Bahrain: Royal victory!

Gulf-daily-news.com

Sunday, April 17, 2011

ROYAL Endurance Team captain Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Salem Sabt emerged champions in the season-ending 120-km Endurance Horseride Championship for the Crown Prince Cup, reports RAMI HULAYYEL. Shaikh Nasser proved too strong to win the 29-rider senior ride while Salem Sabt finished on top in the junior event, which saw 20 riders in the fray.

The final endurance event of the season, which took place at the Bahrain International Village in Sakhir, ended on an exciting note with Shaikh Nasser winning it by a narrow margin.

Shaikh Nasser, the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports president and chief of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, completed the challenging 120-km ride on Mystic Traveler.

Shaikh Nasser clocked five hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds with an average speed of 21.040 kmph.

The Royal Endurance team dominated the show, winning the next two places. Noureddin Kaddouri, riding Kalharabi Katar, timed 5:53:14 to clinch second place with an average speed of 21.035kmph.

Third place was also won by the Royal Endurance team through Jaffar Mirza on Danon Jabeen. Mirza, who took the lead in the early stages, could finish third in 5:42:16.

Fahad Ismail (5:49:04) of Al Khalidiya Stables claimed fourth position, followed by Raed Mahmood (5:01:59) in fifth place, Isa Al Doseri (5:14:57) of Al Shawamekh Stables sixth and Al Reem Stable's Mohamed Al Shaikh (5:28:40) seventh.

Bag Singh (5:54:14) of Al Montasir Stable was eighth, ahead of Nakhat Singh (6:01:22), also of Montasir Stable, while Manar Rashid (6:05:58) of Ahmed Al Fateh Stable rounded off the top 10. Manar was the first lady rider to complete the event.

Junior

In the junior ride, Al Asayel Stable rider Sabt steered Ge Lady to victory in five hours, 33 minutes and 12 second after a close battle with another Al Asayel Stable rider Mohammed Al Khatry. Fahad Helal (5:44:30) was third on Al Jared.

Ali Baqer (5:49:20) of Hawar Stable was fourth, followed by Ali Al Abdulla (5:33:03), Saud Al Hadhrami (5:33:31), Mohammed Al Khatri (6:06:52), Faisal Al Manea (6:12:09) and Mohamed Al Subai (6:14:43), all of Al Asayel Stable.

An additional 85-km qualifying ride was held on the occasion, with seven riders in the fray. It was won by Abdulla Al Qoad, riding Kintamani Kebir, who clocked three hours, 49 minutes and 36 seconds.

He was followed by Hamad Al Marri (4:52:06) of Royal Endurance Team in second place with Al Shawamek Stable rider Abdulla Al Dosseri (5:29:14) third.

His Majesty the King's Personal Representative Shaikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa honoured the top three riders in each event.

Shaikh Khalid thanked Durrat Al Bahrain, especially its board chairman Abdulhakeem Al Khayyat, for sponsoring this prestigious event.

Photos by Osama Mohammed can be seen here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/ridecamp/HRHTheCrownPrinceCupEnduranceRIdeChampionshipFEICEI120Km41511?pli=1#

India: Majestic Marwari beats enchanting English

Mydigitalfc.com - Full Article

By Yana Bey Apr 14 2011

A beautiful grey stallion, Pratham, ridden by Thakhat Singh, beat British thoroughbreds in National Endurance event

Amid the momentous happen­ings in the world of adventure sport this February, a land­mark event in the little-known and cl­ose-knit circle of Indian equestrian sp­orts was eclipsed. For the first time, in the National Endurance champ­ion­ship, a Marwari horse beat English th­oroug­hbreds to win the 100-km event.

Endurance events are long-distance riding events that test the physical and mental stamina of both horse and rider. There are 40-km, 60-km, 80-km, 100-km and 120-km events. The last two, being very taxing, see the fewest number of participants.

This year, just four horses took part in the National Endurance 100-km event — held in Jodhpur on February 27. Two were English thoroughbreds but the other two were sons of the soil - beautiful specimens of the Marwari, the horse native to the region. All the four were from Jodhpur with both Marwaris belonging to the All-India Marwari Horse Society.

The winner was a beautiful grey stallion, Pratham...

Read more here:
http://www.mydigitalfc.com/sporting-life/majestic-marwari-beats-enchanting-english-453

Bahrain: Fitting finale for endurance event

Gulf-daily-news.com

Thursday, April 14, 2011

THE Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation is organising the season-ending Endurance Horseride Championships of the season tomorrow.

The event is for the trophy of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, and covers a total distance of 120km. It features rides for senior and junior riders.

This ride, to be held at night, will take place at the Bahrain International Endurance Village in Sakhir with prominent Bahraini riders from various stables from across the kingdom expected to take part.

Among the top riders in the fray is Royal Endurance captain Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who steered Musical Gully Pizzecato last year to victory, lifting the prestigious Crown Prince Cup following a dominant performance in the 120-km ride.

Shaikh Nasser, the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports president and chief of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, will be joined by Breef's president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa and some of Bahrain's elite riders.

Breef's Endurance Committee chairman Shaikh Faisal bin Rashid Al Khalifa said the final ride of the year promises to feature stiff competition among participants.

Shaikh Faisal extended his appreciation to the Crown Prince for patronising the ride and for his continued support to the federation's programmes and activities.

The endurance committee chief expressed gratitude to Durrat Al Bahrain for sponsoring tomorrow's ride, and expressed hope that this co-operation would continue in future competitions.

Shaikh Faisal also praised the efforts of the organising committee to make sure the event is a great success.

Meanwhile, the organising committee has approved technical issues concerning the ride, which will be divided into five stages.

The first stage will be over 30km and is covered with red flags, to be followed by another 30km stage with blue flags.

Green flags will cover the third stage, which is over 25km, to be followed by the fourth which is over 20km, covered in yellow flags. The fifth and last stage will be over 15km with white flags.

It was also confirmed that the senior ride will begin at 4pm while the junior section is set to start at 4.15pm. The prize-distribution ceremony is due to begin at 11.30pm.

The veterinary and ground jury committees have been named. Ghalib Al Alawi will head the ground jury committee, which also has Abdulsamad Al Busta, Ali Ghuloom, Mahdi Al Kelaiti and Fahad Al Rumaihi, all of Bahrain, besides foreign judge Haider Al Zubi of Jordan.

Other veterinarians are Bahrain's Abbas Al Haiki, Farida Abdulrazzaq, Abdularhman Abulshouk and Abu Obaida Sabeel besides Melo Caonabo of the Dominican Republic.

The event is being sponsored by Durrat Al Bahrain, who signed an agreement with the organising committee at a special function yesterday.

It was attended by CEO of Durrat Al Bahrain Jassim Al Jowder besides Breef member Shaikh Daij bin Salman Al Khalifa as well as other federation officials.

Australia: 2011 Barossa Ranges Tom Quilty Gold Cup

April 11 2011

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2011 Barossa Ranges Tom Quilty Gold Cup, which begins at midnight on Friday September 30th 2011 and continue through Saturday October 1st.

The event will provide a challenging event for participants on a new course.  There will be an away check point and riders will experience changing terrain as the course traverses Mt Crawford State forest, vineyards and pastures.  The second and potentially most challenging leg will be through pine forests, then onto private land owned by the Ross family (by kind permission). 

The ride base will be at Mt Pleasant which hosts annually a large agricultural show in addition to many livestock and horse events.  One of the best scenic routes in our State runs through Mount Pleasant linking Adelaide with the Barossa via the rich pastoral lands, forestry and the wine areas of Springton and Eden Valley close to Mt. Pleasant. 

Land was first purchased for forestry at Mount Crawford in 1909. Plantings commenced in 1914; two species of eucalypts (Narrow-leaved Ironbark and South Australian Blue gum) and two species of pine (Radiata and Maritime pine) which creates a fantastic horse riding environment.  The current reserve area is in the region of 12,000 hectares. 

Nominations
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2011 Quilty. Please note you must prenominate a horse and pay the $100 deposit to book a camp site. Camp requests will NOT be accepted without a pre-nomination. You may change horse details later if necessary. Forms need to be downloaded from the website and sent with a cheque made out to SA Tom Quilty Inc to our Treasurer, Sue Arwen, at 6 Amundsen Dve, Ingle Farm, SA

Camp Sites
All enquiries to our Camp Manager Tony Van Eck on 08 85387280 or 0414406580.
Camp forms must accompany your pre nomination form to the Treasurer. If you have a gooseneck and only 1 horse you may need to book 2 sites to have enough room. Extra cars will have to be parked off the showgrounds. Powered sites are limited. If we run out we will let you know in time to arrange a generator.

Entertainment
There will be a bar and drinking area on the ride base, open from 4pm to late,
Wednesday to Sunday. Local solo musicians will play in the evenings. Various food stalls will operate from Wednesday through to Sunday. Wednesday night will see a Quilty Gourmet BBQ available on the ride base.

Final Dinner
Tickets are $40 and may be pre booked. Only 200 seats available for a sit down
dinner and band with bar facilities. Book early for a great night and a chance to relive the ride in comfort.

Trade Stalls
Spaces are filling fast. We have Remlap, Dixon Equestrian, Retract-a-fence, Ken Platt Belts, d-lua park sheepskins and others Ring Jean Sims on 0429781004 for info. Fodder and Firewood Fodder is available from Coopers of Mt Torrens who will do daily deliveries. You may pre order with your nomination form. Fires are allowed in drums only. Wood will be available for purchase at the base.

Dogs
We would prefer you left your pets at home but if not, all dogs MUST be on a leash at all times. Loose dogs will be reported to the Council Animal Control Officer
Rubbish/ Horse Manure Chaff bags will be issued to campers as they arrive. Large clearly marked bins will be available for you to empty your bags into on a daily basis. KESAB bins will be around for recycling cans and bottles. Please make the effort to sort your waste and use the correct bins to dispose of it. This is always a problem area for committees to control but with a little thought and care from campers, it could be easy!

Course
Descriptions and altitude diagrams will be on the website soon. Do plenty of hill
training as Legs 2 and 3 will make your horses work. They are not difficult but they
do require you to pace your horse. Step overs are a part of SA Forests. I suggest you set one up and practise at home if you are concerned. We will have one at the ride base for you to do a refresher course!

Merchandise
Pictures are now on the website. There are 2 delivery dates pre ride and a stall will be open at the Ride Base. Please contact Lainie Ray on 0438846741 with queries.

Volunteers
As with any major events volunteers are the unsung heroes. If you would like to come and help we would love to hear from you. Please ring Jean Sims on 0429781004 any time. We will feed and water you during the event and we promise a great time!

Sponsors
We are desperate for buckle sponsors. For only $300 your name will be engraved on a brass plaque attached to the wooden Quilty Buckle stand. This silver buckle is the goal of every Quilty entrant and only presented to successful completions Major Sponsors for places include Nanango Heritage Riders, Tonimbuk, Castlebar, DixonSmith Equestrian, Rapiti Pty, Arabian Horse Society of Australia and Archer Saddleblankets and Rugs. Please check our website if you would like to join this wonderful group of supporters.

Officials
Chief Steward is Tom McCormack No.2 Chief Steward is Dorte Colja
Head Vet is Dr James Vowles from Murray Bridge.
Head Hospital Vet is Dr Bill Harbison
Camp Manager is Tony Van Eck
Course Director is Rod Warren

For more information see http://www.satomquilty.com.au/

or contact Jean Sims at director@satomquilty.com.au

Australia: Shaikh Majid Challenge near Brisbane

April 13 2011

The Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum Challenge will be held 16 & 17 April at Toorbul 30 minutes north of Brisbane on forestry trails. Events will include an FEI 1* 80 km, FEI2* 120 km and FEI3* 160 km Open and Youth Events.

This event will be a Trial for the FEI Australian National Championships, and a Qualifier for the World Championships for Youth & Young Rders and the 2010 World Championships.

For more information, see http://www.ozenduranceqinc.com/April---Sheikh-Majid-Challenge.html or contact Ride Secretary Penny Toft at toft@ozenduranceqinc.com  

France: Javier Aliage and Rohf Izmy win CEI* Tartas

Ecuestreonline.com - Full Story

Javier Aliaga, aboard Rohf Izmy was imposed on April 10 in the CEI* Tartas (France), which ranked 27 of the 37 participants, including also the Spanish Íñigo Arrizabalaga (19th with Tbo Guerrero). The Spaniard and the PRA of eight years, winning in November last year the French also CIS * Hasparren, completed the 89 kms with an average speed of 19.85 km / hr.

The previous day also highlighted in the neighboring country and Ruth Comas Alex Luque, fifth and seventh in the CEI2 * (120 kms.)...

More...

Australia: Real Test of Endurance

Warwickdailynews.com.au - Full Story

Gerard Walsh | 11th April 2011

MARYVALE Endurance Ride winner Tanya Trevarthen wasn't fazed by riding with a torch at 4.30am yesterday. She does it every morning.

While she admits it is easier for horse and rider in daylight, she said her nine-year-old purebred Arabian named Sarandeep was fine trotting along in the dark.

She crossed the line at the same time as lightweight winner Jocelyn Barnes on Trinity but a lightweight can't win overall.

Trevarthen hails from Goombungee and has been competing in endurance riding for 25 years.

“I train with a torch in the morning before I go to work,” she said...

Read more here:
http://www.warwickdailynews.com.au/story/2011/04/11/real-test-of-endurance-maryvale-horse-riding/