Abu Dhabi: Stage set for 90 riders to undergo gruelling 160km Endurance Cup

Sport360.com

Friday, 11 February 2011

Ninety riders from over 10 countries are set to lock horns in the His Highness The President of United Arab Emirates Endurance Cup on Saturday.

Fifteen riders from the USA, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Slovakia will line up alongside their counterparts from the UAE and the GCC in the 160km endurance horse race at the Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba, as they bid to become the first-ever non-Emirati winners of the event.

Starting at 6am and running until 10.30pm, the race is split into six phases of between 16km and 34km, with two recovery inspection periods after the fourth and fifth loop. Last year’s race was won by Sultan Ahmed Al Bloushi, on Charlandre El Sharif, in a time of 06:21:12.

And the rider has again been in good form this season, winning the National Day Cup in December.

The top-three riders will each get their hands on a set of keys for a shiny new car, as will the winners of the team event.

The race is run under the directives of His Highness The President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, under the supervision of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Presidential Affairs.

The event is also held in conjunction with the Al Wathba Stud Farm, Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Abu Dhabi Culture and Heritage, Invest AD, Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition 2011, Areej Al Ameerat and HSBC Bank.

Declan Hegarty, HSBC’s Managing Director and Head of Business, Abu Dhabi said: “HSBC is proud to support Abu Dhabi and ADIHEX in celebrating Emirati culture and pastimes as the UAE continues to set the model of economic development for the Middle East.”

On a positive day for purebred Arabian horses, it was also announced by the Global Arabian Horse flat Racing Festival that the World Arabian Horse Racing Conference would be back for a second year, to be held in The Hague.

The conference will be held from June 16-18 and follows from the successful 2010 event that took place in Abu Dhabi.

By Martyn Thomas

Spain: 16th annual Cron Raid

February 7 2011

The 16th Raid Cron, a CEI*** 120 km test, will be held on 12 March 2011 near St Pere de Torello, outside of Vic, in Catalonia, Spain.

On 13 March, the 20 km, 40 km, and 60 km Cron Promotion ride will also be held at the same venue.

The route of the 120 km will be the same as last year's and can be found at http://raidcron.blogspot.com/ as well as additional information.

Australia's Top Ranked 2010 Riders

AERA.ans.au

Australia’s top rider Ceinwen Morgan, who placed 170 world-wide, rode a perfect season finishing 6 events entered on 6 different horses. All Ceinwen’s events in were off-continent in the United Arab Emirates and Great Britain. Mathew Sample, who represented Australia at the World Championship in Kentucky, was Australia’s second place rider in FEI standings with an overall placing of 215. Mr. Sample finished four rides out of four starts in Australia winning two events with Tarrangower Crecendo.

The Australian Meydan FEI Open Combination Horse and Rider team was Mathew Sample and his mount from the World Equestrian Championship, Tarrangower Crecendo. The pair finish 276 place overall in the FEI World Ranking. Crecendo and Matthew had the winning time at the Kalbar CEI3* 160 – 15.7 km per hour.

Top Young Rider Alexandra Toft Wins Dual Honors. Alexandra rode 5 competitions on 4 different horses to secure Australia’s top FEI Medyan Ranked rider. Alexandra placed 13th in the overall ranking winning the CEIYJ2* 120 Imbil QLD, riding Magum owned by Toft Endurance. It was the Alexandra and Magum team that also captured Australia’s top spot in the Young Riders Combination World Ranking. The pair were ranked 31st in the FEI World Wide Ranking.

Australasian Endurance Conference & Forum

NZEquestrian.org.nz

2/02/2011

Goal of the Conference:

The primary role of the conference is to achieve the aspirations of the FEI Code of Conduct as written below:

Code of Conduct FEI

The FEI urges all involved with the sport to attain the highest levels of education in their areas of expertise.

The secondary goals are:

* Discuss the implementation of the new rules and the implications of the new star rating for treatment veterinarians;

* Improve the understanding of the roles of officials in particular: Ground Jury, Technical Delegate, Foreign Veterinary Delegate and members of the Veterinary Commission;

* Discuss the changes to the Veterinary Regulations with regard to medication control;

* Discuss the examination of horses during competition especially metabolics and lameness;

* Discuss the issues relating to the treatment of horses at endurance rides;

* Forum on the future of international competition: Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, Japan & Thailand;

* Discuss improved nutrition and training methods for endurance horses;

* Discuss issues related to rider safety.

Date: 8th, 9th & 10th of June 2011

Venue: Centr@l Bardon Conference Venue, 390 Simpsons Road, Bardon, Queensland, Australia.

Enquiries: Veterinary. Dr Brian Sheahan, email: Brian@samfordvets.com.au
Officials: Barbara Macdonald Timms email: barbt78@bigpond.com

For more information see:
http://www.nzequestrian.org.nz/Article.aspx?Mode=1&ID=727&ESID=4711

New Zealand: North Island Champs - Kurutau

North Island Champs - Kurutau - 22-23rd January 2011

It was a mother-daughter victory at Taupo’s IRT North Island Endurance Champs last month with Susan Reid on Makahiwi Achilles recording a back to back win in the IRT CEI 3* 160km ride (following up from last year’s win in the same class) and daughter Sian Reid, riding AA Oscar, taking out the IRT CEI 2* 120km ride the next day.

Taupo hosted the event at Kuratau in very wet conditions on January 22 and 23 with some describing the event as “aquatic endurance”, the rain was so persistent, especially on day two. However most rode well and completion rates were very high, proving that this track will be more than up to scratch for the Nationals being run here at Easter this year, under hopefully much better conditions.

For Susan Reid it was an emphatic win on the 15 year old “Chilli”, owned by Pip Mutch, the combinations’ third win from three starts within 12 months at 3* level, which must be something of an NZ record for sure.

The ever consistent Jenny Champion and Freckles finished second in the 3* 160km ride (and was later awarded Best Conditioned Horse), 40 odd minutes behind Reid and just ahead of third placed Mark Tylee and Jacob, and Michael Wakeling riding Iti, their first start at this level to finish a very credible fourth. Eight out of the 11 starters qualified in this top class, a great tribute to event organizers and track markers.

Sian Reid and AA Oscar won the 2* 120km class of 30 combinations by over 20 minutes and also claimed Best Conditioned, rounding out a great weekend for the Reid’s with their third horse, AA Sabatage, ridden by Rosemary Revell, placing third in the IRT CEI 1* 90km ride.

23 combinations excelled in the IRT 2* 120km with the top three finishing in under eight hours. Behind Sian Reid was Raewyn Carter and Maioro Fire, followed by Sean Trafford and Sayfwood Rolling Stone.

Five out of six Juniors/Young Riders completed their 2* 120km with Emma Armstrong and Craig Royston O’Ryan winning by over an hour from Georgia Smith (Glenmore Astroid), and sole CEN 120km Open competitor Natasha Guest on Cyden Manana completed their first ride at this level.

The IRT CEI 1* 90km ride also was big – 30 combinations again, and five in the Junior/Young Rider class. Riding at and winning his first 1* was Frank Aldridge riding Merimindi Finali, finishing in 5:49:04 and just over a minute ahead of second-placed Maxi Mueller on Mauku Mistique, who was followed closely by Revell. The Young Riders were only slightly slower, Amanda Walton and Lotus Blue Moon finishing strongly to take out the championship class at this level.

The 60km Championship classes were contested by 16 Opens and 3 Juniors with a total of 15 qualifiers.

Hopefully this event will be remembered for the champions that excelled, the OC, vets and officials who made it what it was and the tracks for what they were, despite the rain.

First US CEI of 2011

USEF.org

Release: February 03 2011
Author: From the USEF Communications Department

The first American CEI of 2011 took place at the Dupuis Equestrian Center near Indiantown, FL, January 28-29. The event featured two days of Endurance competition.

In the CEIJY 1* (80km), Forest Green and PL Nino took top honors in a time of 3:55:30 beating Kelsey Russell and Tryssta by 30 seconds to the wire. In the CEI 1* (80km) Amy Atkins crossed the finish line in 5:03:40 on SA Zacks Comet, one second ahead of Daryl Downs and Blaze Star. In another desperately close race, Kathy Brunjes won the CEI 2* (120 km) on Theatric in a time of 7:19:58, one second clear of Melody Blittersdorf on Tektonic.

In the CEI 3* (160km), veteran Valerie Kanavy took top honors on Gold Raven by a wide margin. Her winning time of 8:42:44 was more than 50 minutes clear of Margaret Sleeper, who finished in 9:54:49 with Syrocco Reveille, one second ahead of Nicki Meuten and Not tonight. After a third place finish in the CEIJY 1* on Friday, Kyle Gibbon won the CEIY3* the following day in a time of 13:12:51 on Julio.

India: Thorough breds win first equestrian endurance meet

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Thorough-breds-win-first-equestrian-endurance-meet/articleshow/7439325.cms
Parth Shastri, TNN, Feb 7, 2011, 12.39am IST

AHMEDABAD: Thoroughbreds outshone Marwari and Kathiawadi horses on their home turf. However, the organizers of the first edition of Gujarat's 20 km equestrian endurance competition at Santej near Ahmedabad were happy to make a mark on the national circuit. A 61-year old rider from Ahmedabad won first prize at the event.

Anish Gajjar, founder of Equestrian Club of Gujarat and organizer of the event, told TOI that the event saw participation of 18 riders in the main category, 10 juniors and two women participants. "The event had Kathiawadi and Marwari horses in addition to thoroughbreds and Sindhi breeds. Thoroughbreds are traditionally known for their discipline and will to stick to the end. Homegrown Kathiawadis are sturdy but more mercurial. However, with more and more such events and more training by the riders, we believe that they will make the mark on the national scene," said Gajjar.

RB Pande, an equestrian trainer at a school in Ahmedabad, stood first in the open category riding a thoroughbred. Purvi Shah was first in the women's category also on a thoroughbred while Vijay Patel stood won the junior category in the saddle of a Marwari horse. Marwaris came a close second to the thoroughbreds in winning prizes, said organizers.