Abu Dhabi: Endurance Village to hold major events on Saturday

Gulfnews.com
A car and a total of Dh300,000 will be up for grabs

By M. Satya Narayan, Senior Reporter
December 10, 2009

bu Dhabi: The Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba will be a hive of activity on Saturday when the prestigious 120-km National Day Cup and the 120-km Giants Endurance Challenge (Round 1) will see the cream of endurance riders in action.

The Bonyan International Investment Group will be sponsoring both the rides, the National Day Cup being an open ride while the Giants Endurance being the first of the three rounds of a bodyweight series.

Addressing a press conference in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday evening, Adnan Sultan Al Nuaimi, Director-General of Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, said: "The winner of the National Day Cup will drive away with a car while a total of Dh300,000 is on offer for those who finish at the top."

"Saturday will also see the first round of the prestigious Giants Endurance, with the next two rounds in the series stopping in Bahrain and Dubai," he said.

"This is the first time that Bonyan will be supporting the sport of endurance and it is indeed a matter of great pride to be involved with the prestigious National Day Cup ride."

"As you may be aware, the Bonyan International Investment Group supported the National Day Cup flat race and the thrilling finish in front of a large crowd gave us immense pleasure," Abdullah Atatreh, Chairman of Bonyan Group, said.

"Bonyan International Investment Group believes strongly that equestrian sport in the UAE is part of the country's culture and heritage and we are willing partners in its promotion. We are involved along with the Breeding Stables of [Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs] Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, based in Normandy, and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council in this endeavour," said Abdullah Bin Brouk, Bonyan's President.

Leading destination

Abu Dhabi Sports Council's Talal Al Hashemi said: "Abu Dhabi is fast emerging as a leading sporting destination and such events which are connected with our culture and heritage go hand-in-hand with the other international events being staged here."

Lara Sawaya, Managing Director of Tasweeq, said the Breeding Stables of Shaikh Mansour along with the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club and Abu Dhabi Sports Council will be involved in supporting more such events in the future.

Great Britain: National riding title for Thay

Bostonstandard.co.uk - Full Article

Published Date: 09 December 2009
Wednesday, 4pm - A MEDLAM woman is celebrating after being crowned the national endurance riding champion.
Thay Stephenson and her horse Simeric S'moudh - known affectionately as Bull - were announced as the winners by organisers Endurance GB after beating off competition from 2,500 other entrants.

The competition takes place across the country from March to October each year, on hacking courses of 50 miles or more.

Riders gain points for their performances depending on how they fare and, at the end of the season, the top 10 results for each competitor are totted up.

But despite taking part in just nine events, Thay, 52, was announced as top of the leaderboard at the Endurance GB end of season dinner.

"I thought I'd done well," Thay said. "But having only competed in nine events I thought other riders would be able to discard some of their results and finish ahead of me.

"It was a nice surprise when I heard I had won - there was some whooping."

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India: Marwari horse finds a place on stamp

TimesofIndia.com
P B Chandra, TNN 8 December 2009

JAIPUR: The might of Marwari or Malani horse has finally been recognised. The faithful Marwari breed of horses, the most famous of which was Maharana Pratap's Chetak, descended from native Indian ponies crossed with the Arabian horses and possibly with the Mongolian influence.

The Marwari along with other indigenous horses of India like Kathiawari, Zanskar and Manipuri have found a place in the Indian philately. The post & telegraph department, because of the persistent efforts of the Indigenous Horses Society of India has come out with a first day cover depicting the four horses. The stamp would be released at Dundlod in Jhunjhunu district during the national endurance horse racing championship. The stamp will be released by the chief post master general of Rajasthan.

"We have been trying to give due recognition to the indigenous horses of India and the best way that the people could know about it was through postage stamps. After much effort, the post and telegraph department decided to recognise the indigenous Indian horses by giving them a pride of place in the postage stamp," said Raghuvendra Singh Dundlod, secretary general of Indigenous Horse Society of India.


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Australia: Alexandra Toft on track to success

Alexandra Toft, with endurance horse Pia te, is Equestrian Queensland's Junior Sports Star of the Year

QT.com.au - Full Article

Lee Gaskin | 9th December 2009

AT just 14, Alexandra Toft can lay claim to a travel history to make even the most adventurous of backpackers jealous.

Welcome to the life of an equestrian globetrotter and in this case, a Marburg teenager who is quickly treading the same path as her world championship gold-medal winning parents.

Alexandra rattles off the countries she has visited like the places you stop over on a weekend drive.

There's Italy and the United Arab Emirates from the time her parents Peter and Penny Toft were regulars on the international equestrian scene.

Most recent was a two-week sojourn to Hungary in September when Alexandra competed in her first World Youth and Junior Endurance Championship.

Up against competitors as old as 21, Alexandra surpassed even the loftiest of expectations to complete the challenging 120km course in 17th position.

"Definitely going to Hungary has been the highlight ... it was amazing," Alexandra said.

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Australia: Taking all the right Rhodes results in a monthly award

Central West Credit Union’s Leanne Mikoda (right) congratulates endurance rider Karen Rhodes on winning September’s Sportsperson of the Month award.

Cowraguardian.com.au

07 Dec, 2009

She holds the record for the most finishing buckles in the gruelling Shahzada marathon and that feat has propelled Karen Rhodes to September’s Sportsperson of the Month award.

The Woodstock horsewoman collected her 15th buckle out of 16 attempts when competing in the rugged terrain of St Albans near the Blue Mountains.

No rider boasts more buckles in the demanding five-day event where entrants cover 80km each day.

She has trained her trusted companions Kelly and Shadow to cover the designated courses, estimating between the pair of them have covered over 7,000km competitively without taking into account training rides.

Rhodes has also been tackling another of the endurance riders’ marquee rides in the Tom Quilty Gold Cup.

The 160km one day ride was recently held in Victoria where Rhodes and Shadow finished their fifth Quilty together.

The event is known for the toll it takes on horses and riders alike with a number of entrants failing veterinary examinations.

That’s what makes Rhodes’ achievements so special, the fact like clockwork she almost completes every ride.

She maintains her goal is to complete every ride she competes in.

That’s winning to her.

Bahrain: Hazza captures endurance title

Gulf-daily-news.com

Sunday, December 06, 2009

BAHRAIN'S Isa Bu Hazza, riding CR Prince Charming, won the Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Endurance Ride Championship yesterday at the Bahrain International Endurance Village in Sakhir.

A 75-strong field set out on the four-stage 100-kilometre race before dawn. But Hazza was first off the blocks and once he established a big lead he did not have to look back.

He was the sole leader after the opening two legs of 30 kms each, and he maintained a strong stride over the remainder of the ride to complete the event in four hours 23 minutes and 49 seconds.

Hazza built a gap of over seven minutes from his closest challenger by the time he reached the finish line. Compatriot Ebrahim Al Jabury, riding Al Habeeba, was the runner-up with a total ride time of 4:31:19. The duo made an impressive one-two for Ahmed Al Fateh Stable.

Al Jabury did well to pace himself behind the victor and managed to overcome a late challenge from third-placed rider Salman Isa, who is also Bahraini and riding for Al Hawar Stable.

Isa, saddling Tirroan, moved up to second overall after the 25 kms third stage. But Al Jabury regained the advantage with a stronger ride down the final 15 kms to seal second place.

Isa finished three minutes behind Al Jabury in 4:34.30.

Abdulla Yusuf Al Qasimi from the Bahamas was fourth. Riding Jellaby Kafour, Al Qasimi had a total ride time of 4:53:01, and was the last rider to finish the event under five hours.

Registered Fifth was Ali Al Tamimi on Khoto. The Al Asayel Stable ace had a solid performance that saw him finish in 5:00:57.

Bilal Al Rajab riding Sedan was sixth. Al Rajab, from Al Muhqeerat Stable, registered a total ride time of 5:06:59.

Rounding out the top eight were Othman Abduljalil Awadhi and Jaffar Mohammed Salman. Awadhi, riding Jacquard de la Pouge from Ahmed Al Fateh Stable, completed the race in 5:08:18; while Salman, saddling Suwaity Reaan from Awal Stable, was not far behind in 5:09:44.

Awadhi overtook Salman in the final stage to finish ahead of his close rival.

All the winning riders were later presented with trophies and cash prizes by Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Shaikh Sultan bin Hamad Al Khalifa. Shaikh Nasser and Shaikh Sultan are the sons of His Majesty King Hamad and the brothers of Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef) president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

The event, which was the third of the endurance season, was organised by Breef and held under the patronage of Shaikh Khalid. It was sponsored by the Swiss-Bahrain Holding Company.

Along with his first-placed trophy and prize money, Hazza drove home the grand prize of a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser.

Meanwhile, Dhruv Singh from India finished first in the 85 kms and 60 kms qualifying events.

He had a total ride time of 4:24:53 on Lormar Lorraine in the 85 kms race, and then completed the 60 kms event in 3:04:43.

India's Mohan Singh, riding LO 605, came second in both events. Hari Singh, also from India, finished third in the 85 kms event while Bahrain's Abdulrahman Al Saad was third in the 60 kms ride.

click HERE for photos by Osama Mohammed

Abu Dhabi: Obaid wins Rashid Challenge ride

Mohammad Hilal Salim Obaid wins the Shaikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Challenge at the Dubai International Endurance village yesterday.

Image Credit: Ahmed Kutty, Gulf News


Gulfnews.com

By M. Satya Narayan, Senior Reporter, Gulf News
Published: December 6, 2009

Abu Dhabi: Mohammad Hilal Salim Obaid, riding Rahman Des Bruycres, secured his first major endurance victory when he won the Shaikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Challenge 120km ride held at the Dubai International Endurance City on Saturday.

Obaid, riding the 10-year-old gelding Rahman Des Bruycres from Al Aasfa Stables, which is trained by Mubarak Khalifa Bin Shafya, dominated the ride from the second stage onwards and made every phase a winning one.

After South Africa's Gerda Burger won the first 27-km stage in which Obaid was fifth, it was a close battle between the two in the second and third loops.

Under threat

However Obaid won both and at the end of the third loop and was leading with Burger second. At that stage Obaid and his horse were averaging over a 26 km/h speed and the world record for a 120km ride here in the UAE seemed under threat.

However, Burger's challenge faded away and she eventually finished 7th while Obaid went on but at a much slower pace to win the 120-km in a timing of 4:42:26.

The world record stands in the name of Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri on Cupid, set at Al Wathba with a timing of 4:32.26 during the 2007 National Day Cup.

Ahmad Saeed Al Farsi on Akasha Sansation was second behind Obaid in 4:44.33, followed by Shaikh Rashid Dalmook Juma Al Maktoum on Halim in 4:56.39.

Shaikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum along with Ali Mousa Al Khamiri of Dubai Equestrian Club gave away the prizes and trophies to the winners.

Results

1. Mohammad Hilal Salim Obaid (Rahman Des Bruycres) 4hrs 42 mins 24 secs;

2. Ahmad Saeed Al Farsi (Akasha Sansation) 4:44.33;

3. Shaikh Rashid Dalmook Juma Al Maktoum (Halim) 4:56.39;

4. Hassan Abdullah Al Hammadi (Habibi) 4:56.41;

5. Khalifa Ganem Al Merri (Neran) 4:57.16.