Poland: ARABIA-Polska Arabian Horse Festival

April 19 2012

Please feel invited to the First International ECAHO Show in Poland since many years. The ARABIA-Polska Arabian Horse Festival, under the Patronage of HE Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will take place at Sluzewiec Racecourse in Warsaw on the 23rd-24th of June.

Our international judges are: Sylvie Eberhardt (Germany), Marianne Tangstedt (Denmark), Katrina Murray (UK) and Raymond Mazzei (US).

Show schedule, Entry Form, VIP reservations and Sponsorship fee are available now! Closing date for entries: 15th of May! Contact us: pp@polishprestige.pl

For more information, see:
http://www.arabianessence.com/waterhole/mailblast/2012/mailblast65-polska.html

India’s Indigenous Horses Trot Into Sunset

Littleindia.com - Full Article

India’s ‘native steeds’ are staring at an uncertain, if not calamitous future, just two years ahead of a century since World War I that will commemorate the greatest contribution of horses towards a human enterprise

By Rajat Ghai

For millennia, they have shared the world with their human masters. They have carried their owners in the thick of battle, across grasslands, hills, plains and the highest mountains. But there has never been a more trying time for India’s six indigenous breeds of horses than now.

The Kathiawari horse, the Marwari horse, the Zanskari pony, the Spiti pony, the Bhotia pony and the Manipuri pony are threatened by the loss of genetic purity, say experts.

In January this year the media in Gujarat speculated that there were fewer than 50 purebred Kathiawari horses left.

Warns Satyajit Khachar, a Gujarat-based horse breeder: “If they are not saved now, a stage will come when because of declining numbers, the gene pool will get restricted. Then breeders will resort to inbreeding to preserve the breed’s purity.”

Raghuvendra Singh Dunlod, secretary general of the Indigenous Horse Society of India, a Jaipur-based NGO working towards conserving the six breeds, said: “A horse breed is declared threatened when fewer than 50 breeding mares are left, according to the Brussels-based OIE or World Organization for Animal Health.

“By that yardstick, I don’t think that these six breeds are on the verge of extinction. But some of them, if not all, will slide towards that end if something is not done soon..."

Read more here:
http://www.littleindia.com/life/12681-india%E2%80%99s-indigenous-horses-trot-into-sunset.html

Scotland: Shoes mandatory in horse v human race – for now

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

By Horsetalk.co.nz on Apr 17, 2012

A campaign to allow barefoot horses in the annual Man versus Horse race in Powys, Wales, has failed to persuade organisers to change the rules for this year’s event.

However, the organisers have promised to review the opinions of the equine and veterinary community and carefully consider the question for the 2013 running of the cross-country endurance challenge.

For now, horses entered in the 22-mile race on June 9 must wear metal shoes.

The course is steep and the terrain varied to make the contest as even as possible. Competitors race across farm tracks, footpaths, forestry roads and open moorland, with several short stretches over tarmac. It is very hilly, with a total ascent of 3000ft.

Green Events chairman Lindsay Ketteringham said the terrain covered meant horses must wear shoes...

Read more here:
http://horsetalk.co.nz/2012/04/17/shoes-mandatory-in-horse-human-race/

Scotland: Endurance runners take on horses in new Loch Ness event

BBC.co.uk - Full Article

16 April 2012

Endurance runners are to take on horses and their riders in a new race on the southern shore of Loch Ness.

The South Loch Ness Man vs Horse Challenge will be held over 16 miles (26km) on the 5 May.

Thirty spaces are available for runners and the event will be held under Scottish Endurance Riding Club rules. A vet will monitor horses' fitness.

Starting at Foyers Pier, the race includes parts of the Trail of the Seven Lochs and South Loch Ness Trail.

Competitors will climb a trail dubbed the Corkscrew beside the crag of Dun Deardail before tackling the Fair Haired Lad's Pass and finishing at Dores...

Read more here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-17726640

Royal Heritage - the story of Jordan's Arab Horses - book

Horsetalk.co.nz
by HRH Princess Alia Al Hussein and Peter Upton
Medina Publishing, July 2011
210 x 218 mm Portrait, 264pp hardcover
RRP £35
ISBN: 978-0-9564170-4-6


Illustrated throughout in colour and b&w with paintings, drawings and a wealth of recent and historical photographs.
Co-authored by HRH Princess Alia, the eldest daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan, and the artist and author Peter Upton, Royal Heritage tells the story of the Arab horse in Jordan, from the early days of the Bedouin tribes to the 21st century, a story closely associated with the Hashemite family of Jordan, direct descendants of the Prophet.

The account also tells of the Arab Revolt of 1916, in which the Emirs Ali, Abdullah, Faisal and Zeid, with T E Lawrence, drove the Ottomans out of the region, and how some of the Hashemite mares became the foundation stock of the Royal Stud in Jordan. Royal Heritage covers many other adventures including the traumatic events which nearly led to the loss of the Stud's precious mares and describes how, despite these setbacks, the Royal Stud has flourished.

In 1987 Princess Alia, Director of the Royal Stud, organised the first Arab horse show to be held in Arabia entitled 'The Arab Horse at Home'. It was an event which inspired other Arab countries to organise horse shows of their own.

Princess Alia includes many fascinating personal reminiscences: about the horses she holds so dear, the people involved in the Stud through the years, the famous and infamous, family and friends, heads of state and handlers. The work is richly illustrated with paintings, drawings and rare photographs from old archives and private collections, as well as up-to-date portraits of the Stud and its horses.

Peter Upton gives an in-depth account of the horses themselves; the breeding, lineage and preservation of the hugely important Jordanian bloodlines.

A story of legend, romance and war, Royal Heritage tells with passion for the first time the remarkable saga of the Arab horse in Jordan.

For purchase information, click here:
http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/reviews/522-books-for-sale.shtml

Great Britain: A great test of horses’ endurance

Buryfreepress.co.uk

Published on Friday 13 April 2012

THE FIRST big endurance ride on the horse calendar, which was held at King’s Forest near West Stow, has been hailed a success by one of its organisers.

Dianne Luke, who organised the one-day King’s Forest Spring Ride which saw 130 riders take part, said: “It was a brilliant day, and everybody was very happy with it.

“There were no accidents, which is always good, and no horses were injured, which is brilliant.

“It started off quite cold and chilly, but the riders appreciated that because they could get the first 20km under their belt in cool conditions.”

The event had an international flavour, with riders from Hong Kong, Dubai and Switzerland, as well as 50 British competitors.

Wideham Farm Equestrian Centre, which hosted the event, will also stage the National Championships in the summer.

Janice Cockley Adams was the big winner of the day, claiming first place in the class 1 CEI 120km with her horse Serabitibi.

New Zealand Endurance Championships

April 13 2012

Sian Reid and Mauku Mystique won the 160 km New Zealand endurance championship, held over Easter weekend in Hawarden, South Island, New Zealand. The pair won in a time of 9:46.36, one second ahead of Andrea Smith and Glenmore Tariq. Mark Tylee and Jacob were third.

Frank Aldridge and Merimindi Finale won the 100-km CEI 1* in 5:45.40.

The CTR National Championships were held in conjunction with the endurance.

For complete results and photos from the ride see:
http://horsetalk.co.nz/2012/04/13/new-zealand-endurance-championships/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-zealand-endurance-championships