St Francis Bay riders tops at Queenstown Endurance

St. Francis Sport - South Africa
http://www.stfrancissport.co.za/index.php/archives/1306

ESTI STEWART

Endurance horse riders from the Kouga area formed the core of the top riders at the New Stead Ride held in Queenstown over the last weekend in February.

The first leg of an 80km ride started on New Stead farm at 05:30 on Saturday morning February 27, taking the 69 riders through the beautiful and rugged mountains near Queenstown. Conditions for the ride were tough in some places as riders had to negotiate steep up and down hills on rocky mountains.

Jenna Masterson (15) from St Francis Bay was determined to do well and had every confidence in the fitness and ability of her horse Xantium Zulu, owned by Alexander Holliday and trained by his mother Claire Holliday from Jeffreys Bay. She won the Junior Division in a time of 04:30:00 and in the second overall position. Her younger sister Kirsty (11), a Child Rider, rode her own horse Cydrob Crown Amira with their mother Jenny on Maestro, owned and trained by Daan Landman, as according to the rules a child rider has to ride with a senior rider. During the second leg of the ride Kirsty and Jenny was right behind a woman who fell of her horse, seriously injured. In the true spirit of endurance riding Jenny Mastersons and Bob Seegers stayed with the women, delaying them for 35 minutes. Kirsty finished the leg with another senior rider, but waited for her mother at the next compulsory rest period.

Despite the fact that they both lost more than half an hour due to supporting their co-competitor, they both finished with a time of 05:46:00 with Kirsty in second position (Child Riders) and Jenny in first position in the light weight senior rider category.

Daan Landman, Springbok rider from the Tsitsikamma was the first heavy weight home in a time of 04:35:00 on his gelding Shams El Farin Fasab, Chris Landman was second standard weight home on his mare Sahida, the Eastern Cape horse of the year 2009.

The Spirit of Endurance Award was given to Jenny Masterson and Bob Seegers from Graaff Reinett for unselfishly assisting the seriously injured woman, compromising their own positions and time in the competition. Jenna also won the cup for the Best Conditioned Horse in the Young Rider Division.
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Oman: Horse endurance race held in Barka

Oman Tribune

March 06, 2010

A Staff Reporter

BARKA The final race of the horse endurance event witnessed a lot of excitement and stiff competition between the participating horsemen on Thursday.

In all, 37 horsemen and horsewomen took part in the main race for 90km and 19 horsemen in the qualifying race for 40km.

Organised by the Omani Equestrian Association and sponsored by Emran Company, the event was held at Seih Al Mahamed in Barka, under the auspices of HH Sayyid Mohammed Bin Salim Al Said, and attended by Mohammed Bin Eisa Al Fairouz, OEA chairman, along with hundreds of other people. Horseman Khalil Bin Ebrahim Al Nairi, riding the horse, ‘Tarraf’, won the race after passing all stages successfully, finishing the race within 6 hours and 12 minutes.

Horseman Al Fares Bin Hasan Al Farsi, finished second the race on horse ‘Nail’ in 6 hours and 25 minutes.

Horseman Mahmoud Bin Marhoon Al Fawri finished in the third place on horse ‘Cleft’ in 6 hours and 31 minutes.

Ahmed Bin Salim Al Hamdani came in the fourth place on ‘Al Ufuq’ in 6 hours and 38 minutes, whereas, horsewoman Turkia Bint Mahmoud Al Balushi finished fifth on ‘Lara’ in 7 hours and 41 minutes.

Brazilian horse won best condition award in UAE

Endurancebrasil.com.br - Full Article

Brazilian horses are gradually showing potential in Arab lands. Adaptation in the desert can be a little slower to Brazilian horses, but in his time has shown good results.

Caraiva CSM was Best Condition in the Ladies Endurance Ride - CEN 90 km in the Dubai Endurance City this weekend, February 26. The breeder of the mare in Brazil is Claudio Ribas (Kazik Stud) and now she is in the second season in the United Arab Emirates. She assured the 6th place been ridden by Hamya Ali Mohm Al Saiqal. The average was 25.15 km/h average and arrive 18min48s after the champion. Caraiva completed the race in 3h34min40s. In the Best Condition she added 53, 36 points.

The Brazilian mare make up the team Seeh Al Salam Endurance Stables in UAE, which is owned Sh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Caraiva has completed some evidence in UAE.
Another Brazilian highlight was Pommery FGJ, from the same stable, the mare finished the race in 21th place. The Anglo Arab was been ridden by Jamila Ahmed, finishing the race in 4h26min15s and the average was 20.28 km / h.

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Spain: 2010 Raid del Cron

Raidcron.blogspot.com

The 15th CEI2* 120 km Raid del Cron will take place 12-14 March, 2010 at the Club de Raid Osona Nord in St Pere de Torello, Spain.

For more information, trail maps, registration, and directions see the Raid del Cron blog

UAE: Shaikh Hamdan clinches crown

Gulf-daily-news.com

February 28, 2010

THE UAE's Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum was the overall winner of the Giants Endurance Challenge held yesterday at Dubai Endurance City (ECN) in Seih Assalam.

Some of the best riders from Bahrain and the UAE competed in the deciding ride of the championship which was over 160km and also a qualifier for next year's World Endurance Games in Kentucky, the US.

It was the third and final round in the challenge which started in Abu Dhabi, then continued in Bahrain. The first three stages of yesterday's ride were hit by a desert storm, which forced the elimination of several riders.

Riding Dean, Shaikh Hamdan completed this six-stage ride on top in five hours, 59 minutes and 53 seconds with a 23.17km per second speed average.

Shaikh Hamdan, the Dubai Crown Prince, was followed by Fredrick Zobairi (6:14:05) of Spain in second place while Majed Al Jahori (6:14:12) of the UAE's Al Ain Stable came third.

Bahrain were spearheaded by three riders, led by Royal Endurance Team captain Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who pulled out during the third stage after his horse picked up an injury.

Other Bahraini participants were Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation president and captain of Al Khaldiya Stable Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who also withdrew in the fifth and penultimate stage due to similar circumstances.

Abdulhaq Qadoor (8:34:04), the most experienced rider among the Bahraini participants, was the only local entrant to complete the race in 14th place.

Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, was also out of the race in the fourth stage as his horse Sas Alexis suffered an injury.

It was, however, Shaikh Mohammed who started the ride in style, leading the riders at the end of the stage in one hour, eight minutes and 49 seconds. Not far behind was Jaume Punti Dachs (1:08:52), riding Au De, in second place and Shaikh Hamdan (1:09:58) third.

Shaikh Mohammed maintained his momentum in the second stage to keep his lead with a total ride time of 2:14:43. Dachs (2:16:24) also kept his second position while Shaikh Majed, brother of Shaikh Hamdan, (2:16:55) moved up to third.In the third stage, Shaikh Mohammed stayed third in 3:18:31 and ahead of Shaikh Hamdan (3:25:33) who climbed to second and ahead of third-placer Shaikh Majed (3:25:42).

Shaikh Hamdan took over the lead from Shaikh Mohammed at the end of the fourth stage with a total ride time of 4:38:43.

Mubarak Al Belooshi (4:41:54) improved on his standing to claim second place, then Shaikh Majid (4:47:08) came third.

Since then, Shaikh Hamdan never looked back as he remained on top in the fifth stage, which he completed in 5:24:50 and kept his rhythm in the six and final stage to win the title.

After yesterday's race, the top three riders were honoured at the prize-giving ceremony, which took place at the Dubai Endurance City.

The ceremony was attended by His Majesty King Hamad who presented the prizes to the winners in the presence of Shaikh Mohammed and other senior UAE equestrian federation officials.

Upon arrival, His Majesty was welcomed by Shaikh Mohammed, Shaikh Nasser, Shaikh Khalid, senior officials and race organisers.

On this occasion, His Majesty, Shaikh Nasser and Shaikh Khalid congratulated Shaikh Hamdan on his victory and wishing others success in future competitions.

His Majesty also hailed the efforts of the race organisers, noting that the championship has witnessed a strong brotherly competition between Bahraini and UAE riders, reflecting the strong ties bonding both countries.

Click HERE for photos by Osama Mohammed.

Sport Horse Vet Symposium to Run with WEG

TheHorse.com
February 26 2010, Article # 15892

Promoting peak performance in the equine athlete through proper healthcare will be the focus of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Veterinary Sport Horse Symposium, to be held Sept. 22-24 at the Marriott Griffin Gate Resort in Lexington, Ky. The symposium is presented by Alltech, the American Association of Equine Practitioners, and Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital.

The three-day education meeting is designed for veterinarians who treat horses involved in sport horse disciplines, such as eventing, reining, endurance, show jumping, driving, and dressage. An international roster of veterinary experts will present the latest advances in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions commonly affecting the sport horse. Sessions topics will include orthopedics, diagnostic imaging, nutrition, upper respiratory disease, podiatry, and muscle disease.

"Veterinarians are well served in all disciplines to understand as much as possible about the factors affecting the performance of the competitors in their care," said Alan Ruggles, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, of Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital. "The symposium program brings together the leaders in many facets of equine clinical practice that determine a horse's performance at any given event."

Bayer Health Care--Animal Health, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Intervet Schering-Plough Animal Health, and Luitpold are sponsoring the symposium.

Complete sport horse symposium program and hotel information. Contact Elaine Souers of Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital at esouers@roodandriddle.com or 859/233-0371 for more information.

In addition to this symposium, a one-day seminar for horse owners will be held at the Embassy Suites in Lexington on Friday, Sept. 24.

France: Florac Ride Candidate for European Championship 2011

160florac-lee.com

The French Equestrian Federation has chosen the 35th edition of the 160-km Florac ride to present France's candidacy for the organisation of the European Championship 2011. Subject to the FEI’s acceptance, the Florac 160-km ride in 2010, which will be run over a new course, will be the pre-ride for Florac 2011.

Lozere Endurance Equestre (LEE), the association organising the Florac ride, has specially designed a course for this European Championship made up of a series of point-to-point phases, forming one large loop, in keeping with the traditional values of endurance: stamina, horsemanship, sports ethic, respect for the horse's physical well-being and morale.

We are of course maintaining the usual programme: : 90 km and 130km rides, breed shows, stallion parade as well as THE les 160-km de Florac® ride.
This 2010 edition, 24th July, the pre-ride, will be one of the last qualifier competitions in Europe for the Kentucky WEG.

For more information, and a schedule for this year's ride, see www.160florac-lee.com