UAE: Pink Caravan donates pink tack to 'Monyati Initiatives' Support for orphans and children with special needs

WAM.org.ae

May 29, 2011 - 02:11 -

WAM Sharjah, May 29th, 2011 (WAM) -- The Pink Caravan campaign has donated the candy-pink equine equipment used during its ten-day cross-country journey in April to raise awareness on breast cancer and actively screening UAE residents, focusing on the remote and outlying areas of the country.

The equipment will be used to the Monyati Initiatives Sudan project in support of the project's goal to build a stable and provide equipment for the rescued horses of the Miracles Sudan riding school for children with special needs.

The handover took place recently at the Fursan Al Warqa stables, which was Pink Caravan's key supplier for horses, grooms, staff as well as volunteering riders from their riding school and endurance team. Present for the handover were Fursan Al Waqa representative Mohammed Abdin, Founder of Monyati Initiatives Monja Wolf, and Pink Caravan Chairperson Cecile Guillemot and head of the equine committee Abdulwahid Al Jeaidi.

Speaking of the decision to donate the tack, which was originally provided to Pink Caravan by Bonjour Equestrian, Middle East distributor of stable equipment and equine accessories, Ms Ameera Binkaram, President of the Friends of Cancer Patients (FOCP), said, "We are delighted to be able to donate this tack to such a worthy cause as the Monyati Initiaves Sudan project. It has already been on a long journey with us since Bonjour Equestrian donated it to the Pink Caravan campaign in support of its journey across the UAE. This brightly coloured equipment helped the campaign to raise awareness of breast cancer and the importance of early detection, where its bright colour helped to draw attention to the caravan itself and to our aims. It is our hope that by passing it on to another worthy cause, this beautiful, candy-pink tack will continue to draw attention to the cause it supports, and will also brighten the hearts of those children who will be using it".

Nicolas Griot, General Manager of Bonjour Equestrian, which donated a number of items included in the welcome packs given to the riders, in addition to the candy-pink tack, said ""It has been an honour and a great privilege to assist Pink Caravan by outfitting the brave horses who trekked across the UAE, to raise awareness on breast cancer. Bonjour commends Cecile and the entire team, for deciding to send the equine equipment on another epic journey with Monyatai Initiates. This time it will be used brighten the lives of special needs children in Sudan, who receive hippotherapy. We look forward to many more opportunities to support Pink Caravan in the future, as a small gesture can really go a long way!" The Pink Caravan campaign is specifically designed to raise awareness of breast cancer and to encourage women to perform self-examinations and go for regular medical checkups. The campaign will run annually until 2014, focusing on all areas across the UAE, including remote and outlying areas, as well as city suburbs. The funds raised during this awareness campaign will ensure the availability of the latest technology in the early screening and detection of breast cancer, making it accessible to all women in the UAE.

Canadian endurance riders to race in China

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

ay 30, 2011

Four Canadian endurance riders have been invited on an 80km ride in China, as part of an initiative between the two countries.

The ride, in Zhaosu Xinjiang next month is part of the Path to China initiative led by Equine Canada's Export Market Development program (EC Export).

"Canada's participation in the Zhaosu endurance race is one of many opportunities that came as a result of the EC Export path finding mission to China that we conducted this past March," said Susan Stewart, a consultant to EC Export.

Four individuals have been selected not only on their competitive abilities, but on the personal attributes that make them best suited to be ambassadors of Canada's equine industry as a whole. The riders include 2010 World Equestrian Games Canadian Equestrian Team members, Elroy Karius, Gail Jewel and Robert Gielen, and 2008 FEI World Endurance Championships CET member, Wendy MacCoubrey...

Read more here:
http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2011/05/228.shtml

Shaikh Khalid Hails the Eradication of Glanders in Bahrain

BNA.bh

Manama - May 28 (BNA) --An equine hospital specialized in horse medicine could be established in Bahrain.
Supreme Council for Youth and Sport (SCYS) first deputy chairman and Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef) President Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Khalifa directed Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Minister Dr. Jumaa bin Ahmed Al-Kaabi to conduct a feasibility study into the equine project
. Shaikh Khalid paid tribute to Government authorities for their efforts to eradicate the Glanders, the infectious disease caused by a bacterium (Burkholderia mallei), which broke out in Bahrain recently infecting horses. Endurance Races Committee Chairman Shaikh Faisal bin Rashid Al-Khalifa and Breef Deputy chairman Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa attended the meeting. Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Khalifa described Bahrain as a model to emulate in combating and promoting preventive measures against equine diseases. He credited particularly the Ministry of Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs for drawing up viable plans and following up their implementation, which playing a crucial role in containing and eradicating the infectious Glanders disease in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Shaikh Khalid also paid tribute to SCYS Chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) President Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa for instructing concerned authorities timely to study the causes of the Glanders outbreak in Bahrain and contain its ramifications, hiring foreign expertise acknowledged in combating equine diseases. He also lauded the owners of stables and horses for their cooperation with the official efforts, stressing the crucial importance of mobilizing all efforts towards taking precautionary measures to avert any potential outbreak of the glanders disease anew. Present were Muharraq Municipality director-general and head of National Anti-Glanders Committee chairman Shaikh Khalifa bin Isa Al-Khalifa, animal health experts Nicholas Antoine and Nassem Al-Jazairi, Breef board member Shaikh Salman bin Saqer Al-Khalifa, Breef secretary general Ghalib Al-Alawi, Media Committee chairman Tawfeeq Salhi and Shaikh Khalid’s bureau chief Rashid Al-Shaikh.

FEI Central Asian Endurance Championship 2011

Horsesinthesouth.com Blog

Bissemaganbetov Captures Gold as Kazakhstan Scoops All the Medals, by Louise Parkes

Lausanne (SUI), 24 May 2011 – The host nation of Kazakhstan captured all the medals at the 2011 FEI Central Asian Endurance Championship staged in Talgar earlier this month. Altyngali Bissemaganbetov claimed gold, while Amangeldy Munaitbayev took silver and Kairzhan Andybay clinched the bronze. Just six of the 16 starters completed the 80kms course, and the only non-Kazakh in the final line-up was the sole competitor from Turkmenistan, sixth-placed Oleg Karabayev.

Bissemaganbetov made history as he secured his success riding the Adai horse Oyly. The Adai, a breed native to Kazakhstan, was only recently awarded an official pedigree following tests conducted by a State Commission in the Mangistau Steppes earlier this year. These horses are cherished for their hardiness, and Oyly proved just how tough they can be.

GROWING
The sport of Endurance is growing in the region, and Kyrgyzstan was also represented as the competition got underway on 15 May. Talgar, which lies close to the city of Almaty, is at the foothills of the Zailiisky Mountains where the Asian winter-sports championships regularly take place. The town is also on the Silk Road – the network of trade routes that stretches across Asia, linking East to West – and close to the Caspian Sea. Demonstrating the spread of the sport, some of the competitors travelled over 500 kilometres to compete in the championship.

Parts of the course traversed the ski slopes and there were some mild undulations, but the track for this 1-Star event was not intended to be over-taxing on either horses or riders, many of whom were relative novices at this level of the sport. The finish proved a tight one however when Bissemaganbetov crossed the line just fractions of a second ahead of Munaitbayev riding Akkanat. The winning partnership, who crossed the line after 04:50:40 hours, covered the course at a rate of 16.56 kms per hour while Munaitbayev was only fractionally slower in 04:50:42.

Third-placed Andybay and Kertobel took five hours and four seconds to complete the track, competing at a rate of 15.78 kms per hour.

DELIGHTED
President of the Ground Jury, Mr Hallvard Sommerseth, said he was delighted with the way the Championship evolved. “This was a big event for the competitors in this region – it takes time to develop the required skills, but the riders did very well indeed,” he said. He was most impressed with the winning horse, Oyly. “The Adai is bred in Kazakhstan and I had never seen one before. They are very hardy, they never wear shoes and they have a surprisingly quick recovery-rate. They can also drink the salt-water from the Caspian Sea – I thought only camels could do that!” he added.

The 2011 FEI Central Asian Endurance Championship was organised by the Kazakhstan National Federation under the watchful eyes of President, Mr Alexandr Machkevitch and Secretary General, Mr. Sergey Buikevich.

Result: FEI Central Asian Endurance Championships 2011
Gold – Oyly (Altyngali Bissemaganbetov) KAZ; Silver – Akkanat (Amangeldy Munaitbayev) KAZ; Bronze – Kertobel (Kairzhan Andybay) KAZ; 4, Batiy (Dina Turganbayeva) KAZ; 5, Albatros (Asset Zhakupov) KAZ; 6, Albatros-Zakat (Oleg Karabayev) TKM.

Philippines: Bohol sports set for kingly spectacle in nat’l horse race

Theboholstandard.com - Full Article

Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines

May 22 2011

National and local horse racers will compete late this week in the first-ever Governor’s Cup for the equestrian class, elevating Bohol sports to a spectacle staged just for the amazement and joy of only the kings and nobility in ancient time.

Although modern racing exists notably because it is a major venue for legalized gambling generating in 2008 alone a worldwide market worth $115 billion, the horse match here likewise intends to make the sport motivate livestock breeding for livelihood.

The event dubbed the “Governor’s Cup: Survive Bohol 2 – A Horse Competition and Endurance Race” is set for thrill on the Bohol Island State University (BISU) grounds in Bilar starting Friday, May 27, until Sunday.

Skillful jockeys with their prized horses, known trainers, breeders and even just mere lovers of the swift animal from Manila, Cebu, Davao, Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro are coming for the event that is truly rare in this part of the country.

Gov. Edgar Chatto will lead in gracing the opening of the three-day horse derby initiated by the Bohol Horse Riding Club, Inc. (BHRCI) in cooperation with the provincial government, Department of Agriculture – Ubay Stock Farm, BISU, and the LGUs of Bilar, Dimiao and Calape.

The competition kicks off in a 12-hour 80-kilometer endurance race from BISU in barangay Zamora in Bilar to Dimao and vice versa, making as a fit horse track the rugged road that cuts across hills.

Endurance race is much like a marathon, often with multi-day rides which fastest time claims the crown.

Endurance racing began in California in 1955, and the first race marked the start of the Tevis Cup, a 100-mile one-day-long ride.

The world’s longest endurance ride is Australia’s Shahzada 400 Km Memorial Test done in five days. In all endurance events there are rigorous veterinary checks before, during and after the competition...

Read more here:
http://www.theboholstandard.com/psection.php?issue=214&s1=3660&s2=3662&s3=3666&s4=1099&s5=3675&s6=&s7=1098&s8=1097&s9=&s10=&s11=&s12=1100&s13=&s14=&s15=3672

Horse Welfare on the Mongol Derby

Horsehero.com - Full Story

20 May 2011

Jenny Weston, head vet on the 2011 Mongol Derby, is interviewed by Derby organiser Katie Willings exclusively for Horse Hero. Her answers provide an extraordinary insight into horse culture in Mongolia and the organisation of horse welfare on the 1000 km race.

Question: You are a 4* accredited FEI vet and have a great deal of experience vetting at high profile endurance rides. How does the Mongol Derby compare to an FEI endurance event?

"To complete is to win!"

Answer: The Mongol Derby is similar to endurance riding in general with the motto "to complete is to win" pretty much upper most in the minds of most of the competitors. As always there are those few who truly do want to win but for most it is about seeing the countryside, spending time with the horse and testing yourself. In endurance there isn’t supposed to be outside assistance and there is a marked track – that is very different in Mongolia! Vets and race organisers will come to your aid if called upon, the riders constantly assist each other, and the locals will give up their bed for you (literally) if you turn up at their ger in the evening. There is no marked track – it is all navigated by GPS. The vetting criteria for pre-ride selection and post-ride evaluation, however, are very close to those used in FEI endurance rides. Heart rate recovery parameters are the same – 64 bpm within 30 minutes, and this is for horses whose resting HR is usually considerably higher than a fully fit endurance horse. We also assess hydration of the horse and gait, to check that the horse is fine to be returned to its owner after having been ridden.

The difficulty for the rider lies with the fact that they are riding unfamiliar horses – how do you assess whether the horse is tired or just lazy, when you don’t know how it normally behaves?...

Read more here:
http://www.horsehero.com/editorial/?feat=66100

UAE: Legendary Emirati jockey gallops down memory lane

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Aziz Al Redha recalls his best memories as a pioneering amateur jockey in the UAE

* By Leslie Wilson Jr, Racing & Special Features Writer
* Published: 00:01 May 22, 2011

Dubai: It's not everyday that you get to sit down and have a lively and enlightening conversation with a pioneering jockey turned avid racehorse trainer — especially when you've been a fan of the sport for as far as you can remember.

So, when I got the chance to meet Aziz Al Redha, one of the greats of horse racing in the UAE, the encounter gave me an understanding of just how important a role he has played given the context and prominent position that the sport now enjoys.

It did not take me long to realise that even after 30 odd years in the business, Al Redha is just as obsessed with horses, and on winning, as he ever was. After we talked shop about the "good old times" and the growth that the sport has benefited from, he answered some burning questions with anecdotes and witty comebacks.

Comfort levels

We began to share a bond and it helped strengthen my comfort levels at the risk of being spontaneous. This provoked me to explore his love for the sport of endurance, which seems an unusual destination for somebody who was passionately involved in racehorses.

"This is entirely different to what I did for 20 years in racing. Now I'm running my own small yard mainly for endurance," he said. "I got into endurance out of coincidence, by just playing around with some retired race horses. As the sport was becoming popular in the UAE I thought I'll have a go and learn something. I had a trial and error attitude to it all. But alhamdulilla [All praise is due to Allah] we've been pretty successful.

"I train mainly for my daughter Laila who is a good rider and a serious [competitor]. We — my wife and I — taught her since she was three. She's done dressage and jumping before she got into endurance, so she has the right balance, the handling and the feel," Al Redha explains. "Endurance doesn't teach you that, nor does a riding school. To be a good endurance rider you have got to be relaxed and you can only be relaxed if you are confident..."

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/legendary-emirati-jockey-gallops-down-memory-lane-1.811043