Spain: Interview with National Coach of Raid. Ignasi Casas

El Raid Blog - Gabriel Gamiz

13 June 2012
[google translation]

On Saturday, June 9, 2012, as he was developing the Absolute Spain Championships Casarrubios Raid on the Mount in Toledo, and while we waited for news of the various phases of testing, I got the idea to do an interview with our coach D. Ignasi Casas.
In the course of the morning news while I was, I was putting together the interview, that last hour of Saturday I referred, not to interfere with his duties of a busy day of championship.

Almost by return mail, I forwarded the responses to this interview and thank you on behalf of all readers.

This is the interview:

1 st. - Blog The Raid: How about has been the Championship of Spain of Raid and the level achieved?

coach: The Championship of Spain 2012 has been very interesting, with several pairs in front of the race until the last phase, and a level of competition and quality very attractive.

2 nd. - Blog: Can be selected horses for the World in Euston Park, horses that are running this Championship of Spain?

coach: In principle all pairs that meet the minimum requirements EIF and screening criteria published in his day on the website of the FEI, are selectable. Therefore, horses have not run the Championship of Spain 2012 are not excluded. We aim to be as flexible as possible to always selecting those pairs that we believe will best represent our sport.

Read more here:
http://ggjineteraid.blogspot.com/2012/06/entrevista-con-el-seleccionador.html

Australia: Brook Sample Repeats Tom Quilty Win

9 June 2012

Brook Sample won the Tom Quilty Gold Cup for a record sixth time.
It was a repeat win for Brook and Brookleigh Excalibur, who also won the Tom Quilty in New South Wales in 2012. Time for this year's ride was 9:14.16.

Best Conditioned horses for the Tom Quilty Gold Cup 2012 are:

Junior Division - Beer Street Takone/Alice Mitchell
Lightweight Division - Lockleigh Park Wildfire/Jacopo Di Matteo
Middleweight Division - Brookleigh Excalibur/Brook Sample
Heavyweight Division - Free Spirit Czar/Robbie Walsh

Winner of the Shareym Award was Brookleigh Ricardo and Tarrangower Crescendo (ridden by Akhmed Pshunov) owned by Matthew Sample.

Winner of the Pat Slater Cup was Kristie Taprell & Castlebar Gulfstream.

Winner of the NEWBRIDGE TROPHY was Lockleigh Park Wildfire ridden by Jacopo Di Matteo.

Statistics from the ride:
Ride Completion statistics are

JUNIOR / 17 entries / 8 completions = 47.06% (8 Vet out, 1 Withdrawn)

LW / 25 entries / 15 completions = 60% (9 Vet out, 1 Withdrawn)

MW / 54 entries / 28 completions = 51.85% (23 Vet out, 3 Withdrawn)

HW / 19 entries / 11 completions = 57.89% (7 Vet out, 1 Withdrawn)

Total entries = 115

Total Completion = 53.91%

Australia: Endurance riding - Stepping up to the challenge

Tenterfieldstar.com.au - Full Article

13 Jun, 2012

Tenterfield Endur-ance Riding Club held its 26th ride on May 19 and 20 with the theme of “Step Up”, encouraging riders to elevate to a greater distance.
The theme was carried through with the last riders in the 100km rewarded with a small stepladder kindly donated by Pat O’Brien, a new member with a great sense of humour.

This year’s ride followed on from last year’s successful Hi Ho Silver 25th Anniversary Ride.

Tenterfield is well known to endurance riders both north and south of the border as a challenging and fun ride operated in a welcoming and friendly atmosphere from its unique bush setting in Girard State Forest.

This year a social ride of 20km elevating to 30km was run on the Saturday.

Twenty-three riders entered this event with fantastic completion rates. Ten chose to elevate and ride the extra 10km to complete 30km.

On Sunday morning, 46 riders headed off into the forest at 3am on the start of the 100km ride with 14 completing the full distance and the others choosing to retire at the 80km mark.

At 6am, the training ride of 40km saw 31 riders leave camp with six choosing to elevate and ride the extra 20km.

It is wonderful to see mums and/or dads riding with their children over all distances...

Read more here:
http://www.tenterfieldstar.com.au/news/local/sport/equestrian/endurance-riding-stepping-up-to-the-challenge/2588233.aspx

Oman Royal Cavalry Wins First Place in French Endurance Horse Race

Omannews.gov.om

Paris, June 9 (ONA)---- Ahmed bin Salim al-Hamadani from the Royal Cavalry won the first place in the French endurance horse race (110 Km), which is organized by the International Equestrian Federation with participation of 53 jockeys from different countries around the world.

The race included (4) stages; the first stage amounted a distance of (30 Km), the second (20 Km), the third (34 Km) and the fourth stage (26 Km). Maj. Sinan bin Sulaiman al-Abri, Officer of Endurance Department at the Royal Cavalry and Supervisor of the team racing in France said that the race witnessed strong competition among participants and was characterized by different terrain tracks. He added that the third stage of the race was the most difficult for Ahmed al-Hamdani due to the many slopes in the race route and rains.

It is worth noting that Ahmed bin Salim al-Hamadani is one of the Royal cavalry seven jockeys who qualified for World Endurance Championship due to be held in Britain next August.

Longines named as title sponsor for FEI World Endurance Championships 2012

DATE: 7th June 2012

Swiss watchmaker Longines has become the title sponsor and official timekeeper of the 2012 Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Endurance Championships (25th August 2012) at Euston Park, near Newmarket, Suffolk, UK.

The FEI CEI 4* competition over 160km, organised by Janah Management, will officially be known as the Longines FEI World Endurance Championships.

The 14th running of the FEI World Endurance Championships will see around 160 riders from up to 40 countries lining up for the contest around the undulating Euston Park track.

Reigning world champions, Spain’s Maria Alvarez and Nobby hold the record as the only combination to have claimed two world titles in succession and Spain will be hoping that Ms Alvarez is again among their line-up. The UAE currently holds the team world title. Alvarez’s winning time of 7hr:35min.44sec at the Alltech Kentucky World Equestrian Games in 2010 will be a target for the winning rider at this summer’s World Endurance Championships.

Walter von Känel, President of Longines said: “Longines is proud to be title sponsor and official timekeeper of the FEI World Endurance Championships. Thanks to its long dedication as official timekeeper of equestrian sports since 1881, Longines is considered as an essential partner to a sport which embodies the brand’s values.”

The Swiss watchmaker is a significant partner of the sport of endurance – the HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup presented by Longines is now in its fifth year.

Ian Williams, FEI Non-Olympic Sports Director, said: “The Longines FEI World Endurance Championships 2012 will be an event of the highest sporting quality and we are grateful to the title sponsor for their support.”

Championship organiser James MacEwan said: “We are fortunate to have the support of such a prestigious company at such a high level. We are looking forward to producing a memorable championship in a great year for sport in this part of the world.”

Alongside title sponsor Longines, organisers welcomed two Dubai industry giants, Meydan and Emaar Properties as additional supporters of the championships.

Ahmad Al Matrooshi, Managing Director, Emaar Properties, said: “Equestrian events are part of the Arab world’s heritage, and Emaar has a strong history of supporting such noble initiatives.

“We are honoured to support the FEI World Endurance Championships, which brings together participants from over 40 countries, underlining the strong global interest in the event.”

Saeed H. Al Tayer, Chairman of Meydan Group said: ““The opportunity to support the 2012 World Endurance Championships compliments the focus of the Meydan Group, as the sport of Endurance riding is a great part of the equestrian legacy of the UAE and Dubai.

“We are pleased to serve as one of the event’s sponsors and welcome the opportunity to promote the great sport of Endurance riding in Dubai and across the world.”

With around 1000 participants, riders, crew and officials, the championship will have a significant economic impact on the area around Euston Park and the Newmarket area during the build-up and immediately post competition.

For media information, accreditation or images, please contact Longines FEI World Endurance Championships PR, Elizabeth Peplow;
Tel: +44 07917 647663, Email: wec2012media@gmail.com

Spain: Alex Luque and Louteiro de Eo are National Champions

Alex Luque and Louteiro Eo won the Spanish National Championship at Mount Casarrubios, Toldedo, Spain, on June 9 2012. Time for the 160 km race was 8:34.58, for an average of 18.64 km/h. Louteiro Eo also won Best Condition. Second place went to Alejandra Dachs riding Yesmane in 8:37. Nuria Serrabassa followed 39 seconds later to earn third place on Dakila Pascale

17 of 45 riders completed the race.

For more results, see
http://ggjineteraid.blogspot.com/2012/06/resultados-provisionales-del-campeonato.html

Saudi Arabia: Discovery at al-Magar

Saudiaramcoworld.com - Full Article

by Peter Harrigan
photo courtesy of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities

When Mutlaq ibn Gublan decided to dig a birka (pond) to keep his camels watered, he arranged for a backhoe and drums of diesel fuel to be driven from the road to the site on his ancestral grazing lands in southwest Saudi Arabia. The spot he had chosen, amid finger-like valleys that cut through low sandstone hills, was near traces of an ancient waterfall, which hinted that, in millennia past, nature itself supplied more than a mere birka.

His pond was never completed. As he supervised the excavation, he says, "I spotted a smooth, shaped stone sticking out of the ground. I recognized it was an old and important object." He could tell at once it was a statue of an animal. It was buried upright, head toward the surface, he says. "I paid off the operator and told him to follow his tracks back to the road."

Over the next few years, Ibn Gublan unearthed some 300 objects there. Though none was as large as the first, his finds included a small stone menagerie: ostrich, sheep and goats; what may be fish and birds; a cow-like bovid (Bovidae); and an elegant canine profile that resembles one of the oldest known domesticated breeds, the desert saluki. In addition, he found mortars and pestles, grain grinders, a soapstone pot ornamented with looping and hatched geometric motifs, weights likely used in weaving and stone tools that may have been used in leather processing, as well as scrapers, arrowheads and blades—including an exquisitely decorated stone knife in the unmistakable curved design of the traditional Arabian dagger.

Two years ago, he loaded it all up in his Jeep, drove it to Riyadh and donated it to the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (scta).

"When I first saw the pieces, I just could not believe it. It was, how can I say, incroyable," recalls Ali al-Ghabban, head of antiquities at the scta, his French-accented English giving away his years at the University of Provence. "This is Neolithic material," he states, from "a sophisticated society possessing a high level of art and craftsmanship that we have not previously seen." Al-Ghabban had a laboratory run a radiocarbon analysis on trace organic remains found later alongside some of the objects. That dated the material to between 6590 and 7250 bce, he says...

Read more here:
http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/201203/discovery.at.al-magar.htm