Sweden: Endurance trainer gains success in Arabian flat racing

Horsereporter.com - Full Article

May 18, 2012
By Pamela@horsereporter

With 28 starts, Maria Hagman Ericsson is not a newcomer to Arabian racing. Well known to the international endurance community, where she competed for Sweden in 14 countries, Hagman – Ericsson has also turned her attention to racing Arabians close to home.

Number two under the wire was Neira Royal (Neiron x Efta Royal) and number three in was Speedy Faq (Daffaq x Skazka). The race had 14 entries...

Read more here:
http://www.horsereporter.com/?p=3555

Great Britain: Great success at Golden Horseshoe

Goldenhorseshoe-ride.co.uk

Friday 18th May - 08:00 And finally, for this year, here is Press Officer Nicky Moffatt's press release after the event:

Great success at Golden Horseshoe

Riders from across the UK took part in this year’s Golden Horseshoe Ride, which was held on Exmoor from the 13-15 May. Not put off by the recent bad weather, almost 300 endurance enthusiasts made the journey to Somerset to take part in the pleasure ride and competitive classes at this year’s event.

David Yeoman riding Marlouf de Norvavre (who gained a silver medal) and Linda Kidd on Drastik with AK (who won a bronze medal) were the only two to finish the course and pass the final vetting in Class 1 – The Golden Horseshoe – which covers 100 miles/160kilometres split over two days. Says Linda: “Finishing this year’s course means everything to me. I am thrilled to bits with Drastik and depending on how she goes from here, I hope to bring her back next year.” Linda also gave a huge thanks to ride organiser Barbara Wigley and her husband Ian, who made a great effort to keep the ride running this year despite the persistent rain leading up to the event.

There were more medals to be won in classes 2, 3 and 4 – The Exmoor Stag, The Exmoor Experience and The Exmoor Eighty. Last minute entry Lisa Adshead and her Arab gelding Shakmari Gold travelled from Carmarthenshire to ride in the 80-kilometre Exmoor Experience and finish on gold time. Says Lisa: “I was very grateful to the organisers for keeping the ride on despite the recent wet weather. I am lucky because my riding at home in Wales is open mountain, similar to the conditions on Exmoor. Bryn (Shakmari Gold) gave me a lovely ride, eating up the ground with his big floating stride – a typical Arab!”

Of course the Golden Horseshoe wouldn’t be the same without its native pony, the Exmoor, and this year there were two Exmoor ponies taking part. Mary Hannah and her daughter Katy took part in the Exmoor Experience aboard their two ponies Kingsby Nutmeg and Kingsby Elderberry. Says Mary: “Our ponies are half sisters and they gave us a great ride. While Exmoor ponies aren’t built for speed, their sheer determination and stamina is what makes them a good choice for endurance riding. Also, the breed is used to the boggy patches on the moor, so you know they’re going to look after you well.”

Setting out over a revised course, which kept to the drier areas of the moor, riders were far from disappointed about not being able to ride further afield. “It was a beautiful ride across a stunning part of the country,” says Linda, “yet still as challenging as ever. Horseshoe is a firm favourite in my book.”

For more information about this year’s Golden Horseshoe Ride, visit www.goldenhorseshoe-ride.co.uk

Press enquiries
Nicky Moffatt 07889 234796
nickymoffatt869@btinternet.com

New Zealand: Decision on the 2012 World Endurance Championship

NZEquestrian.org.nz

20/04/2012

The High Performance Endurance Panel and the ESNZ Endurance Board wish to advise that with the season at an end the decision has been made that NZL will not be represented at the 2012 World Endurance Championships at Euston Park.

The High Performance Panel reviewed various combinations performance records and Andrea Smith with Glenmore Tariq was the only combination to achieve the required consistent performance standard. However Andrea has declined the right to compete at the World Championships as she has a focus on the 2014 World Equestrian Games.

The High Performance Endurance Panel is currently reviewing their strategies for the next 2 and 4 years and will look to conduct potential squad member interviews in June this year.

Australia: Peter Toft appointed as interim Chef d'Equipe

AERA.asn.au

Peter Toft has been appointed the interim chef d’equipe for Endurance following the resignation of current chef d’equipe Mark Freeman. Peter will hold the position of interim chef d’equipe until 25th September 2012 following the world endurance championships in August.

Equestrian Australia & AERA would like to thank Mark Freeman for his service and wish Peter the best of luck as the new Chef d’Equipe.

Regards,

Felicity Dubois

Executive Assistant
Equestrian Australia
National Office
felicity.dubois@equestrian.org.au
www.equestrian.org.au

Great Britain: Golden Horseshoe ride goes ahead

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

By Horsetalk.co.nz on May 13, 2012 in Focus

Despite heavy rain in Britain, the Golden Horseshoe Endurance Ride on Exmoor is going ahead, with competition starting today.

Treacherous underfoot conditions have meant many of the country’s biggest equestrian events have been cancelled, but ride organisers have checked the routes and make alternative plans. Riders will set off from the usual venue in Exford.

“Obviously horse and rider safety has to come first, but we are confident that the routes we have chosen for each class are rideable,” said ride organiser Barbara Wigley...

Read more here:
http://horsetalk.co.nz/2012/05/13/golden-horseshoe-ride-goes-ahead/

Welfare and dope concerns dominate endurance talks

Horseandhound.co.uk - Full Article

Pippa Cuckson

11 May, 2012

Arab nations have been heavily criticised for the high incidences of broken legs and dope violations in Middle Eastern endurance yards.
The comments were made during a round table discussion at the FEI sports forum in Lausanne on 2 May.

FEI endurance judge Jean-Louis Leclerc alleged that multiple horses suffer fractures on single yards per season and he asked what the FEI was doing to improve the situation.

The FEI’s Ian Williams said it is looking into causes and prevention of fractures in endurance “to ensure that the welfare of the horse is the central pillar [of the sport] in the future”.

The Animal Health Trust in Newmarket is also studying orthopaedic injury rates in endurance horses globally, which will play an important role in the FEI study, he said.

Top endurance vet Fred Barrelet labelled the high level of endurance medication violations from Arab nations investigated by the FEI as “disgraceful...”

Read more here:
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/competitionnews/389/312583.html

In UAE, horses are big business as well as passion

Vancouverdesi.com - Full Article

Published on May 9, 2012 by DesiWireFeed
* Dubai growing as racing and trading hub

* Business recovers from 2009-2010 debt crisis

* Show jumping popular, not just endurance and flat racing

* Home-grown studs, other local businesses expand

* Money overcomes environmental obstacles

By Martin Dokoupil

DUBAI, May 9 (Reuters) — When an economic crisis in Uruguay strained the finances of Pio Olascoaga Amaya’s family farm, he found salvation halfway across the world: the horse racing industry of Dubai.

Olascoaga took one of his horses from Uruguay to try his luck in an endurance race in Spain. After the horse finished third, he was able to sell it to a trainer working for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Dubai’s ruler and an avid sponsor, owner and rider of horses.

That led to Olascoaga opening business ties with Dubai and 10 years later, at the age of 31, he helps run a family business selling Uruguayan-reared horses with Arabian blood to the United Arab Emirates. He acts as an agent for other farms in Uruguay as well as his own farm, which has 600 horses.

“If I sell a horse in Uruguay for let’s say $20,000 on average, here you can sell at a minimum $40,000,” he said. The margin makes it worth paying the $10,000 cost of transporting a horse by plane from Uruguay to Dubai, more than 17 hours away.

“Here in the UAE is the Formula One of horses. They need horses all the time, and from all around the world,” Olascoaga said after making a presentation to Saudi owners at an Arabian horse fair in Dubai...

http://vancouverdesi.com/sports/feature-in-uae-horses-are-big-business-as-well-as-passion/