Great Britain: Dace tells the story of her FEI European Junior Endurance Championships

Midweekherald.co.uk - Full Article

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

junior European Event rider Dace Sainsbury writes: After final preparations were made ready for our trip to Belgium I could not help but check and re check that I had packed everything that I could possibly need for a week away.

Finally I felt prepared, so on Tuesday morning Samantha, James, my Mum and I set off for Dover. Apart from a slight detour that almost resulted in us being packed off into the eurotunnel, we safely reached the lairage in time for our 4pm ‘final’ vet check to ensure the horses were fit and ready for the lengthy travel to Belgium and of course the competition.

So, after all the inevitable delays in logistics we finally boarded the ferry on Wednesday morning. As it was the first time I had ever travelled Ballota on a ferry I was very nervous about the whole procedure but the team and the management assured me that there wasd nothing to worry about and she would still be in one piece on the other side. We were very lucky to have had a very smooth ferry crossing and the offloading procedure was relatively painless, within no time at all we were negotiating our way around Calais and were full steam ahead to the venue at Mont Le Soie. It has to be said that despite mydoubts about James’ capability in driving abroad he did not make a mistake the whole trip.

We arrived at Mont Le Soie at around 8pm. One more vet check for the horses, food for human and horses and then bed. The hotel was astounding and the hospitality was beyond expectations for a group of over 40 British riders, crews and management and were happoy to accomodate our late dinners and early breakfasts.

The next few days were crammed full of pre-ride exercise, vet checks, team tactics, vet checks, setting up vet gates, vet checks and generally getting to know each other and each others horses better. We had a fantastic time and the weather was beautiful, but by Friday evening, the eve of the competition, I can only speak for myself when I say my nerves were at breaking point and it took a lot of diversion tactics from my support crew to keep me smiling!

Four AM Saturday morning, the hotel was alive with riders and crews readying themselves for the day ahead...

Read more here:
http://www.midweekherald.co.uk/sport/dace_tells_the_story_of_her_fei_european_junior_endurance_championships_1_1520640

Czech Republic: Double Joy

Gulf-daily-news.com

Sunday, September 16, 2012

BAHRAIN's Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and UAE's Shaikh Hamadan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum yesterday shared honours at the FEI Open European Endurance Championships, which took place at the endurance village in Most, in the Czech Republic.

Shaikh Nasser, the Bahrain Royal Endurance team captain, completed the challenging 160-km ride in joint first position with Dubai Crown Prince Shaikh Hamdan with a total ride time of eight hours, 11 minutes and five seconds, with an average speed of 19km per hour.

They were followed by Ahmed Mohammed of the UAE, who completed the ride in 8:15:12 and with 19km per hour speed average.

Several other riders from Europe, including Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, France, Germany, Holland, Norway and Poland, also competed in yesterday's event.

The ride featured a total of six stages, which started with 31km for the first. The second stage was over 25km, 36km for the third, 31km for the fourth, 29km for the fifth, while the sixth and final stage covered 19km.

Shaikh Nasser, the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee president, led a six-member Bahrain Royal Endurance Team to a respectable finish.

Shaikh Nasser and his teammates headed into the race hoping to make up for their unfortunate finish at the FEI World Championship held in Euston, in UK last month, where most of the team members were forced to withdraw due to injuries.

Team

Spearheading the Bahrain team yesterday were Shaikh Salman bin Saqer Al Khalifa, Yaqoub Yousef, Hood Ebrahim and Salman Isa, all of whom competed in the 160km, while Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa was the only Bahraini to take part in the 120km ride.

In the 160km ride, Ahmed Mohammed of the UAE completed the first stage on top in one hour, 24 minutes and 18 seconds, ahead of second-placer Shaikh Nasser (1:31:14) and thiurd Shaikh Hamdan (1:31:17).

Abdulla Al Mirri, also of the UAE, then took over the lead after stage two in 1:06:43, with Ahmed dropping to second (1:06:43) and Shaikh Hamdan (1:13:57) stayed third, while Shaikh Nasser (1:14:26) slipped to fourth.

Al Mirri maintained sole lead after the third stage in 1:57:41, with Shaikh Nasser moving back to second place (1:50:48) amd Shaikh Hamdan (1:51:15) stayed third.

No changes occurred after the fourth stage as Al Mirri kept his lead in 1:38:31, followed by Shaikh Hamdan (1:35:02) and Saikh Nasser (1:35:45) in second and third places, respectively.

Shaikh Hamdan, son of World Championship winner Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Makotum, went up to first place for the first time after the fifth and penultimate stage in 1:00:59. Not far behind was Shaikh Nasser (1:00:29) and third Ahmed Mohammed (1:00:47) third.

This was the first time that the Royal Team competes in endurance rides organised in the Czech Republic. They had taken part in rides held in Germany, the UK, Hungary, France and Poland.

Great Britain: 'Dreadful' summer hits Brentor route but organisers work around it

Thisiscornwall.co.uk - Full Article

September 14 2012

It wasn't exactly sunshine and blue skies for the Brentor Competitive Endurance ride but at least the rain held off. The mist, which can cause major difficulties for riders on Dartmoor, came and went all day but was never low enough to be a real problem for the 80 riders who had entered.

Some of the Endurance South West rides are organised by a single ride organiser but most are a joint effort. For Brentor, the entries were done by Erica Young, Janet Lander did the paperwork and Jo Chisholm looked after the route.

This gave some major problems, not least because of the dreadful summer, which had left parts of Dartmoor too wet to ride across but also because the route (all 20 miles of it) had to be marked on foot. The land around Gibbet Hill always drains well so that part of the route was unchanged but it was decided that the land across Doetor and Willsworthy would not be used. Competitors would stay mainly on the Lydford side of the River Lyd on the drier ground, so as not to damage the Moor.

Thanks to the generosity of local farmers allowing riders to cross their fields it was possible to reach Nodden Gate from High Down and return the same way.

Volunteers walked out across the moor to mark the route, with the usual orange flags and tape, on the Saturday and the ride went ahead and was thoroughly enjoyed by all competitors on Sunday...

Read more here:
http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Dreadful-summer-hits-Brentor-route-organisers/story-16903674-detail/story.html

Great Britain: Lyme's Big Yin is now in line for a big win

Bridportnews.co.uk - Full Article

By Rene Gerryts
14th September 2012 in News


LYME Regis horse breeder Kirsty Wis combe has earned a top accolade for her colt foal, Yawl Hill Big Yin.

The youngster took top honours at the Baileys Horse Feeds/British Equestrian Federation (BEF) Futurity evaluations held in Cornwall.

The evaluation aims to identify British bred young potential sport horses and ponies destined for careers in dressage, eventing, show-jumping or endurance, and may even find the Olympic champions of the future.

Yawl Hill Big Yin took the highest mark of the day for a potential endurance horse with a score of 8.39 and a first premium which indicates that he has the potential and outlook to perform at national level.

The part-bred Anglo-Arab Yawl Hill Big Yin was bred by 42-year-old Kirsty and he is the third generation of horse she has bred herself...

Read more here:
http://www.bridportnews.co.uk/news/9924823.Lyme_s_Big_Yin_is_now_in_line_for_a_big_win/

British Endurance Young Riders Take Bronze

Equestrianteamgbr.co.uk

11/09/2012

The British team had a successful trip to the FEI European Young Rider Endurance Championships 2012, which took place at Mont le Soie in Belgium on the 8th September. The team, consisting of Kate Atkinson, Carri-Ann Dark, Beth Langley and Louise Rich won team bronze around the ultra-competitive and demanding 120km course.

The French team took the team Gold and Italy came home with Silver. Two individual riders made up the six strong British squad, Dace Sainsbury and Andrew Theodorou. Dace was the highest British rider in 12th position with her horse Ballota.

Three of the four British team riders completed the hilly course on the edge of the Ardennes forest. Carri-Ann Dark from Wiltshire finished in 14th place with her own Vavavoom, Beth Langley from Wales and HS Ametista came in in 18th and Kate Atkinson from Lancashire riding Vanash finished in 23rd place. Sadly Louise Rich’s horse Oakleaze Farm Cziko vetted out on metabolics at vet gate 3.

Chef d’equipe Helen Boston said “the riders went really well from start to finish. This year we have really planned ahead for the championships. We brought three of the riders, Carri-Ann, Louise and Kate out to Mont le Soie in April for a trial run. What they learned from April and passed on to the other team members has really ensured the whole squad was fully prepared, which shows in their results”.

Team member Carri-Ann Dark said “the course was challenging and technical, but great fun. It went according to plan and we had a very exciting finish with a race to the line”.

The course at Mont le Soie is hilly and stony and presents a real challenge to the riders. Only three teams completed with three riders owing to these tough conditions.

Helen went on to say “Carri-Ann, Beth and Louise are in their last year of young riders, but we have some brilliant riders moving up the ranks for next year”. In 2013 the Young Rider World Championships will be held in Tardes, in the South of France in July.

For more information on the sport of endurance in Britain, visit www.endurancegb.co.uk.

FEI Junior and Young Rider Endurance Championship 2012

Italy’s Mara Feola and Grigali put in a storming finish on the last loop to take individual gold at the FEI European Junior and Young Rider Endurance Championships 2012 at Mont le Soie, Belgium on Saturday. © FEI/Leonard Liesens FEI.org

10 Sep 2012

Team Gold for France in Tight Battle with Italians who claim Individual Glory, by Anna Williams

France claimed team gold and Italy’s Mara Feola took the Individual title at the FEI European Junior and Young Rider Endurance Championships 2012 at Mont-le-Soie in Belgium at the weekend. This stunning venue is nestled in the region of the High Ardennes with its dramatic landscape of dense forests, rivers and valleys. Mont-le-Soie is a well known venue on the Endurance circuit, regularly hosting CEI events up to 160km, but this was its first-ever FEI Championship fixture.

A total of 61 horses and athletes were entered for the event, but following the pre-ride inspection three horses were judged not fit to start – Norway’s Shere Khan (Kine Eissland Holen), Finland’s only entrant Solomonas (Joona Mickelsson) and Belgium’s Cairo to be ridden by home rider Raphael Van Cauter who had just returned from the World Endurance Championships in Euston Park (GBR) where he partnered Taborah de Sier to a successful 22nd place.

Nine Teams

Saturday morning saw a total 58 combinations start, including nine teams ready to battle it out over the tough, hilly course for European glory. Whilst the terrain was extremely challenging the weather was kind to the competitors, dry but not too hot, which enabled the horses to give some great performances and many producing “personal bests” over this distance.

It was competitors from Eastern Europe who were dominant in the early stages, with Hungary and the Czech Republic taking the top positions at the first Vet Gate. This, however, was not to last, and by the conclusion of the event only two riders from each of these countries would complete.

As the day progressed team France showed, once again, their prowess in this tough sport. With their Senior compatriots having taken team Silver at the World Championships some two weeks previously, the French Junior/Young Rider squad looked set to sweep both Individual and Team gold this time out when all four team members remained consistently at the top of the field throughout the day.

Slow and Steady Progress

However, no one counted on the slow and steady progress of the young Italian side who, on paper, rode the perfect race. Despite coming in to Vet Gate 1 towards the back of the field, their consistency and tactical riding meant that by Vet Gate 3 they were just 4 minutes 21 seconds behind the leaders from France. With just 20 kilometres to go, the race was most certainly on for the 2012 team title.

As expected, the last loop of 20 kilometres was to prove very influential. It was demanding, with a final 7-kilometre climb to the finish, and only the very best were able to put in a competitive fight over the closing stages. With the top six all covering the 20 kilometres at over 24 kilometres per hour, the wait on the finish line was a tense one, and these young athletes certainly didn’t disappoint. An exhilarating race to the line saw the top-eight complete the course within 12 seconds of each other.

Mara Feola (ITA) and her talented 10 year old chestnut gelding were through the finish first, and it seemed her mount was just as pleased as she was with their victory. They put in a storming performance on the last loop, climbing up some six places to snatch the lead from French athlete Cesar Donnais and the 10 year old Arab mare Srour.

Fast Calculations

Some fast calculations were made as the competition concluded with both Italy and France finishing with three team members in the top ten. With the tension buzzing across the venue it was confirmed that France had managed to hold on to the lead by a mere 74 seconds ahead of Italy who had to settle for silver medal spot.

Spain looked good for team bronze, but it was wrenched from their grasp when Nuria Serrabassa Fabre’s ride Casba, their final team horse, was deemed lame despite crossing the finish line in eighth position. With only two team members having completed, Spain therefore dropped out of contention allowing the British to step up for bronze - their first team medal since 1997.

Hard-Fought Competition

Director of Non-Olympic Sports, Ian Williams, expressed his delight at the successful Championship, “This was a hard fought competition” he explained, “but these athletes can be very proud of their performances. They rode with maturity beyond their years, and all of the horses looked very good coming across the line”.

Special remarks were also made about the turn-out of these young teams. It was clear that a great effort had been made and both horses and riders looked immaculate, a real credit to the ever-growing sport of Endurance.

Results:
FEI European Junior and Young Rider Endurance Championships 2012 - Teams: GOLD - France 19:06:39 - Srour (Cesar Donnais), Preume de Paute (Nina Lissarrague), Kassit (Marion Brignoli), Karamel Mouthes (Clemence Le Bihan); SILVER - Italy 19:07:53 - Grigali (Mara Feola), Sassifraga della bosana (Luca Zappettini), Isteddada Saura (Matteo Bravi), Pika de Cardonne (Daniele Serioli); BRONZE - Great Britain 20:53:43 - Vavavoom (Carri-Ann Dark), HS Ametista (Beth Langley), Vanash (Kate Atkinson), Oakleazefarm Cziko (Louise Rich).

FEI European Junior and Young Rider Endurance Championships 2012 - Individuals: GOLD - Grigali (Mara Feola) ITA 18.907 kph; SILVER - Srour (Cesar Donnais) FRA 18.906 kph; BRONZE - Preume de Paute (Nina Lissarrague) FRA 18.904 kph.

Great Britain: Carri-Ann's Euro aim

Thisiswiltshire.co.uk - Full Article

12:30pm Friday 7th September 2012 in Sport

Carri-Ann Dark is hoping to bow out in style as she competes for Endurance GB at the European Young Riders Championships in Belgium this weekend.

The 21-year-old, who is in her last year as a Young Rider (16-21 age group), is part of the six-strong Endurance GB squad that will compete in Mont le Soie on Saturday, in an 120km event that Dark describes as ‘like a Formula One race’.

Dark, of Little Cheverell, who competed in the 2008 championships in Spain and the 2009 World Young Riders Championships in Hungary, will ride Vavavoom (also known as Prince). The horse is owned by her mother, Ann, and Dark is confident of putting in a good performance...

Read more here:
http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/sport/9914200.EQUESTRIAN__Carri_Ann_s_Euro_aim/