2012 WEC: Meet Netherlands rider Carmen Romer-Theunissen

Ponypraat.nl

[google translation]

I'm Carmen Romer-Theunissen, 27 years old and married to Kay Theunissen.

I am active since 1995 in the endurance sport, a branch of equestrian sport in which 160 km in one day is made. Since 2003 I make part of the Dutch team.
game 19 times from 160 km of spreading, 5 times Dutch champion, european champion 2006 peak.

I travel for the sport around the world, am now in 23 countries and have started a total of 134 completed matches well with a total of over 12,000 well driven race kilometers. Of these 28 victories, second place 22 times and 10 times third.

My race reports are always available on www.Carmenromer.web-log.nl

Australian Endurance horses settle into their Suffolk training base ahead of World Championships

the horses are hand walked on the grounds of the Riddlesworth Equestrian Centre
WA.Equestrian.org.au

Thursday, 16 August 2012

The team of horses which have travelled to the UK for the World Endurance Championships are settling into their temporary accommodation at the Riddlesworth Equestrian Centre in Suffolk.

The four horses arrived in the UK last Thursday ahead of the World Endurance Championships which take place on 25 August.

“All four horses have recovered from the long trip and have been exercised with light rides and hand walks. They are doing good work and in the next few days they will do longer and faster sessions,” said Chef d’Equipe Peter Toft.

“The horses have great stables and paddocks and the training trails are excellent – we have a nice marked 20 kilometre loop,” he added.

“The grass here is lush and green so although the horses have enjoyed it, we are limiting the grazing,” Toft said.

Riders Penny Toft, Talea Haskow-Stewart and Norbert Radney have arrived at camp with Alexandra Toft due to arrive later this week.

Great Britain: An update from Endurance rider Chris Yeoman

NSBits.com

15 Aug 2012 05:41:02

Chris Yeoman has a very busy few weeks ahead of her. Not only has she been picked to represent GB in the World Endurance Championships at Euston Park, Thetford, with her horse LM Crazy Girl; her other horse LM Greyson has been picked as the fourth reserve horse.

This is a fantastic achievement and we are looking forward to seeing how she does! The Neue Schule advice team is travelling down to the Endurance Championships on the 25th August to support Neue Schule stockist Saddle Exchange. If you are going to the Endurance Championships and would like advice on any aspect of bitting please don’t hesitate to come and visit the stand.

We asked Chris which Neue Schule bits she finds best for her horses:

“My endurance horses have to be light and manoeuvrable at speed and controllable on a start line of anything up to 100 horses so the bit I use is a very important tool that I have and Neue Schule are excellent for a variety of horses with individual issues.

Greyson was always strong in the hand and would lean heavily on me on the first loop. I now have him in a Neue Schule Swales bit which has taken the pressure off the poll leaving him lighter in the hand and more responsive to my aids.

Crazy Girl my championship horse is from Argentina and very sensitive to her bit so she is in the Universal which gives me stopping power without a fight and she mouths the bit well giving a softer feel to my hands.”

Posted in News Sponsored Riders By Rhiannon Lister

Impressive U.S World Endurance Squad

Arabianhorseworld.com - Full Article

August 8 2012

by Genie Stewart-Spears

Six horse and rider combinations will represent the U.S. in the 2012 FEI World Endurance Championship on August 25 at Euston Park, in Great Britain. The selection process has been tedious and difficult, but the final choice by Chef d’Equipe Emmett Ross is impressive:

John Crandell III - Virginia - Heraldic (*Statistic x Mi Hearts Desire) - 14 - John Jr. and Linda Crandell

Becky Hart - California - No Repeat (*Wiking x Justonetime) - 10 - Becky Hart

Valerie Kanavy - Virginia - Reach For The Gold (Tashkent x CJ Halynova) - 9 - Larry and Valerie Kanavy

Nicki Meuten, DVM - North Carolina - Not Tonight (MC Zoulou x FF Carrera) - 10 - Don and Nicki Meuten

Heather Reynolds - California - Riverwatch (Baywatch V x Dana Cheyenne) - 8 - Reynolds and Skip Lightfoot

Jeremy Reynolds - California - A Kutt Above (Patriot Missle x Sahibrs Diamond) - 11 - Reynolds and Skip Lightfoot

The six riders have a combined mileage of 81,470 miles or 131,113 kilometers in competition (this does not include international competitions). Between five of the six riders, they have five World championship and five National championship titles, eight Western States Tevis Cup wins, along with several Old Dominion wins...

Read more here:
http://www.arabianhorseworld.com/live/breaking_news/2012/08/us-endurance-squad/

Pagosa veterinarian serves with U.S. endurance riding team

Pagosasun.com - Full Article

By Sophie Kennedy
SUN Intern
Thursday, August 16, 2012

Pagosa veterinarian Dr. Dwight Hooton of Elk Park Animal Hospital flew to the United Kingdom Wednesday, Aug. 15, where he will serve as team vet for the USA team at the Longines FEI World Endurance Championships at Euston Park, near Newmarket, Suffolk, UK, beginning today.

The main event, which takes place Saturday, Aug. 25, is a 100-mile race that must be completed within 18 hours. It is the closest competition to the Olympics in endurance horse riding. If and, as Hooton says, when, endurance riding becomes an Olympic sport, the World Endurance Championships would be the qualifying race.

Hooton, who has been practicing in Pagosa Springs for the last four years, will be responsible for the medical care of the U.S. team’s seven horses, six of which will compete among 160 horses from all seven continents.

Hooton, who is also the team’s acupuncturist, will begin daily evaluations of the team’s horses as soon as he arrives and will continue to do so up to the day of the race. Seven and one-half to eight hours later, when the top horse/rider teams begin to cross the finish line, Hooton will resume evaluations and apply recovery treatment to the horses before they return to the United States.

This year, Hooton’s role is especially important as this is the first time in 14 years that the United States team is in a position to bring home a team medal...

Read more here:
http://www.pagosasun.com/archives/2012/08August/081612/odhooton.html

Hungary: FEI World Endurance Championships for Young Horses 2012, Babolna

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

HORSE SPORT AUGUST 16, 2012 | 0 COMMENTS

Double gold for Bahrain, while France takes all silver and bronze

by Louise Parkes

Bahrain claimed gold in both the seven and eight year old categories at the FEI World Championships for Young Endurance Horses 2012 at Babolna in Hungary at the weekend. HH Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa topped the seven year old section with Dhab, while Jaffer Mirza brought Uszko D’Hotelhoge home to claim the eight year old title. And French riders scooped all the remaining medals, with Vincent Dupont (Khandjar du Boulve) and Laurent Mosti (Assiha de Fignols) taking silver and bronze in the younger horse division while Arthur Desprez (Glycin de Suleiman) and Melissa Bisoffi (Nadia El Fee de Boz) did likewise with their older horses.

This year’s FEI World Championships for Young Endurance Horses attracted competitors from 15 countries – Bahrain, France, Poland, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Norway, Estonia, Austria, Argentina, Spain and Belgium.

State Stud Farm
The event was staged at the famous Babolna State Stud Farm which, lying halfway between Vienna (AUT) and Budapest (HUN), is one of the oldest breeding stations in Europe.

Established in 1789 as a Royal Imperial Stud of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with the mission of supplying horses to the army and the Royal Guard, it was originally a branch of the largest military breeding operation in Europe at Meszohegyes, near the Romanian border. However Babolna quickly became the source of the Empire’s elite horses, specialising in the production of top-quality Arabian pure-breds and larger part-breds, the latter developing into the Shagya Arabians that are so popular and successful today.

Despite suffering severe losses, the Stud survived both World Wars and eventually came under the control of the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture. In 2001 the State-owned company, Babolna Memzeti Menesbirtok Kft, was established to preserve the historic complex, and the Stud continues to promote breeding, training, exhibitions and competition organisation in the region...

Read more here:
http://www.horse-canada.com/horse-news/fei-world-endurance-championships-for-young-horses-2012-babolna-hun/

Endurance World Championship route a 'deceptive challenge'

PRESS RELEASE
DATE: 16 August 2012
EMBARGO:
Immediate release

Route for Longines FEI World Endurance Championships 2012 a true championship test say organisers

Organisers of the Longines FEI World Endurance Championships at Euston Park, near Newmarket, Suffolk, UK have released final details of the 160km track that will test up to 150 riders from around 40 countries on 25th August 2012.
The route comprises six loops of between 20km and 38km five of which take riders on different routes around the Suffolk countryside covering heathland, forest tracks, river meadows and open farmland all with the support of local landowners, farmers and the Forestry Commission. Appropriately, the field will be following in ancient footsteps as the route crosses the start of the historic 120mile Icknield Way, Britain’s oldest long-distance path. As a boost to horse and rider, at the end of the ride the final stretch takes the field back out over familiar territory with a repeat of the fourth 20km loop. However, course designers Steve Hulse and Gary Honeywill, say the main aim throughout the ride has been to provide interesting and varied terrain that will provide a true championship test.

Steve Hulse, a former jockey said: “The route may be flat, but it is deceptively difficult and requires real riding to get it right all the way to the finish.
“We have created a route over the best going possible, it’s a track that riders will enjoy but it will need care in places particularly around some of the wooded sections. The three river crossings are a real feature.”

Reflecting the degree of difficulty presented, at the Championship test event in July 2011, there were 21 finishers from 71 starters. Riding Aghaab, which is among his nominated rides for the championship, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum won the FEI CEI*** 160km event in 7hr40min06sec, averaging 20.86km/hr.

Championship technical advisor John Robertson said: “The aim in staging a competition of this kind is to provide a track that is both inviting to all but from which the real champions emerge. The Euston Park course flows well but will also present a tough technical challenge.”

Championship host the Duke of Grafton said: “At the first endurance ride held here in 24 July 2005 it was my late father’s vision that one day, we would host a World Championship. It is very sad for myself and family, that he is not here to see that dream realized, but I know that he would be very proud of all that has been achieved.”

Championship organiser James MacEwan said: “We have been running endurance rides here at Euston Park for nearly 10 years and we hope that what we have here will become a benchmark for future championships.”

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.

The full list of nominated entries for the competition will be published on 14th August 2012.

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

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.