Great Britain: The Pony Club Endurance Championships 2011

Horsedeals.co.uk

08/09/2011

Pony Club Endurance, generously sponsored by Dengie Horse Feeds, is going from strength to strength and will soon be enjoying its third Championship on September 18th at The College EC, Bedfordshire.

Pony Club Members, from all over the country, have been taking part in qualification rides throughout the year to gain their ticket to The Pony Club Dengie Endurance Championships. Entry numbers are set to be in excess of 50, with competitors 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 levels for Novice (32km at 10km per hour), Intermediate (40km at 11km per hour) and Open (40km at 12km per hour).

“Pony Club Endurance continues to grow steadily in popularity as a discipline” comments Sally Lawton, Secretary of Pony Club Endurance. “It has been really pleasing to receive entries for the Championships from new Pony Club Branches to the sport, and we hope they really enjoy their Championship experience”.

Introduced in 2009 Endurance has proved a great addition to The Pony Club’s disciplines, as no specific type of horse or pony is needed to take part, and the emphasis on sound knowledge of how to correctly get fit and feed your horse sits well with The Pony Club’s training ethos. Pony Club Endurance is supported by long standing Pony Club sponsor Dengie Horse Feeds, who took on Endurance in addition to their Pony Club Winter League sponsorship at the beginning of 2010.

Ian Hassard, Managing Director, Dengie Horse Feeds says, “We are very proud to be supporting The Pony Club Endurance Championships. Endurance is a growing sport with a strong emphasis on diet and fitness which sits perfectly with Dengie’s nutritional values. I wish all those competing at the Championships the best of luck.”

The Pony Club Dengie Endurance Championship will be running alongside the Endurance Great Britain (EGB) Cromwell Group’s annual ‘The College Ride’. Spectators are welcome at the event, with no charge for entry, and food is available to purchase.

Great Britain: British Team Makes Their Final Preparations!

Endurancegb.co.uk

9th September 2011

Our British Team riders, crews and management have been making the final preparations for the ride tomorrow morning which starts at 4.30am local time (3.30am over here!).

As well as final crewing arrangements, horse care and logistics necessary for ride day, there has been time for them to relax as well..... as Chair of International it is always very important to ensure that you fully support your team and Mr John Yeoman has chosen a rather novel way to express himself this time..... by painting his fingernails in the team colours!!!!! Photographic evidence is here!

Bahrain: Royal Team for European Open

Gulf-daily-news.com

September 8 2011

SHAIKH Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa will be among the leading Bahraini riders in the FEI 2011 European Open Endurance Horseride Championship in Florac, France.

This highly anticipated 160km event, sponsored by the Bahrain Royal Endurance Team, is set to take place on Saturday at Florac Endurance Village with some of the continent's top riders in the fray.

The Bahrain team, who arrived at the endurance village earlier this week, continued their preparations for the upcoming event, organised by Lozre Endurance Equestre.

The Florac 160km Championship follows trails through the mountainous region of the CŽzannes National Park in Central Southern France.

Shaikh Nasser, the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and chief of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, said the team hopes to maintain their recent impressive run in the European competitions this year.

Successful

He said the team had a successful participation in previous endurance rides in Europe earlier in the summer. Among those achievements was a second-place finish in Germany and later in France.

Shaikh Nasser also highlighted the outstanding achievement of team member Salman Isa, who clinched the eight-year-old category title during last month's FEI World Championship at Compiegne, in France.

The programme of the European Championship begins today with a several meeting by the organising committee, to be followed by the veterinary examination tomorrow in the National Park of the CŽzannes.

The race will then take place the following day from 4.30am, while the prize-giving ceremony is scheduled for Sunday.

Spanish champion Maria Alvarez Ponton will defend her title on Nobby and join the riders at the start of the race.

The programme for the European Championship is being supported in total by the Lozere Tourism Department where the ride will be held.

Out of 230 demands of participation, only 171 representing 18 nations could be honoured by Lozre Endurance Equestre. This is an absolute record of contestants on a competition of this type, but this shows as well a strong will of the European nations for a return back to the origins of the discipline.

For this challenge imposed by the FEI in order to assign definitely this championship to Florac, Lozre Endurance Equestre had designed specially for this championship a trail in one big loop.

The trial respects the traditional values endurance: stamina, horsemanship, sports ethic, respect for the horse's physical well being and morale.

Florac organised the first Continental Endurance Championship in 1984 and the 2011 teams are assembling with 142 listed riders and reserve participants from 20 countries.

UAE: Growing popularity of equestrianism to be evident at ADIHEX 2011

Middle-east-online.com

2011-09-07

ADIHEX to give visitors chance to see forward-looking and futuristic developments in equestrian field.

ABU DHABI - Equestrianism is not only one of the oldest and noblest of pursuits, but also one of the fastest-growing. From Argentina, where pato, played on horseback and combining elements of polo and basketball, is the national sport, to the rediscovery and breeding of the ancient Caspian horse, and the burgeoning attraction of vaulting in the north-west United States, equestrian events of all types are increasing in popularity around the world. In the UK, for example, the sport enjoys such popularity that an estimated 43 percent of households (11 million) have a household member with some form of interest in equestrianism (including racing)*, and the equestrian sector is the largest sporting employer in the UK**.

In the UAE, horses play a special role. The Emirates Equestrian Federation was established in 1992 – under the Chairmanship of His Excellency Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council – and in 1996, in Kansas, USA, UAE riders participated for the first time in a World Championship endurance event. Just two years later, the UAE hosted the World Championship endurance event which attracted a record 162 competitors. Polo –‘the sport of kings’ – is rapidly becoming more popular with both participants and spectators in the country.

Moreover, the Arabian horse have historically dominated the discipline of endurance riding. Yet in tandem with celebrating these traditions, ADIHEX will give visitors the chance to see forward-looking and futuristic developments in the equestrian field – a celebration of the past, present and future of riding, driving or vaulting with horses, and the use of horses for practical working purposes, transportation, recreational activities, artistic or cultural exercises, and competitive sport.

The increasing popularity of equestrianism is evidenced by the greater number of exhibitors at the ninth edition of ADIHEX (Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition), taking place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) from 14th to 17th September. Among those exhibiting is Al Khail Equestrian Equipment, suppliers of “everything from horse equipment to stable equipments and feed supplements,” in the words of Derick Samson, Veternarian at the company.

Samson says that the growing popularity of equestrian activities in the UAE has led not only to the import of equipment such as the SATO Tread Mill and Horse Walker Machine, which can be used to analyze poor performance in horses and prescribe remedial action, but also to products that have been developed especially for the country: “Our products on the supplements side are tailor-made for the UAE, since we bring doctors to conduct research on the country’s environment and weather before we actually develop the product. Our products include HBA supplements, complete vitamin minerals and many others, and we are in most cases the exclusive distributor.”

Samson says that the increasing prominence of equestrianism is driving new trends in the industry: “Clients are increasingly looking for equipments that help in pampering their horse. For example, we now offer horse spa machines, that are becoming very popular, and they help to relax the tendons of the horse.”

The long, proud history of equestrianism will be represented fully at the stand of Sorrell Studios, where the company’s proprietor and artist, Kenna bint Mohamed Al-Sayed Al-Hashami, will be present. Ms Al-Sayed, whose artwork has been included in the past five American Saddlebred Museum’s Annual Art Auctions, as well as being juried into the Ex Arte Equinus 4 International Equine Art Competition, will show and sell her work at the Sorrel Studios LLC stand at ADIHEX, located at H8 – 4.

Ms Al-Sayed is a member of the International Equine Artists group and a devoted horse rider who has been riding for over twenty years. Her experience around horses has helped to give her extensive knowledge of equine movement, reactions, and the intricacies of tack associated with various disciplines of riding. By staying in touch with the equestrian world, her art reflects different breeds of horses, riding styles, tack and training methods accurately.

Ms Al-Sayed believes that art is one area where equestrianism is under-represented and under-recognized: “I would like to think that equestrian art will start gaining respect within the art world. As of now, art that is realistic in depicting animals (in this case, horses) is not thought of as ‘high art’ and is usually harder to get accepted into prestigious art competitions. There are a number of groups and competitions that are just for equine artists and many of the artists competing in them are world class – it would be nice to see our subject matter receiving more attention. I would also love to see realism as a genre undergo a renaissance within the art world and with the public. All artworks are valid and deserve attention as they are a means of expression; it just seems there has been a trend for only modern abstract works to be constantly revered, yet there are many artists working with neo classical and photorealism techniques that could use more publicity, in my opinion.”

* British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) National Equestrian Survey (2005-6)

** British Horse Industry Confederation (BHIC) (October 2009)

Great Britain: Florac 2011 European Championships - Update

Endurancegb.co.uk

28th August 2011

Definite entries were made on Thursday and the reserves have been ranked.

The combinations representing Team GBR at the Florac 2011 European Championships on the 9th & 10th September are as follows:

Alice Beet & Adara Sauveterre
Tricia Hirst & Madjin Des Pins
Karen Jones & Macadamia
Catriona Moon & Leila
Christine Yeoman & ZT Richshakfy
David Yeoman & Haszar

The non-travelling reserves have been ranked in the following order:

Rachael Atkinson & Vanash
Nicky Sherry & Shimmering Blue Jasmine
Annie Joppe & Dilmun

Horse and rider blog for The British endurance team at the 2011 European endurance Championships

Horseandrideruk.com - Full Article

Welcome to the Horse and Rider blog for the British Endurance team at the European Endurance Championships 2011. We will keep readers up to date with regular blog posts and pictures from the British team riders at the Championships in the lead up to and throughout the event.

The six strong British Endurance team will be leaving on their journey to Florac in the South of France for the 2011 FEI European Endurance Championships early tomorrow morning (Sat 3rd September). Saturday the 10th September will see these riders and their horses set out on the gruelling 160km, hilly course in Florac.

The team selected for the European Championships are experienced and very keen to do well. Chairman of Selectors, Di Latham, said on behalf of the selectors and management team, "We are confident that this is a strong Team who will rise to the challenge ahead to bring home a Team medal".

The team consists of, newcomer Karen Jones from Devon, who joins Christine and David Yeoman from Somerset. Catriona Moon from Northumberland and Tricia Hirst from Wales have also been successful in team selection, along with the youngest team member, Alice Beet from Surrey. There are four non-travelling reserve riders, Rachael Atkinson, Sally Hall, Annie Joppe and Nicky Sherry.

Christine Yeoman from Shepton Mallet has a wealth of experience at international level, having been on the squad for two European Championships and two World Equestrian Games (WEG) in both Aachen and Kentucky. She finished in 31st place in the 2010 WEG with LM Midday...

Read more here:
http://www.horseandrideruk.com/article.php?id=1678

France: Monpazier

2 September 2011

France's Julien Lafaure, riding Phedra Cabirat, won the 160km CEI*** race at Monpazier, France, on 2 September 2011 by one second over Qatar's Hassan Tahous S.J. Al Nuaimi, riding RP Attual. The winner averaged 17.39 km/h over the course. Following just over 6 minutes later was third place Enora Boulenger of France, riding Braza. Qatar's Faleh Nasser SS Bughenaim, riding Major Armor came first across the finish line, but his horse did not pass the final vet check on metabolics.

Twenty-one of 43 starters finished the race.