2010WEG: Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Tickets on Sale Today

horsechannel.com

The world championships of eight different equestrian sports will begin exactly one year from today.

September 25, 2009

Lexington, Kentucky has been preparing for the World Equestrian Games for three years now, and the one-year countdown begins today.

The World Equestrian Games are held every four years and are the world championship of eight equestrian sports: Dressage, show jumping, eventing, reining, vaulting, endurance, para-dressage and combined driving. The world's best horses and riders will compete at the Kentucky Horse Park from September 25-October 10, 2010. This is the first time in WEG history that they will be held outside of Europe. The WEG will return to Europe in 2014 when they will be held in Normandy, France.

In recognition of the start of the one-year countdown, tickets will go on sale to the general public at noon today. To find pricing information and purchase tickets, visit the World Equestrian Games official website at http://www.alltechfeigames.com/. Tickets can also be purchased through ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets are sold by event and session, and prices range from $25-150. For many Americans, the 2010 WEG will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the world's top equestrians compete in one location.

A variety of volunteer positions are available as well. Visit alltechfeigames.com for more information.

The World Equestrian Games celebrations are underway today in downtown Lexington. For those not in the Kentucky area, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government will be streaming a live video of the festivities at their website from 11 am to 1 pm Eastern time.

Get your tickets here .

Italy: Opening Ceremonies and Trot-Outs for European Championship Open in Assisi

www.endurance.net/international/Italy/2009Assisi

25 September 2009

Leonard Liesens reports from Assisi, Italy on the Opening Ceremonies and the vetting in of the horses for the 2009 European Endurance Championship Open.

Full coverage at www.endurance.net/international/Italy/2009Assisi

Lindsay Graham and Monk Capture Top Honors at the American Endurance Ride Conference National Championship Ride

USEF Press Release
Release: September 24 2009
By Troy Smith

The premiere event of the American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC), the annual National Championship ride, proved to be a weekend of celebration in Northern California on September 11 and 13. At the site of the annual Patriot’s Day ride in Greenville, CA, competitors arrived from all over the western U.S. and Canada to compete for AERC’s top prizes.

The 100-mile championship ride, held Friday, was won handily by Lindsay Graham, a fourth-year veterinary student at the University of California at Davis. Riding Chris Martin’s seven-year-old chestnut Arabian gelding, Monk, Graham finished the technical course in nine hours and 58 minutes, 35 minutes ahead of second-place finisher Brad Green of Auburn, CA, riding Pawnee, his 10-year old Arabian-cross gelding.

“I was planning on just finishing in the required FEI COC time,” said Graham, referring to the International Equestrian Federation’s certificate of capability time of 12 hours and 20 minutes. “We passed people in the vet checks as Monk pulsed down immediately at every check.

“I kept a very steady pace all day. People always passed me downhill, but I passed them uphill, and let him canter on the flats,” said Graham. “He has a very easy big canter and his heart rate drops significantly.”

The win came as a surprise to the 27-year-old with 2,275 AERC miles to her credit. “The day just came together the way people dream of,” she said. “The ‘Monk man’ never slowed down. He gave me an incredible ride.”

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Italy: All Horses have Arrived in Assisi for the European Championship

Reporter Extraordinaire Leonard Liesens sends his first report from Assisi, home to the 2009 European Endurance Championship Open

Thursday 24 September 2009

All horses have now arrived at the venue. An amazing venue of several huge tents accommodating the restaurants, the place for holding events, the commercial stands. Then of course also the VIP tents and the tents installed for Malaysia, Bahrain, and UAE.

The venue is installed on a plain, surrounded by hills. On one hill, the medieval city of Assisi (World Heritage) that will probably intensively be used by photograph as background.

The trail has been described as "tricky" by all teams who pre-rode it. A lot of asphalt roads, some dangerous parts to be ridden on the first loop in the dark.
Among the favorites : Maria Alvarez and Nobby, reigning World Champions, HE Sh Nasser from Bahrain on board Khandela des Vialettes (this horse is one of the best of the world, but the question is "how will he perform on this technical going"), current European Champion Jean-Philippe Frances on Hanaba du Bois.

There will be two vetgates, one at the venue and one abroad that will be used for all loops except the last one.

This evening, the opening ceremony with the presentation of the teams (on the central square of Assisi), then the gala dinner. Tomorrow the real things will start with the trotting of the horses, the chef d’equipe meeting and the preparation work of the crews.

Later,

Leonard Liesens, www.endurance-belgium.com

Great Britain: Adventurer completes world's toughest horse race

Thisislocallondon.co.uk - Full Article

24th September 2009

By Robert Fisk »


FOUR falls, six stitches and a wolf could be the start of a bad joke.

But instead they are the injuries sustained and the foe encountered by Paul Chew when he took part in the world’s toughest horse race.

The intrepid adventurer is recovering at his home in Southfield Road, Shortlands, after coming fourth in the Mongol Derby.

Over the eight days it took him to complete the 1,000km race across Mongolia he kept a diary of his experiences.

Day 1: The Start

After the initial weigh where I officially became the heaviest person in the race at 84.5kgs.

More...

Italy: Bahrain set for endurance test

Gulf-daily-news.com

Thursday, September 24, 2009

ROYAL Endurance Horse ride team captain Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa will arrive in Italy today to lead the Bahraini squad at the European Championship 2009.

Shaikh Nasser, the Bahrain Olympic Committee president, will be accompanied by Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation president and captain of Al Khaldiya Stables Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

Shaikh Nasser will be riding Kheopsy Du Pilat while Shaikh Khalid will compete on Khandela Des Vialette in this prestigious competition which will be flagged off on Saturday at 6am (Bahrain time).

The two lead some of the finest Bahraini riders in this event which has attracted entries from 26 countries.

Other Bahraini riders are Yousef Taher, Ghazi Al Doseri, Ahmed Abdulla Al Hazza, Abdulrahman Al Saa'd, Raed Mahmood and Jaffer Mirza.

A maximum of six riders from each country are allowed to take part. Besides Shaikh Nasser and Shaikh Khalid, the final line-up for the Bahraini team includes Al Saad who will be riding Zirkonia, Al Hazza will take part on Ganda Koy, Mirza on Mexico and Al Doseri on Khyber.

Countries in the fray include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, UK, Hungary, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, the US and Uruguay,

The race will be sponsored by Dubai Racing Club and will be held over 160kms divided into six stages. An opening ceremony will be held today at the Assisi's municipal square. The championship will be shown live on Bahrain Sports Channel following directives from Shaikh Nasser.

After today's opening ceremony, the horses will be subjected to veterinary examination at the endurance village.

The weight of each horse taking part should not exceed 75 kgs while maximum pulse rate at the veterinary gate after each stage should be 64 beats per minute within 20 minutes.

An International Veterinary Symposium is also set for today at the conference room of the Grand Hotel Assisi.

Canada: Rocking good time for riders

Hope Standard
Published: September 21, 2009 4:00 PM

Endurance Riders Association of British Columbia held its last endurance ride of the season on Saturday, Sept 12th in Westbank. The Westbank Rocker, as it is called, was attended by 70 riders, with three of them hailing from Hope.

Local riders Shelly Taylor, daughter Danielle and fellow rider Denise Pascucci, saddled up for the 22 mile ride through the telemark skiing trails of Crystal Mountain. Although billed as a 22 mile, the trails ended up amounting to 25 miles in total. After getting the all clear from the vets on Friday, all three horses settled in nicely for the night to prepare for the long haul the next day.

The first loop consisted of 16 miles of up and down terrain, a few good mud holes and some spectacular scenery overlooking Westbank and Okanagan Lake. With an 8 a.m. start, the trio completed the first loop by 10:15 a.m., vetted in to make sure all was well with the horses, had their mandatory 45 minute break, then headed out again at 11:35 a.m. The second loop of nine miles proved much more gruelling and technical, having to follow small trails, going through lots of mud and enduring several climbs.

Danielle Taylor, at the young age of 13, maneuvered her horse Sierra, like a seasoned pro, through the ever-changing terrain. The trio returned to base camp at 13:21 having completed the race in 4 hrs, 46 mins. With the final vet in, giving all three horses the clear, the race was complete, the horses unsaddled, fed and groomed and the riders happy with their results. Danielle placed 19th out of 32 riders and 6th place in the junior category, while mom, Shelly, placed 20th and Denise placed 18th overall.