Bahrain: Top riders for endurance season opener

Gulf-daily-news.com

Friday, November 13, 2009


PROMINENT riders will vie for supremacy today when they battle it out in the opening races of the 2009/10 endurance horse ride season at the Bahrain International Endurance Village in Sakhir.

Among top entrants are veteran Royal Endurance Team members Yousef Taher and Ghazi Al Dossary who will lead a group of young and experienced riders in the 90km ride which gets underway at 4pm.

Jaffer Mirza, Abdulla Khalifa, Abdulrahman Al Zayed, Ahmed Al Moawda and Abdulrahman Al Saad are the other favourites expected to claim a place on the podium.

Three additional qualifying rides are also set on the same day.

They are over 50kms, 65kms and 90kms.

In the 90-km event, riders will compete over three stages of 35kms for the first stage, 40kms for the second and 25kms for the third.

The 90-km qualifying ride was also divided into three similar stages, the 65-km ride consists of 35km and 30km phases while the two-stage 50-km ride features 25km for both phases.

The Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef), under the presidency of Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, has finalised preparations or today's championship.

Backing

Shaikh Khalid said the federation extended his backing to endurance competitions this season after the remarkable turn up of local stables and riders in taking part.

The Breef's chief indicated the outstanding success of the qualifying rides held last month at the village which saw more than 70 riders in the fray.

He also stressed on the noticeable preparations from all stables for the new season and their eagerness to win a place on the podium in each race they take part.

Shaikh Khalid admired the amazing participation of many young riders in last month's qualifying rides, adding that this initiative will certainly contribute to expand this sport in the kingdom.

Mongolia becomes 40th nation to join the Long Riders’ Guild

Longridersguild.com - Full Story
November 2009

Since its inception nearly ten years ago, the Long Riders’ Guild has assisted more than a hundred equestrian expeditions on every continent except Antarctica. During that time equestrian explorers and long distance travellers from every corner of the world have joined the Guild. With the completion of the journey made by Temuujin Zemuun and Batmonkh Muntuush, Mongolia becomes the 40th nation to join ranks of the Long Riders.

Canadian Long Rider Bonnie Folkins organized the journey in which she was joined by Temujiin and Batmonkh. Having just hung up her saddle, Bonnie reported on the difficulties, and unexpected emotional discoveries, of that ride.

"The dust and electrical storms are totally off the scale in Mongolia but the worst problems are the horse thieves who lurk around every corner. They are so bold that they rode through the centre of our camp in the daytime to check out our stock." Bonnie reported that horse thieves cut the hobbles off their horses and made several attempts to rustle the expedition horses. Yet despite the physical hardships, the new Canadian Long Rider reported the surprise she felt upon returning "home."

"I was looking out the window, day-dreaming and all I could think about was, I wish I had a horse to ride. But having a horse to ride is not the issue. It is the travelling and the day to day adventure on horseback. Having a horse and travelling by horse, especially if you are en route to an unknown destination, are absolutely separate. I knew at the end of the first week of our ride that because the adventure was on horseback it was completely different than anything I had ever done in my life..."


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Abu Dhabi: More than 70 riders to take part in challenge

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

By M. Satya Narayan, Senior Reporter
November 13, 2009

Total prize money for those who finish at the top is Dh300,000 while winner gets a 4WD


Abu Dhabi: More than 70 riders are likely to start in tomorrow's Sorouh Challenge 120-km Endurance Ride, which kickstarts the season at the Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba.

The annual ride, sponsored by Sorouh Real Estate in co-ordination with the Normandy-based Breeding Stables of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, will be held along with an 81km Sorouh Challenge Ride tomorrow.

Big hit

Addressing a press conference here yesterday, Adnan Sultan Saif Al Nuaimi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club (ADEC), said: "Over 70 entries have been received so far for the 120km ride while the 81km event has attracted over 150 entries."

"The total prize money for those who finish at the top is Dh300,000 while the winner will drive away a 4WD car," Sultan said.

"This season we have also decided to award a Rider's and Trainer's overall championship award at the end of the season for their performance here at the Emirates International Endurance Village," the official, himself an endurance rider, said.

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Canada: Toronto to host 2015 Pan Am Games

CBC.ca - Full Article

November 8, 2009

By Justin Piercy, CBC Sports

It's mission accomplished for Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, Toronto Mayor David Miller and all other members of the delegation supporting Toronto's bid to host the 2015 Pan Am Games.

On the first ballot of Friday's vote in Guadalajara, Mexico, Toronto was tapped as the host city.

"Our commitment, our pledge, our undertaking, our promise is to provide you with the best Pan Am Games ever," McGuinty told delegates after the results were announced. "It's an exciting time for so many of us here."

Miller also took the podium to express his gratitude for the first-ballot win.

"I would like to say thanks for all of the confidence shown in Toronto," Miller said. "See you all in 2015."

Bid adviser Bob Richardson said before the vote that he was confident his team did all it could to sell the region to Pan American Sports Organization voters.

It seems they did just that, beating out the two other bidding cities — Lima, Peru, and Bogota, Colombia.

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USEF Announces Date and Location for the 2010 Adequan FEI North American Junior/Young Rider Championships Pending Final FEI Approval

Release: November 12 2009
Author: By Joanie Morris

Lexington, KY – Pending final FEI approval, the USEF is announcing the following date and location for the 2010 Adequan FEI North American Junior/Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC). The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has received preliminary approval and is awaiting final allocation from the FEI Bureau.

Pending this approval, the NAJYRC will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park July 28-August 1, 2010. This is a unique opportunity to use a venue which has been completely redesigned. Less than two months later, the world will begin to arrive in Lexington, KY, for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

As competitors begin to plan their 2010 competition seasons the USEF is providing this information so juniors, young riders and their chef d’equipes can plan accordingly. In 2009, the Kentucky Horse Park welcomed a record number of juniors and young riders for these championships in the three Olympic disciplines of dressage, eventing and jumping and the Western discipline of reining.

Vaulting will again hold an exhibition during the championships and endurance will run a CEIY** concurrently in Louisville, KY.

For more information, please contact Joanie Morris at jmorris@usef.org.

Spain: Triumphs of Asturias and Andalusia Interautonomias Cup

Ecuestreonline.com - Full Article

Diego Haces ("Esso Starlet") y Tadeo Iglesias ("Halar 50%") ganaron respectivamente las pruebas nacionales de dos y una estrellas disputadas el sabado 7 de noviembre en El Molar (Madrid), donde los equipos de Asturias, en una estrella y en la combinada, y Andalucia, en Promocion, se hicieron con la VII Copa Interautonomias.

Organizadas por la Federacion Hipica de Madrid, Hiponatura S.L., y Ayuntamiento de El Molar, tres pruebas se corrieron el sabado 7 de noviembre en la sierra madrilena: una de Promocion (40 kilometros en dos fases), un CEN* (82,2 kms. en tres fases) y un CEN2* (120,6 kms. en cuatro fases). Las dos primeras constituyeron la VII Copa Interautonomias.


Diego Haces ("Esso Starlet") and Thaddeus Church ( "Halar 50%") respectively won the national trials two and one stars played on Saturday November 7 in El Molar (Madrid), where teams of Asturias, a star and in combination, and Andalusia, Promotion, seized the Interautonomías Cup VII.

Organized by the Equestrian Federation of Madrid, Hiponatura SL, and City of El Molar, three tests were run on Saturday, November 7 in the mountains of Madrid: a Promotion (40 miles in two phases), a CEN * (82.2 kms . in three phases) and a CEN2 * (120.6 kms. in four phases).

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New Zealand: Endurance High Performance WEG Focus Squads

NZEquestrian.org.nz

9 November 2009

The Endurance selectors are pleased to announce the following WEG focus squad.


WEG Qualification attained:
Jennifer Chandler & Lace and Fineness
Jenny Champion & Freckles
Mark Tylee & Class Act
Teresa Hoult & SS Kaleb
Vanessa Tiffen & Astek Lauralea
Phillip Graham & Wolfgang Armadeus
Kevin James & Glendaar Iraklis


WEG Qualification to be completed:
Kylie Avery & Silands Mia Bella
Debby Wolsfold & Northwinds Bradley McGregor
Angela Doel & SS Shahrayar
Murray Smith & Glenmore Toyboy
Rupert Kurghan & Blackjack Davey
Kevin Prangley & WD Amir IBN Kaliph
Sarah Hamer & Diamid
Alison Higgins & Twyham El Omar
Shane Dougan & Taralea Sheer Illusion


The squad is not limited to this list and will be added to following all remaining FEI events and at the discretion or invitation of the selection panel.

Invitations are also sought from those not already associated with a rider, who may wish to be on the WEG Team as a groom or support person. All rider grooms/crew will be required to meet selection standards.

It is envisaged that a WEG long team will be announced following the National Championships in April and until then the opportunity for selection will not be closed to any potential combinations that achieve required criteria.

Final selection for the WEG team will be based on, but not limited to, the following principles:

· Meet all FEI entry requirements.
· A shown ability to ride at a controlled but consistent canter for an entire race.
· Display consistently fast vet gate times. Lag times over 4 minutes will not be considered appropriate for representation at WEG and considerable attention needs to be paid to this aspect of your racing performance.
· Proficient and well practiced grooms and vet gate crew must be integral to your presentation. If not already established, all riders are encouraged to create a WEG crew/groom partnership as soon as possible.
· A shown appreciation to be part of a team atmosphere and culture will be fundamental and you must demonstrate desire for success of the overall WEG focus program.
· You will be required to commit to individual targeted performances and show consistent improvement.
· Riders and crew will be required to participate in scheduled squad camps.


It is envisaged that a full team of six riders will be selected to represent NZ Endurance at WEG 2010, should enough individual combinations met the selection criteria.

All final team members will be required to contribute to the cost of participation. The WEG Endurance race day is September 26, 2010. If you are planning on attending – PLAN NOW.

Should you have any questions or queries please feel free to contact

Madonna Harris
Endurance High Performance Leader
mad@ihug.co.nz