Arab women clear the hurdles to their horse-riding dreams

Thenational.ae - Full Article

Ayesha Al Khoori
May 30, 2012

Ayesha Al Khoori talks to some female Arab horse riders whose families were not always supportive of the sport.

When she was a young girl, Salama Al Saadi's family members would laugh about her dream to become a horse rider.

She still sought her mother's permission, to no avail.

"I want to try, but they implanted fear in me," says Al Saadi, now 22.

While the men in her family are allowed to horse ride, Al Saadi's mother believes it is unsafe for girls in particular to engage in the sport.

"It's a culture thing," Al Saadi says.

"But the idea is still on my mind," she says, believing horse riding will instil in her responsibility and confidence. "I'm not losing hope. I still wish to be a horse rider one day."

For 21-year-old Dana Al Mutawa, it wasn't difficult to convince her parents to allow her to ride horses. "Although my father didn't accept the idea for a while, he changed when he observed how devoted I was," she says.

Al Mutawa, who has been riding for seven years now, adds that having male cousins and family friends engaged in the sport has "made it easier for my family to go through the process of acceptance".

While her parents like seeing her active, her father draws the line when it comes to competitive horse-riding events, finding competitions to be time-consuming.

Al Mutawa says this restriction once caused her to briefly withdraw from her family. "But I know they will reconsider it," she says. "And someday they won't pressure me to stop."

Her friends were initially against her hobby, but later on became supportive.

"Through the years many local girls have entered the equine field, so it became a normal phenomenon in our society," she says.

Referring to religious traditions, Al Mutawa argues that whenever she rides horses, she keeps herself fully covered...

Read more here:
http://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/well-being/arab-women-clear-the-hurdles-to-their-horse-riding-dreams

Bahrain: Al Saad fifth in French race

Gulf-daily-news.com

May 29, 2012

BAHRAIN's Royal Endurance Team riders Abdulrahman Al Saad and Raed Mahmood were fifth and seventh, respectively, at the Compiegne Endurance Horse Ride held in Compiegne, France. Al Saad completed this 160km ride in seven hours, 51 minutes and 35 seconds, while Mahmood crossed the finish line in 7:51:35.

The race was won by Qatar's Faleh Nasser, steering Cughenaim Antall De Jalima, who timed 7:49:18.

He was followed by a trio of French riders. Jean-Philippe Frances (7:51:11), riding Qrafik La Majorie, came second, ahead of compatriots Philippe Tomas (7:51:12) on Quotien Persky and Enora Boulenger, who were respectively third and fourth.

Oman's Mahmood Marhoon finished sixth between the two Bahrainis, with French rider Pierre Fleury coming eighth, followed by Juilien Goachet, Lisa Riou, Geraldine Brault and Cecile Demierre, all of France.

Meanwhile, France were first overall among teams, finishing ahead of teams from Brazil and Qatar, who came second and third, respectively.

The French team consisted of Jean-Philippe Frances, Philippe Tomas, Pierre Fleury and Lisa Riou.

Both Bahraini riders were congratulated by team leader Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa after the awarding ceremony held at the endurance village.

Shaikh Nasser, the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman and president of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, expressed pride after watching his teammates finish in the top 10.

He said the results underline Bahrain's strong presence in world-class endurance events, and wished them progress in future races.

France: Compiegne CEIO*** 160 km Nations Cup

27 May 2012

Faleh Nasser Bughenaim of Qatar won the CEIO*** Nations Cup at Compiegne on 27 May, riding Antall De Jalima in a time of 7:49.18. Following 1 minute 44 seconds later was a close race for 2nd among French riders, with Jean Philippe Frances and Qrafik La Majorie edging ahead of Philippe Tomas and Quotien Persky, and Enora Boulenger aboard Melia Du Barthas. Bahrain's Abdulrahman Mohammed Al Saad was in 5th riding GW Pagena Ox.

There were 31 finishers from 58 starters.

Complete results here:
http://www.atrm-systems.fr/index0eng.htm

Photos by Osama Mohammed here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/112590388649341553131/CompiegneNationsCupOsamaMohammedPhotos52712

Endurance Using Easyboots in the UK

Easycare Blog - Full Article

Sunday, May 27, 2012 by Team Easyboot
Submitted by Karen Corr, Team Easyboot 2012 Member

I love reading the reports from endurance riders from other parts of the world but there seems to be a lack of reports coming from the UK, so I thought it was about time I put fingers to keyboard and attempt a blog for the first time.

I've been competing in endurance rides for about 15 years and have only managed to sample endurance outside the UK once - the President's Cup in Abu Dhabi, crewing for a British rider, whose horse was spun after 25 miles. But we got to see the rest of the race in full flow and followed some of the horses along the course in the desert - an experience I'll never forget. We have travelled the length and breadth of the UK to compete in endurance rides but with the ever-soaring price of diesel, we are becoming more selective as to where we go and how far we're willing to travel. The furthest we'll travel now is a maximum of three hours to get to an event. That's probably just down the road for a lot of riders in the USA. My favourite rides are in the North of England - they tend to be a lot hillier and more varied in terrain and generally more of a challenge.

Over the years, I've tried a number of different boots for endurance riding and until 2010 I was undecided as to which worked best. However, in 2010 I was sponsored by the UK distributor for Easyboots - Trelawne Equine - this was an amazing opportunity to try out the Gloves and Glue-Ons throughout the season. My gelding was eight years old and at Advanced Level - in the UK this means he had completed two 65km rides and one 80km ride at a set speed. The aim for that year was to introduce him to some faster work at this level and aim for his first race rides. Upping the speed was no problem for him - he had the base of distance work behind him and at the beginning of July he completed his fastest 65km ride to date at the Wirral (fast and flat on the West Coast) in Easyboot Gloves...

Read more here:
http://blog.easycareinc.com/blog/team-easyboot/endurance-using-easyboots-in-the-uk-2010-to-2012-by-karen-corr-team-easyboot-member-2012

Australia: Unexpected response to Hendra virus

Equinescienceupdate.com - Full Article


A survey of equine veterinary practices in Queensland Australia has shown that veterinarians are stopping doing equine work because of the risks posed by Hendra virus.

Hendra virus (HeV) infection primarily affects fruit bats, but was first reported in horses in 1994. During the initial outbreak 14 horses died. Seven other horses were shown to have been infected and were humanely destroyed.

Human infections, although uncommon, most often affect people in contact with horses. Of seven cases of human HeV infection, five have involved equine veterinary personnel conducting post mortem or endoscopic examinations. In three cases the infection was fatal.

A study, published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, explored the issues faced by staff of equine veterinary practices relating to HeV infection-control and workplace health and safety...

Read more here:
http://www.equinescienceupdate.com/articles/urhv.html

Australia; History of The Tom Quilty Gold Cup Endurance Ride

Equestrianlife.com.au - Full Article

With the 160 km Tom Quilty Endurance ride commencing midnight on the 8th June in Tassie , read a quick history of the event.

Endurance riding has been an organised sport in Australia since 1966. Reports of the Tevis Cup endurance ride in the USA began reaching Australia. One person inspired by the concept of a long distance competitive horse ride was R. M. Williams, editor of Hoofs and Horns, a pioneer horse magazine in this country. An invitation was extended through the magazine for people interested in conducting Australia's own 100 miles in one day ride.

It was decided if the Americans could do it, so could the Aussies! The venue would be in the Hawkesbury district, near Sydney, New South Wales, being a relatively central, scenic location, with the support of the University of Sydney's Rural Veterinary Centre, Camden. A committee was formed to organise the first 100 mile ride.

R. M. Williams wrote to his friend Tom Quilty, a great horseman and cattleman in the Kimberly area of Western Australia. Williams asked for his support for the 100 miles ride, and Quilty donated $1000. This was used to make a gold cup, the prize for the winner of the event. This is a perpetual trophy, and the ride was named the Tom Quilty Gold Cup in his honour. The original Gold Cup now resides in the Stockman's Hall of Fame, in Longreach, Queensland.

Cash prizes were originally offered as incentive for competitors, however, at the last minute it was pointed out that local by-laws prohibited racing for money, over public roads. A meeting of riders and officials was held, and all resolved to ride for the satisfaction of simply participating, and for the honour of wearing the handsome silver Quilty buckle. The Quilty buckle is still a highly regarded prize in endurance with those who earn one treasuring it as equivalent to an Olympic Gold Medal.

The winner of the first Quilty was Gabriel Stecher, who rode his Arabian stallion ‘Shalawi' bareback the full 100 miles...

Read more here:
http://www.equestrianlife.com.au/articles/History-of-The-Tom-Quilty-Gold-Cup-Endurance-Ride

Great Britain: Golden Horseshoe on Exmoor gives a challenge and a lot of cheer for riders

Thisissomerset.co.uk - Full Article

May 25 2012

The Golden Horseshoe Ride on Exmoor is well known as the toughest challenge on the endurance calendar. It certainly lived up to its reputation this year, with only two horses successfully finishing the 160km (over two days) class, out of six starters.

David Yeoman from North Brewham, Somerset, on his 12-year-old French part-bred Arab Marlouf de Norvavre, won a silver medal, and Linda Kidd, from Marlborough, on her Anglo Arab mare Drastik with AK, also 12-years-old, a bronze.

Both riders are Golden Horseshoe veterans, having completed the ride several times before on different horses.

David won the Golden Horseshoe 100-mile cup, the Saxon Trophy for the Highest Place part-bred Arab and the Top Man Award. Linda won the Handling & Presentation Award, the Showgirl Trophy for the highest-placed mare, the Dunlop Heywood Veterans’ Award for the highest- placed horse whose rider is 55 or over on the day of the ride, and the Top Lady Award.

Successes for South West Group members included three out of the six gold medals in the Exmoor Experience class and a silver in the Exmoor Eighty.

Torrential rain for several weeks before had put the whole event in doubt as flood water poured down the Exmoor rivers and washed out some of the tracks. At one point even the venue field looked unusable...

Read more here:
http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/Golden-Horseshoe-Exmoor-gives-challenge-lot-cheer/story-16185184-detail/story.html