Poland: Wild Finish in Distance Equestrian Race

Heigo Rohtla with Jethro ( Photo: Külli Rohtla ) News.err.ee

By Kristopher Rikken

A collision with a deer in the heat of competition did not keep Estonian equestrian Heigo Rohtla and his horse Jethro off the pedestal at an international endurance riding competition in Poland, although the freak accident may have spoiled a chance at first place.

Rohtla was knocked from the saddle but was unhurt, and he and his mount finished in third place, with a time of 6:34:42 over the 120 km distance - close to a personal speed record, said Rohtla.

The incident happened practically on the home stretch, when a doe emerged from the forest. Jethro and the wild animal collided literally head-on and Rohtla flew from the saddle. "It's a good thing it was a female," said Rohtla, expressing relief he was not impaled on antlers.

In a gesture of good sportsmanship, the second-place finisher Magdalena Prikrylova (Slovakia) held up until Rohtla was back in the saddle, earning her a fair play award.

Polish rider Krzysztof Czarnota and Wened won the event with a time of 6:29:13.

Australia: Local Endurance Horse Ride

Lifeislocal.com.au

5 July 2011

Endurance Horse riding is now one of the fastest growing equestrian sports in Australia.

Bellingen’s only Endurance ride Sharon Foster has been involved in endurance riding for 19 years now and has seen lots of changes in the sport.

Sharon successfully competed two more than 80 km rides recently at Copmanhurst and Kundabung. Sharon says Endurance riding is a mentally and physical challenge for both horse and rider. You both have to be super fit. It is an exciting, and adrenalin pumping horse sport, I’m addicted anyway!

Endurance riding is were one horse/one ride combination, ride over distances of between 80km up to 400km marathons. These endurance horses need to be extremely fit and healthy.

All horses are required to pass a compulsory vet check before, during and after the ride, where heart and respiration rates are measured, temperatures taken and checks made for soreness or lameness. If the horse fails any one of these they are disqualified. Sharon says the rider also needs to be physically and mentally fit and healthy to be able to endure long hours in the saddle and riding a variety of terrains in all weather conditions and often starting a ride in the dark.

A little closer to home is our most local Endurance ride at Upper Corindi. The Clarence/Coffs Coast Endurance riding club is holding an 80km endurance ride on Sunday 7th July 2011. The ride base is at 287 Featherstone’s Road Upper Corindi. The turn off is about 30ks north of Coffs Harbour and another 14k to the base camp.

They are also running a social ride on the Saturday of 20kms for the first time riders and a 40km training ride on the Sunday.

The course takes riders through State Forest and private property and is a challenging ride with hilly terrain. Come and enjoy a fantastic weekend in the beautiful countryside. For more enquiries contact Malcolm and Megan Matters on 6649 2836 or email mandm@aussiebroadband.com.au

China: Bayinbuluk Swan Lake Endurance Ride

4 July 2011

The 3rd Bayinbuluk Swan Lake China Endurance Riding Competition 2011 will open on July 15-17 in the Bayinbuluk prairie, Xinjiang, China. The games will adopt FEI Endurance Game Rules and is ranked international 1-star. The one-day race will cover 80 km in total.

Australia: Golden Performance

Warwickdailynews.com.au - Full Article

Gerard Walsh | 5th July 2011

FREESTONE has the top endurance horse-and-rider combination in Australia following the success of Cora Becker and Bones the Wizard in the FEI 160km three-star Australian National Championship at the Al Reef and RM Williams Endurance Festival Ride.

Becker went to the Australian championships at Toorbul near Caboolture with one strapper, husband Laurie Woodruff, and won the major event in eight hours, 46.34 minutes.

She was in the lead group of seven throughout.

Becker was at a disadvantage against competitors with a larger numbers of strappers who could prepare their horse quicker in hold time for the five veterinary checks as required in a 160km event.

As the lead group went into the last veterinary check, some of the horses were fatigued and the riders had to wait until the heart beat of their horse was under 64 beats a minute to continue.

Bones the Wizard was in top condition and passed the fifth check with flying colours which meant Becker was in third place at the start of the final 17km leg.

She caught the two horse-and-rider combinations in front of her with 10km to go and then took a 200m lead before winning by a second...

Read more here:
http://www.warwickdailynews.com.au/story/2011/07/05/golden-performance-firestone-australia/

Germany: Shaikh Khalid races to victory

Gulf-daily-news.com - full article

Posted on » Sunday, July 03, 2011

BAHRAIN Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation president and Al Khalidiyah Stables leader Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa triumphed yesterday in a 160-kilometre endurance horse race held in Dillingen, Germany.

Shaikh Khalid finished the gruelling, six-stage event just one second ahead of Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

Shaikh Khalid and Shaikh Nasser were competing in the ride as part of Bahrain's Royal Endurance Team, of which Shaikh Nasser is the captain. Their fine performance earned the kingdom's representatives a superb one-two finish against a world-class field of riders.

The event was the first of a series of top-level endurance races that the team will be participating in across Europe this summer.

The Royal Endurance Team's riders were dominant yesterday from start to finish. They were among the group of early leaders in the opening stage, and they maintained their position in the front before capping their brilliant showing by claiming all three podium positions.

Shaikh Khalid registered a winning time of eight hours 26 minutes and 20 seconds. Shaikh Nasser was the close runner-up, while teammate Ahmed Janahi came third, another second behind Shaikh Nasser.

Among the other Royal Endurance Team members, Mohammed Abdulsamad finished in eighth place with a time of 9:24:30, while Salman Isa completed the event in ninth, a mere second behind.

The Royal Endurance Team managed to overcome the challenge of top riders from Germany and the Netherlands yesterday.

Superb

Their superb results gave them added confidence ahead of their next endurance ride, to be held on next Saturday at the same venue, also over 160km. They are then scheduled to compete in events in the UK, France and elsewhere.

At the end of the ride, Shaikh Khalid, Shaikh Nasser and Janahi received their trophies at an awarding ceremony.

Shaikh Nasser hailed the performance of the Royal Endurance Team, and said that it helps reaffirm their position as some of the world's best riders.

Bahrain's Ambassador to Germany Ahmed Mohammed Al Dosary was present at the event, and he congratulated Shaikh Khalid and Shaikh Nasser on the positive results they achieved.

Malaysia: Horse-endurance club sees big future

A notice board catches the eye of Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin during his visit to Al-Khamsa Endurance Club. NST.com.my

2011/07/02
By Looi Sue-Chern

GEORGE TOWN: Penang now has its first horse-endurance riding club, and there are big plans for the state’s future in the field of equestrian sport.

Al-Khamsa Endurance Club, which aimed to further promote horse-endurance riding in Penang and nationwide, would train local riders to represent the state as well as the nation in local and international events.

Its president, A. Mutalib Ismail, said every state in the country had a horse endurance riding team except Penang — until now.

The club, open to everyone interested in taking up endurance riding, would prepare local riders to compete in the annual Malaysia Games (Sukma) under the Penang flag.

“We will not make it in time for this year’s Sukma but we will try next year,” he said.

“Sukma will not be our sole target. We also plan to take Penang to the international endurance-riding scene.” The Al-Khamsa Endurance Club is located on a 0.8ha piece of state-owned land in the Municipal Park here. It has a riding area for training use and stables for up to 30 horses.

The club was officiated by Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, an avid horse endurance rider, during his two-day working visit to Penang last week.

Mutalib said the club was honoured to welcome Tuanku Mizan and hoped the meaningful visit would be a stepping stone for the state to produce its first riders for Sukma.

Read more here:
http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Horse-enduranceclubseesbigfuture/Article

Australia: NSW State Endurance Championships

Horsezone.com.au

Published on Monday, June 27, 2011 in Sponsored Shows

The 2011 NSW State Endurance Championships were held in the beautiful Macdonald Valley centred on the village of St Albans. The event course travelled a distance of 160 kilometres over roads and trails around St Albans and in the surrounding National Park and private land. The maximum riding time permitted was 24 hours, including rest breaks and veterinary checks.

The motto of endurance riding is “To complete is to win". This philosophy dictates that all competitors who complete the course, and whose horses are passed as fit to continue at every veterinary check are considered winners, just as much as the placegetters. This certainly was true of the State Championships which were run under very difficult weather conditions on the June long weekend, with rain starting to fall late afternoon on Saturday, hardly stopping for the whole of Sunday and continuing into Monday. A week later the sun was shining, but some of the St Albans Common was still more than 0.5 metres underwater, having been 2 metres under on Tuesday night. Some water tubs, road signs and the solar lights which were supposed to mark the course are expected to wash up anywhere between St Albans and Palm Beach!

The event organisers, the St Albans Endurance Riders Association would like to congratulate all of the 41 riders who were successful...

Read more here:
http://www.horsezone.com.au/news/nsw-state-endurance-championships-1269