Australia: 2012 Tom Quilty

Endurancenews.com.au

An exciting weekend of dedicated endurance riders and their horses was to be found at St Helens, Tasmania for the 47th running of Australia’s national endurance event, the 160km Tom Quilty.

Founded by the legendary Australian RM Williams, the first Tom Quilty event was held in 1966 in NSW. The event was named after Tom Quilty, the man who donated $1000 to make the Tom Quilty Gold Cup, which would be presented to the winner of the event. The event has run each year since then, and continues to be Australia’s national event, with riders flocking from across Australia (and at times internationally) to attend.


This years Quilty saw 115 riders entered attempting to gain their Quilty Buckle. This is a smaller number then usual for the national event, but many mainland riders were hesitant to travel their horses to Tasmania and chose to skip this event and aim for attending the 2013 Tom Quilty which will be run from Queensland.

The riders that did attend the event were rewarded with absolutely gorgeous riding weather, the sun shone gaily throughout the weekend with many lovely photo opportunities being offered! The Quilty is renown for being a ‘wet’ ride and riders often joke that the number of dry Quilty’s can be counted on one hand. Being winter, and being Tasmania it was still a very chilly weekend, but the sun was most welcome and made the event a pleasurable experience.

The race was won by well known endurance rider Brook Sample riding the very experienced endurance gelding Brookleigh Excalibur. They cantered across the finish line to win the race in spectacular style in a time of 9 hours and 14 mins. Both Brook and his horse have competed previously in the Quilty with Brook now holding 12 buckles and having an impressive 6 wins. A momentous effort from an exceptional horse person, this achievement can be most appreciated when you look at the full results with only 54% of people entered in the event successfully completing .

Brook Sample and Brookleigh Excalibur with the Tom Quilty 2012 winners cup
Sunday saw the top 5 riders in each division presenting for the Best Conditioned awards, as well as 10 riders presenting for the Pat Slater Cup.

Top 5 Juniors:
Alice Mitchell / Beer Street Takone (Best Conditioned)
Sarah Parker / King Park Aberdeen Pelion
David Anderson / Karrana Crackerjack
Amelia Napier / Bellawongah Holly
Ellie Maddick / Armidale Flash Jack

Top 5 Lightweights:
Jacopo Di Matteo / Lockleigh Park Wildfire (Best Conditioned)
Wendy Dower / Castlebar Tempest
Jennifer Annetts / Churinga Goldfire
Antonia Gilbertson / Kurrajong Shadad
Linda Blanchard / Galoubet

Top 5 Middleweights:
Brook Sample / Brookleigh Exalibur (Best Conditioned)
Bradley Hill / Lockleigh Park Sparks Afire
Akhmed Pshunov / Tarrangower Crecendo
Matthew Sample / Brookleigh Ricardo
Debbie Grull / Lauralyn Notorious

Top 5 Heavyweights:
Dennis Foley Jr / Jack
Robbie Walsh / Free Spirit Czar (Best Conditioned)
Mark Johnson / Sharah Lateefah
Elizabeth Laurie / Kholonial Farrington
Gerald Nicklason / Wongawal Digger
Jeremy Ford / Ruby Running Bare

The Tom Quilty is now over for another year, with many riders leaving ride base smiles from ear to ear for their success, and other riders leaving with the sigh of anticlimax, thinking ahead to next year when they can have another shot at that elusive Tom Quilty Buckle.

Just Chaps sponsors the Endurance Young Riders GB Team and international endurance rider Abbi Tennant

Horseandrideruk.com - Full Article

Just Chaps, manufacturers of the widest range of Half and Full Chaps, are proud to sponsor the Endurance Young Riders GB team and international endurance rider Abbi Tennant.


The Young Riders Squad have been out competing in Mont Le Sole, Belgium this season under chef d’equipe Helen Boston. The riders competed in endurance rides of up to 160km! That is definitely a feat of endurance, and takes an awful amount of training. To help them on their way Just Chaps provided the team with this season’s GB Chaps.

Just Chaps is also proud to sponsor international endurance rider Abbi Tennant. Abbi, at only 22 years old, represents Britain as an Advanced FEI** Endurance rider...

Read more here:
http://www.horseandrideruk.com/article.php?id=2237

USA: Wellington Confirmed as Bidder for the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games

Dressagedaily.com

06/14/2012 to World Equestrian Games 2018

Wellington, FL - Wellington, along with four other cities, has been confirmed as a bidder for the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG). The world championships of international equestrian disciplines is held once every four years as one of the world's major sporting events. The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) confirmed Wellington along with Rabat, Morocco; Bromont, Canada; Budapest, Hungary; and Vienna, Austria. "We are honored and delighted to be selected as a bidder," said Michael Stone, President of Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP), the management company of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC). "We will seek meetings with the Village of Wellington and other local entities to discuss the candidacy, along with the United States Equestrian Federation."

As the facility organizers, ESP submitted Wellington as the host city for the 2018 FEI WEG. Wellington is home to the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, already one of the world's largest equestrian facilities and site of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival.

Stone noted, "The FEI put a lot of effort into ensuring the viability of the bid before moving it on to the candidacy status. This is very gratifying for ESP as the organizers."

Following the Bidding Process

ESP has followed the steps outlined by the FEI, including an expression of interest and then an application in April to become an official candidate. The bid includes explaining how Wellington can host the seven international disciplines of the WEG as well as para-dressage. Details of the five bid cities were formally presented to the FEI Bureau at its meeting in Lausanne (SUI) last week.

An FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018 presentation will be made to the five Candidates at FEI Headquarters in Lausanne on July 11 to explain the FEI's expectations and procedures concerning the Games. Legal Documentation will also be given to Candidates during that meeting. Completed Legal Documentation, including a signed Host Agreement, must be submitted to the FEI by December 15, 2012.

"It is fantastic to have five really strong bids for hosting the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in 2018 and there could be no better endorsement of the FEI's flagship event," said FEI Secretary General Ingmar de Vos. "The new bidding process that we put in place last year for the FEI World Equestrian Games™ has generated a huge amount of interest and we now look forward to welcoming the 2018 bidders to FEI Headquarters next month."

As the final stage in the bidding process, the Candidates will formally present their bids to the FEI Bureau at its Spring 2013 meeting, after which the official announcement of the host organisers of the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018 will be made.

How South Florida Benefits

ESP has estimated WEG visitors would spend 260,000 bed nights in South Florida, 25,000 of them in Palm Beach County for the event in October, a bonus for Florida's tourist industry that peaks over the winter months. Wellington is close to major tourist attractions including Miami and the Everglades, as well as Disney World, Universal Studios, and other major attractions in Orlando, about a 2.5-hour drive.

A study by Deloitte, commissioned by the FEI, found that the WEG in Aachen, Germany, in 2006 had an economic impact of $291 million, $41 million more than Super Bowl XLIV in Miami in 2010. The economic impact of the 2010 Kentucky WEG was put at $233 million. At the Kentucky WEG, spectator spending was almost $100 million, plus $11 million in team expenditures and $45 million for event management, sponsors, trade stands and the media, according to the Deloitte study.

No outside financing-including taxpayer money-would be needed to stage the WEG at Wellington. Operations and additional capital improvements would be funded from ongoing operations and sponsorship. While $80 million was spent building new outdoor and indoor arenas and other upgrades at the state-owned Kentucky Horse Park for the 2010 WEG, most of the capital improvements required at a WEG in Wellington have already been made and were self-funded on an ongoing basis.

With the completion of the new dressage facility that includes one of the world's largest covered arenas, ESP would only have to determine the land used for eventing's cross-country and driving's marathon courses, along with endurance. For the cross-country and driving marathon courses, local golf courses can be used, while endurance could leverage Wellington's extensive bridle trail system.

The FEI World Equestrian Games™ By the Numbers

The FEI World Equestrian Games™ are held every four years, in the middle of the Olympic cycle. The seven FEI disciplines - Jumping, Dressage and Para-Equestrian Dressage, Eventing, Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining - are all included on the competition schedule.
 
The inaugural FEI World Equestrian Games™ were hosted in Stockholm (SWE) in 1990. Since then the Games have been staged in The Hague (NED) in 1994, Rome (ITA) in 1998, Jerez (ESP) in 2002, and Aachen (GER) in 2006. The first Games to be staged outside Europe were the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Kentucky (USA) 2010. The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 will be held in Caen (FRA).

The World Equestrian Games bring about a half-million spectators and 5,500 volunteers to watch about 650 athletes and 750 horses competing for world championships in dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, jumping, reining, vaulting and para-dressage. Approximately 1,600 media representatives from around the world cover the event.

Canada’s Bid to Host the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games™

Horse-canada.com

HORSE SPORT JUNE 15, 2012 | 0 COMMENTS
BY: EQUINE CANADA

Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on google_plusone
Equine Canada, together with the Bromont Bid Committee for the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG) has received word that Canada is one step closer to hosting this prestigious international equestrian event. The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) reports that five countries have been confirmed as bidders and move to Official Candidate status: Rabat (MAR); Bromont (CAN); Budapest (HUN); Vienna (AUT) and Wellington (USA).

“This is great news for Canada and the entire equestrian community,” stated Paul Côté, chair of the Bromont Bid Committee. Mike Gallagher, president of Equine Canada, and a member of the committee added, “If successful, this event will create a lasting legacy for our equestrian nation, not to mention world-class facilities for our athletes to train and compete.”

The Bromont Equestrian Park, located in south-east of Montreal in the eastern townships, together with the City of Montreal were host to the 1976 summer games. Bromont regularly welcomes prestigious competitions including the FEI International Bromont in Jumping and the VOLVO CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event held this past weekend, the last North American qualifying competition leading up to the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The FEI World Equestrian Games are held every four years, in the middle of the Olympic cycle. The eight FEI disciplines – Jumping, Dressage and Para-Equestrian Dressage, Eventing, Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining – are all included on the competition schedule...

read more here:
http://www.horse-canada.com/horse-news/canadas-bid-to-host-the-2018-fei-world-equestrian-games%E2%84%A2/

Bahrain: Booklet on world military endurance wins praise

Gulf-daily-news.com

June 15, 2012

A SPECIAL booklet on the First World Military Endurance Horse Ride Championship, to be held in Bahrain on December 15, was met with great interest.

Endurance riders, officials and fans in Europe showed admiration for the recently-printed booklet, which was distributed in France at the Compiegne Ride as well as in Germany for the International German Ride.

The Participants commended the outstanding campaign of Bahrain in promoting the World Military Championship that will take place for the first time in the Middle East.

They lauded the content of the booklet, which features useful information about Bahrain and its sporting, social and promotional programmes and activities throughout the year.

They also praised the excellent level of performance of the Bahraini riders and what they have achieved in both rides in France and Germany.

Bahrain was given the right to organise the World Military Championship, which is in line with the directives of First Vice-Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef) president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

The first edition will be organised in co-operation with the International Military Council, with large number of riders from around the world expected to take part. The organising committee is yet to announce further details regarding the upcoming championship.

The working committees, meanwhile, have stepped up preparations for the upcoming event.

Bahrain Military Sports Association president Col. Dawood Hussain Al Manea, along with other committee officials, are sparing no effort to ensure the event is an all-round success.

Australia: Inspiring endurance rider battles back from injury

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

By Horsetalk.co.nz on Jun 15, 2012 in News

“The road to recovery from an Acquired Brain Injury is a lifetime of small steps. I am luckier than most as I have a horse to carry me on this journey.”

So wrote Meg Wade in her acceptance speech for the FEI Against All Odds Award 2011, which she was unable to accept in person due to a last-minute flight cancellation.

Until her fall at an endurance ride in early 2009, Meg Wade was one of Australia’s leading international riders in the discipline.

Her accident left her with a traumatic brain injury. She was in a coma for six weeks and spent nine months in hospital.

“It was when I rode a horse for the first time in November 2010, a fat Appaloosa called Chippie, with Riding for the Disabled in Melbourne, that I felt I was really on the road to recovery,” Wade said.

A few weeks after that first moment back in the saddle, Wade rode in her home arena. In January 2011, her driving licence was reinstated, meaning she could drive to events in an automatic car and ride a quad bike onto courses to monitor the horses she has continued to train and enter into competitions with other riders. For a woman who had been fiercely independent and even made solo helicopter flights across Australia, being able to drive again was empowering...

Read more here:
http://horsetalk.co.nz/2012/06/15/inspiring-endurance-rider-battles-back-from-head-injury/#.T98sQStYtVM

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