Scotland: Pony Club endurance championships taking place

Scottishhorse.co.uk

Scottish Horse
2 September 2010

Following the launch of endurance riding as an official Pony Club discipline in 2009, and with Dengie Horse Feeds as a sponsor for 2010, Pony Club endurance is going from strength to strength and will be enjoying its second championship on September 19 at The College EC, Bedfordshire.

The championships are the culmination of Pony Club endurance rides all over the country throughout the year, and entry numbers have again been pleasing with over 50 Pony Club competitors anticipated at the championships. Competitors will be split across junior (eight to 12 years) and senior (over 13 years) levels, both individually and in teams. As with the other Pony Club disciplines classes will be set at novice (32km at 10km per hour), intermediate (40km at 11km per hour) and open (40km at 12km per hour).

“Pony club endurance has continued to steadily grow throughout 2010,” comments Robert Blane, chairman of Pony Club endurance. “It’s really pleasing for us to see both members having a go at Endurance for the first time, but also the progression of those already taking part; such as April Ngei who won last year’s intermediate and will be competing at open level in the championships this year.”

Spectators are welcome at the event, with no charge for entry.

Bahrain: Sulaiman improving skills abroad

Gulf-daily-news.com

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

BAHRAIN's Fahad Sulaiman extended his excellent form during his participation in a number of endurance horseride championships in Australia.

Sulaiman, a member of the Royal Endurance Team, is finishing his studies in Sydney. He took part in two recent rides during his stay which were over 124km and 160km.

The young Bahraini completed the four-stage 124km ride with a total ride time of eight hours, 28 minutes and 44 seconds.

This ride started with 36km in the first stage, 30km for the second, 30km for the third while the fourth and last stage is over 25km.

He earlier took part in five different rides with his best result winning top spot in the challenging 120-km Australian Open last May riding Nicholas. Sulaiman extended his gratitude to Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa for his support to him.

He also expressed appreciation to Royal Endurance Team captain Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa who is continuously backing his rides in Australia.

Endurance NZ World FEI Qualifying Series

NZEquestrian.org

2/09/2010 11:42:06 a.m.

Endurance NZ World FEI Qualifying Series 2010-2011


Qualifying Events

· National Champs April 2011

· North Island Champs January 2011

· South Island Champs February 2011

· Ruahine November 2010

· HOY March 2011

· Canterbury November 2010

· Marlborough December 2010



Qualifying Rides

· All Senior CEI 1*, 2* and 3* rides that are held at the Qualifying Events



Series Rules

· Points are earned as a combination.

· Combination with the most points wins the Series.

· In the event of a tie on points the winning combination will the combination with the most qualified kilometres in the Series.

If still tied there will be a count back on placings star to decide the winner.


Series Points

· Qualifier Points - each combination that qualifies earns qualifier points based on starter numbers. For example, when there are 20 starters the winner earns 20 points, 2nd place earns 19 points, 3rd pace earns 18 points etc.

· Distance Points - each combination that qualifies gets 1 point for every 10km. e.g. 8 points for an 80km ride, 12 points for a 120km ride.

· For each ride the Qualifier Points and Distance Points are added together to get a total points score for each combination for that ride.

Security will be Tight for WEG

Kentucky.com - Full Article

Sunday, Sep. 05, 2010

For the 16 days of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, the Kentucky Horse Park should be the safest place in the state outside of Fort Knox.

Lexington and Kentucky State police will work with Kentucky National Guard troops and 1,000 paid and volunteer security guards to patrol the Horse Park, guide traffic, screen visitors and protect the yet-to-be-named Very Important Persons in the audience, some of whom are bringing their own security details.

"People will notice us. We want them to notice us and be comfortable, knowing that we've put real effort into the operation here," said Kevin Tyo, president of Event Security Consulting and Operations Inc., a Georgetown firm that won the primary security contract for WEG...

Read more here:
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/09/05/1421637/security-will-be-tight-for-weg.html

Sweden sends two individual endurance riders to WEG

Horseandhound.co.uk

23 August, 2010

Maria Hagman Eriksson and Cecilia Stråhle Engquist will be representing Sweden as individuals in the endurance competition, which is the first championship to take place at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Kentucky.

Maria Hagman Eriksson and Power currently hold the Swedish record over 160 kilometres, which is the same distance as the ride at WEG, and is reigning national champion.

Cecilia Stråhle Engquist is based in Houston, Texas, USA and has a choice of her two rides: Aces Comett or Latteefah.

Lithuania: Alisija Zabavska-Granger rides the dream

Horsebytes Blog by Monica Bretherton - Full Story

Imagine that you have secured a qualification to represent your country in endurance at the World Equestrian Games, a goal you have been working on for many years.

You even have the luxury of two horses who are qualified, a gelding and a lovely bay mare, but finances dictate that you focus on preparing only one for the 2010 Games. The gelding is strong and powerful, and he moves up to 75 miles without a hitch. The signs are looking pretty positive.

One evening you go out to dinner with the future mapped out, only to find on returning that the gelding is not in his paddock.

This is what happened to Alisija Zabavska-Granger, who will be representing Lithuania in endurance at the Alltech World Equestrian Games on September 26th.

After she told me a little bit of her life history, I was not so surprised to hear she had overcome this setback.

Beginnings

Alisija left her native country of Lithuania because, she said, "Men were dominating and I would have been a slave in the horse world..."

Read more here:
http://blog.seattlepi.com/horsebytes/archives/220140.asp?from=blog_last3

Australia: St Albans hosts horse riding marathon

Hillsnews.com.au - Full Article

BY JO ARBLASTER
03 Sep, 2010 01:14 PM

Neil Clarkson from Glenhaven achieved a mighty milestone last week by winning a gold-plated buckle and the Halifax Hayes Fit and Well award riding his Arabian stallion Espirit Sherwood at Shahzada.

They came from all over Australia to take part in the annual 400 kilometre marathon ride held at St Albans. For 30 years, the little Hawkesbury village has been the ride base for the longest endurance ride in the world. This year 79 riders ranging in age from 13 to 73 took part in the event where the motto is To Finish is to Win.

Starting at 4am each morning, competitors rode 80 kilometres a day for five days in the picturesque Macdonald Valley and the Dharug National Park. Not for the faint-hearted are sections of the track such as Prestons and the Steps whose names belie the challenges they present. Participants are off 'tailing' their horses up and down rocky cliffs which test the endurance of both horse and rider. Twice daily veterinary checks ensure the horses are fit to continue.

Marion Lengronne from Anstead in Queensland, riding Arabian mare Sasam, lead the field from day one, completing the ride in 32hrs 19mins...

Read more here:
http://blog.seattlepi.com/horsebytes/archives/220140.asp?from=blog_last3