Dubai ruler shuts down England stable after doping scandal

NZWeek.com - Full Article

April 25 2013

Souce: Xinhua
Publish By Thomas Whittle

DUBAI, April 24 — Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum ordered Wednesday the closing of his Godolphin horse stables in Newamarket, England, after one of the stables trainer was charged with doping.

Samples from 11 of his horses at his Moulton Paddocks stables run by trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni revealed to contain anabolic steroids, a forbidden substance that can increase a horse’s endurance.

In an official statement, Sheikh Mohammed said “I was appalled and angered to learn that one of our stables in Newmarket has violated Godolphin’s ethical standards and the rules of British racing...”

Read more here:
http://www.nzweek.com/world/dubai-ruler-shuts-down-england-stable-after-doping-scandal-61699/

UAE: Goldolphin driving force Sheikh Mohammed served athlete suspension for doping in endurance race

Telegraph.co.uk - Full Article

24 April 2013
By Pippa Cuckson

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the driving force behind Godolphin Racing, served a six-month “athlete suspension” in 2009, after a horse he rode tested positive for prohibited substances in endurances races – in which a tough indigenous Arabian breed are usually preferred to the thoroughbreds used in flat racing – in Bahrain and Dubai.

The discipline, which involves long-distance treks of 100 miles, is the Fédération Equestre Internationale’s fastest-growing sport. However, the increase in popularity has been accompanied by a disproportionate incidence of doping in the Middle East. Endurance has also provided embarrassment for the sheikh’s junior wife, HRH Princess Haya of Jordan. She was elected president of the FEI in 2006 on a ‘clean sport’ mandate, and hired former Metropoliran Police Commissioner Lord Stevens to beef up integrity.

The FEI administers eight disciplines, including the Olympic sports of show jumping, eventing, and dressage, yet endurance accounts for eight of 11 doping cases currently under investigation, seven of which involve Arabic riders, three from the United Arab Emirates. Further, seven UAE riders were disciplined in medication control cases in 2012, six in 2011.

One repeat offender was Mubarak Khalifa Al Shafya, stripped of his FEI Open endurance title in 2008 while manager and trainer at Sheikh Mohammed’s Al Asaafa stable. Mubarak then trained thoroughbred racehorses for the sheikh in Newmarket and Dubai. In 2011, the FEI were concerned that five endurance horses managed by Mubarak had tested positive in the previous two years.

Read more here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/horseracing/10013617/Goldolphin-driving-force-Sheikh-Mohammed-served-athlete-suspension-for-doping-in-endurance-race.html

Abu Dhabi: Car and cash prize of Dh450,000 on offer for Al Wathba Night Ride

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Endurance village to sign off 2012-13 season with 120km event on Friday

BY M. Satya Narayan, Abu Dhabi Deputy Editor
Published: April 23, 2013

Abu Dhabi: The Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba will sign off its 2012-13 endurance season with a 120km Al Wathba Night Ride on Friday, with a car and Dh450,000 on offer as prizes.

Entrants will get off to a mass start at 5.15pm and the ride will involve four stages of 40km, 40km, 24km and 16km.
“This is the last ride of the 2012-13 season here at Al Wathba and is being held under the instruction and directives of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Shaikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al Nahyan,” said Adnan Sultan Al Nuaimi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.

“The winner will be rewarded a 4WD car, while the prize fund of Dh450,000 will be distributed among all riders who complete the 120km event. Riders will wear helmets fitted with battery-operated headlights to help them negotiate the course at night,” he added...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/car-and-cash-prize-of-dh450-000-on-offer-for-al-wathba-night-ride-1.1174271

A new book on the history of equestrian sports in Bahrain to be issued

BNA.bh

22/04/2013

Manama, April 22 (BNA)--The Media Office and Information Centre of Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa will issue a book on the history of equestrian sports in the Kingdom of Bahrain, starting from horse racing to showjumping and endurance races.

The decision was in compliance to the directives of Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports Chairman, Bahrain Olympic Committee President and Honorary President of the Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation.

The book will include the support and backing of Bahrain’s leadership to equestrian sports since its birth, down to the prosperous era of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

It also highlights the history of horses in the Kingdom, its most prominent strains and competitions that were held during horse racing, showjumping and endurance events, in addition to the most important figures that supported these races as well as horses owners, who had the finest horses, besides leading Arabian breeds in Bahrain.

The Media Office and Information Centre, headed by Director Tawfiq Al Salhi, will work on putting all Shaikh Nasser’s directives into writings and document it in this first-of-its-kind release.

Shaikh Nasser said that issuing this book comes under the guidance of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the first supporter to horses in Bahrain, and aims to document the equestrian sport in the Kingdom, which has a long honorable history thanks to the continued backing of the nation’s leadership.

Shaikh Nasser stressed the importance of knowing the correct history of horses in the Kingdom and its races, especially those held in the past decades, in addition to showjumping and endurance competitions...

Read more here:
http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/557565

The Purebred Arabian Horses of Iraq, by Mohammad Al-Nujaifi

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

By Horsetalk.co.nz on Apr 20, 2013 in Reviews

For many in “the west”, the very mention of Iraq can conjure up mostly negative connotations of war and strife.

But for horse lovers – arabian horse lovers, particularly – the country and the immediate region should be celebrated and appreciated far more that it currently is as the origin of the world’s oldest and most influential breed.

This new book by Iraqi arabian breeder and racing enthusiast Dr Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Nujaifi sheds much light on Iraq and its neighbors and their horse-loving traditions.

The Purebred Arabian Horses of Iraq – Myths and Realities
by Dr Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Nujaifi
Hardcover, 239pp, RRP £35
ISBN 978-1-909339-01-9
Available from Amazon or Medina Publishing

The author needs no introduction in arabian racing circles in Iraq and in Europe, being the top owner for all races in all countries in 2012 according to the statistics of the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR) – the third consecutive season he has held the title.

Dr Al-Nujaifi breeds both purebred and anglo-arabian racehorses at his Al-Nujaifi stud farm north of Mosul, where his family has raised Arabians since 1638...

read more here:
http://horsetalk.co.nz/2013/04/20/the-purebred-arabian-horses-of-iraq/#.UXMZBCtAT_o

Thailand: An enduring passion

Bangkokpost.com - Full Article

Published: 20 Apr 2013
Newspaper section: Muse

Despite having just returned from her most recent competition, the 2013 Endurance Horse Ride in Fontainebleau, France, neither jetlag nor a pre-Songkran workload could fizzle Wipawan Pawitayalarp's exuberant enthusiasm in relaying her experience.

What she thought would be just a warm-up for her horse, Mulawa Angelus, turned into a victory of a kind.

"I had not hoped to win at all because it was such a large-scale competition, with professional riders from all over the world competing. It was also cold, and my horse was not used to that kind of weather," said Wipawan, an award-winning Thai endurance rider.

In the first phase of the ride, she and her horse were off to a good start, being in the top five. They continued to speed through the snowy course at such a rate that she could hear the air whizzing past. On the last 3km of the track, holding third place, another horse overtook them, bumping them down to fourth.

"At the time, I wasn't completely deflated or disappointed, because my intention in this competition was really to just test the water and gain experience. For me, to complete [the race] is to win," she explained.

However, at the last corner, things took a turn when the rider who had passed her took a fall.

"I asked him if he was ok, and when he said he was, I just did my best to complete the race. I ended up winning third prize and got to stand on the podium," she recalled with excitement in her voice...

Read more here:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/lifestyle/women/346141/an-enduring-passion

Great Britain: New classes turn Golden Horseshoe ride into a festival of endurance

Thisiscornwall.co.uk - Full Article

April 19 2013

The Golden Horseshoe ride on Exmoor is to become a 'festival of endurance' this year (May 12-14) as organisers add three new tests and an invitation-only para class, with a number of high-profile para riders set to take part.

New competitive classes for 2013 include the Exmoor Extra (120km split into three rides of 40km each day for advanced combinations), the Exmoor 40 (a 40km ride for those competing at Open level or above) and the Exmoor Novice (a 40km ride for novices, with slower completion speeds).

The programme, which includes the 48th running of the famous Golden Horseshoe – in its early days 75 miles and now a daunting 100 miles – is completed by the two-day Exmoor Stag class over 80km and 40km routes, the 80km one-day Exmoor 80 and the popular Exmoor Experience class, where the two 40km-a-day rides are designed to give riders and horses a taste of competition over the very testing Exmoor terrain.

Read more here:
http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/New-classes-turn-Golden-Horseshoe-ride-festival/story-18745076-detail/story.html#axzz2R2v160ge