UAE: Al Beloushi, Al Hammadi win

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Harsh conditions fail to deter duo from coming ahead of pack to victory
By M. Satya Narayan, Chief Sports ReporterPublished: 00:00 January 22, 2012


Abu Dhabi: Munder Ahmad Al Beloushi of Al Reef Stables and Hassan Abdullah Yousuf Al Hammadi of Al Wathba Stables won the Emirates Challenge and the Giants Endurance Challenge (Round 1) 120-km rides, respectively, at the Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba yesterday.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, attended the ride.

It was a great win for Al Beloushi on the 16-year-old gelding Sharahd Talik in extremely challenging conditions while for elder brother Yousuf Ahmad Al Beloushi, it was another success as trainer. Sharahd Talik last won under Sultan Ahmad Al Beloushi in December 2008 in Dubai and repeated that feat again yesterday here at the Al Wathba venue with strong winds and dusty conditions making it very difficult for the riders...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/al-beloushi-al-hammadi-win-1.969092

UAE: Dubai schoolgirl proves her mettle in the end

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Fatima wards off two foreign riders in a neck-and-neck battle

By M. Satya Narayan, Chief Sports ReporterPublished: 00:00 January 21, 2012


Abu Dhabi: Dubai schoolgirl Fatima Jasem Al Merri once again displayed her skills as she managed to finish ahead of two foreign riders to win the Shaikha Fatima Bint Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Ladies Endurance Cup at the Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba yesterday.

Al Merri, who won the National Day Cup at the same venue earlier in the season, won a close battle riding her eight-year-old gelding Hurst Radnor, with just 36 seconds separating the top three riders after the 90km race.

Al Merri, who also made the UAE proud by becoming one of the first two woman jockeys to take part in a flat race in the Netherlands last year, took the lead in the second stage of the four-stage race but was given a close fight in the final loop by New Zealand's Lauren Michelle Hiscock on Tora Conrad and French rider Geraldine Jacquet on Kaysand Farrazah.

Before going on to the final loop, Al Merri was ahead of Jacquet, while Hiscock moved up from her fourth place to finish just behind the winner...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/dubai-schoolgirl-proves-her-mettle-in-the-end-1.968780

UAE: Fatima Bint Mansour Endurance Challenge for Women riders to kick off tomorrow

WAM.ae

2012-01-19 16:07:06
WAM Abu Dhabi,Jan 19th, 2012 (WAM) -- Under the patronage of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Presidential Affairs HH Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Sheikha Fatima Bint Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Endurance Challenge for Women riders will kick off tomorrow at the UAE World Endurance tracks in Al Wathba in Abu Dhabi.

A total of 70 riders from various stables in the country as well as from GCC, Arab and other countries from around the world will participate in the 90-km race to be held under the guidance of Sheikh Mansour, who is also the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.

The event sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage(ADACH), the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and Emirates Airlines is supported by a number of companies and national institutions in the UAE.

Half a million Dirhams has been announced in prizes for the winners.

WAM/AB

Malaysia: Sultan Terengganu to Participate in Endurance Horse Race

My.news.yahoo.com

January 18 2012


KUALA TERENGGANU, Jan 18 (Bernama) -- Sultan Terengganu Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin will be among participants in an Endurance Horse Race competition organised by the Al-Kathiri Equestrian Club in Lembah Bidong, Setiu on Saturday.

Club chairman Shaikh Abdul Halim Al-Kathiri said the race was the first of its kind organised in Terengganu by an equestrian club.

According to a statement from the Terengganu Menteri Besar''s office, the race that will feature a 50km and 80km race will start at 6.15am. Sheikh Abdul Halim said about 50 local riders would take part in the competition.

Great Britain: Chesham horse rider wins national award

Chesham.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk - Full Article


by Camilla Goodman on Jan 18, 2012

A HORSE rider from Chesham has won a prestigious national award.

Lorna Kidson, 29, of Chartridge Lane, Chesham, was announced as the winner of the runner-up prize for the South Essex Insurance Brokers and Retraining of Racehorses' Elite Performance Award for Endurance, at the Breeders Dinner and Awards Ceremony at the Grange Hotel, London, last week.

Kidson, who is an insurance underwriter at Royal and Sun Alliance, in High Street, Chesham, scooped £500 for winning the accolade.

She won the award with ex-racehorse Jack Dawson, owned by Paul Wright and Margaret Donnolly...

Read more here:
http://chesham.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk/2012/01/chesham-horse-rider-wins-natio.html

UAE: Al Merri takes Endurance Cup after close battle with Al Hazza

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Hamdan retires when leading in penultimate stage to preserve horse

By M. Satya Narayan, Chief Sports ReporterPublished: 00:00 January 15, 2012

Abu Dhabi: Young Abdullah Ganem Al Merri of Nad Al Sheba Stables partnered Shardell Alladeen to win the prestigious His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup, a 160-km Three-star ride held at the Dubai International Endurance City yesterday.

The ride was attended by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

After Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, retired his horse when leading in the penultimate stage, Al Merri got the better of Bahraini rider Ahmad Abdullah Al Hazza on Picaflor with their close battle going all the way to the final kilometre before the UAE rider won by 27 seconds.

With the Dubai Equestrian Club adopting a five-stage ride for the 160-km event for the first time, Al Merri went into the final 19-km loop third behind Al Hazza with well over a minute separating the two riders. He then increased his final loop speed on the 12-year-old to average 28.43 kmph in comparison to his fourth loop average speed of just over 21-kmph and that proved decisive...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/al-merri-takes-endurance-cup-after-close-battle-with-al-hazza-1.965895

Spain: Kaliber Raid News Andalucia 2012

El Raid Blog

by Gabriel Gamiz Gomez
FRIDAY JANUARY 13, 2012

[google translation]


Our friend and Kaliber Andalucia President Jose Manuel Soto, sends us an email and a letter, telling him that this year 2012 will be the Kaliber.

Spanish and World crisis has hit the world of the horse and could not be unless you play at this great test, test that too many riders have the illusion of enjoyment, and José Manuel looking for cheaper solutions, explains in this letter, which wants to do in this year 2012.
The idea looks like it may be, is not the same go half Andalucia, to be anchored to a village, but this place is special, nestled inside the Doñana Paque, a place where they worship the Blessed Virgen del Rocio, horse landmark in the village meets during the pilgrimage, thousands of fans with their horses to enjoy those walks in the sand marshes.

This is the newsletter of Jose Manuel Soto on the new Al-Andalus Ironhorse :

"Dear friends,

Many of you're asking me about this year's raid, and I think it's time to give you an explanation. In 2012, due to the difficult economic situation we are going, we can not celebrate the Raid Kaliber-Andalusia as you had known before.

We had been several years working their way through the longest and toughest test in the world despite the many difficulties of all kinds that we face, to face them with hope and enthusiasm, but This year we have lost all support we had and we can not continue.

You can imagine the shame that this happens to us all that we fought so hard over the years by bringing forward this dream, but circumstances force us to send and adapt if not to resign. Our intention is not to lose the habit of doing a great race every spring in Andalusia, and especially not to lose the habit of meeting and share what most unites us: our love for horses.

Therefore, I propose a great weekend of horses and friendship in the village of El Rocío coinciding with Easter. We can not give big awards, or write great reports as before, but if we can share good times and compete healthily with our horses, which are also our passion.

The idea is to hold three races of 80 km each, in two stages a day, starting and finishing in the village of El Rocío, going through the incomparable landscapes sandy, covered with pines, Doñana and its beaches. And that everyone may want to run phases, establishing several classifications.

I think it's a much more affordable adventure from every point of view, although not without strength and competitiveness for those who decide to try to run all phases. The horse better classified which cover all stages be given the prize "Ironhorse" of the year. And that, precisely, is the name of this new career: "Al-Andalus Ironhorse."

From here I encourage everyone to fellowship and be convinced your friends, relatives and acquaintances to come and enjoy a few days together and healthy rivalry and that we all return to give an example of what this beautiful game.

Many thanks to everyone and my best wishes for the year just to start.

A big hug

Jose Manuel Soto
President of the Organizing Committee"