friday, 24 July, Ian Williams, head of non-Olympic sports for the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) met with Mongol Derby organisers on a "fact-finding" mission for the UAE.

"The UAE expressed a wish to provide high-level veterinary care, so we wanted a full briefing on provisions for the horses," he told H&H.

"It hasn't been finalised, but the UAE would like to provide a mobile equine hospital, along with international endurance vets to assess the horses before they race, and as they arrive at the urtuus [stations]."

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