Great Britain: Royal Windsor's first endurance race a success

Horseandcountry.tv - Full Article

By Charlotte Ricca-Smith on 14th-May-2013

Royal Windsor’s very first endurance ride was hailed as a great success, with perfect conditions helping to produce some top-class performances.

History in the making

The winner was United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Abdullah Ghanim Al Marri, who completed the 120km course in a time of four hours, 32 minutes and 34 seconds, riding his 11-year-old grey mare La Crysada.

“The race was difficult as this was my first ride abroad and the course was very different to courses in the Emirates but to come here and to enter the history books by winning the first ever Royal Windsor endurance ride is an honour,” said Al Marri.
In second place was fellow UAE rider Saeed Ahmed Jaber Al Harbi with Castlebar Kadeen, who finished in a time of four hours, 39 minutes and 39 seconds...

Read more here:
http://www.horseandcountry.tv/news/2013/05/14/royal-windsors-first-endurance-race-success

France: The 2014 WEG Organising Committee meets the press in Gothenburg

JEMFEIAlltech2014-normandie.fr

02/05/2013

The Organising Committee’smanaging director Fabien Grobon, outlined the major achievements of the last twelve months. He particularly focused on the teams’ daily achievements, as they work towards making these Games an event to live up to both the public’s expectations and enthusiasm.

José Carlin-Perez, the media operations manager, explained the OC’s approach to providing media services for all those making the journey to Normandy from 23 August to 7 September 2014. Everything possible will be done to guarantee high-quality services, which will allow media representatives to optimise their fortnight stay. José Carlin-Perez stressed the Organising Committee’s wish “to have a thorough approach towards the transmission of the results and information on a whole, as well as supplying a highly-organised working environment for the media.”

Teams of volunteers will be assigned to assist the media and facilitate the organisation of everyday services.

Specific areas will be reserved for the media in close proximity to the Main Media Centre (MMC/CIM) located at the d’Ornano Stadium. Additional media centres will also be placed at all of the competition venues. The control room and broadcasting centre will be set up nearby and television transmission will be handled conjointly by the EBU and the France Télévisions group.

Accommodation arrangements have already been finalised. Four hotels will be allocated to journalists, all of which are located close to Caen’s d’Ornano Stadium. Nearly 200 rooms have been pre-booked with rates ranging from 75 to 150 euros (depending on the category of hotel.) Reservations will be possible from 15 May 2013 onwards.

A shuttle service will be organised between the media hotels, the MMC/CIM and all the different competition venues.

Requests for accreditation will be possible from February 2014 until May 2014.

Journalists present in Gothenburg went away with all the information necessary for their forthcoming trip to Normandy. Further dates have been planned for the coming months.

Everything has been designed to make the media’s work that little bit easier at the Games!

Key dates:

Hotel reservations from 15 May 2013 – contact : hotels.normandie2014@mci-group.com
Accreditation possible from February 2014 – contact : media.operations@normandie2014.com
For practical information : media.operations@normandie2014.com

Great Britain: 120 km Royal Windsor Endurance CEI 2*

Horsereporter.com - Full Article

May 12, 2013
By Pamela@horsereporter

May 5, 2013, Windsor, UK ~ On a very cool day with high winds and occasional heavy showers 48 competitors representing seven countries galloped away from the start with the splendid back drop of Windsor Castle.

This was an historic occasion as it was the first time that an endurance ride was included in the events of Royal Windsor Horse Show that was celebrating its 70th anniversary.

The majority of the route was over the Queen’s private Estate of Windsor Great Park. The going was exceptional, over beautifully mown grass and sandy tracks. The mildly undulating course passed several famous statues and set another first when part of the first loop was set around the steeplechase course at Ascot Race Course that will host the famous Royal meeting next month. It also passed Cranbourne Tower, the birthplace of Eclipse in 1764, an outstanding British thoroughbred racehorse undefeated in the 18th-century winning 18 races, including 11 King’s Plates. After retiring from racing he became a very successful sire...

Read more here:
http://www.horsereporter.com/?p=6827

Mansour Festival to stage two rides in France

Gulfnews.com

Compiegne, Tarbes venues for the events

Staff Report
Published: 17:45 May 13, 2013

Abu Dhabi: The Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival announced their association with international endurance rides here at a press conference on Monday.

Lara Sawaya, Director of the Festival and Head of International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR) Ladies Racing, said two rides will be held under the banner of the Festival starting with a 160-km ride later this month.
“We are proud to announce that the Festival will now be officially involved in two international endurance rides under the directives of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affair,” Sawaya said.
“The first ride is a CEI-O three-star Nation Cup ride which will be over a distance of 160km in Compiegne, France, and will be the last 160-km ride before the World Equestrian Games. There will be participants from all over the world, including from the UAE, and this race will take place on May 24 with pre-inspection on May 23,” she said.

Great Britain: Al Beloushi flies the flag for UAE with Royal victory

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Emirati riders finish one-two in historic ride held at Windsor Great Park

By Leslie Wilson JrRacing & Special Features Writer
Published: 18:57 May 11, 2013

Dubai: Rashid Mohammad Ebrahim Al Beloushi did the UAE proud by winning the inaugural Royal Windsor Endurance CEI 2* ride held in association with and presented by the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

Riding the seven-year-old grey gelding Bucanero, Al Baloushi completed the challenging 120km course around the centuries-old Windsor Great Park in a time of 4 hours, 32 minutes and 34 seconds.

Saeed Ahmad Jaber Al Harbi made it a memorable day for the UAE when he finished in second place aboard the 16-year-old Australian mare Castlebar Kadeen. Al Habri timed 4:39:39 secs.

Dace Sainsbury, a 20-year-old top-placed British rider, was third with French Lieutenant (4:48:32)...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/al-beloushi-flies-the-flag-for-uae-with-royal-victory-1.1182107

Great Britain: Horseshoe Endurance Ride to host para class

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

By Horsetalk.co.nz on May 08, 2013 in Focus

Britain’s famous Golden Horseshoe Endurance Ride over Exmoor is including an invitation-only event for Para riders this year.

The ride, from May 12 to 14, has eight competitive classes and will this year host the 48th running of the famous Golden Horseshoe, which in its early days was 75 miles long but is now a daunting 100 miles...

Read more here:
http://horsetalk.co.nz/2013/05/08/golden-horseshoe-endurance-para-class/#axzz2Sqn5DHFR

Major blow for Endurance GB as Dubai Equestrian Club pulls plug on Euston Park sponsorship

Telegraph.co.uk - Full Article

Endurance riding in Great Britain has suffered a huge blow with the Dubai Equestrian Club pulling its blanket sponsorship of Euston Park, axing the Thetford venue’s entire 2013 calendar.

By Pippa Cuckson
10:00PM BST 09 May 2013

The loss of four major race rides — to endurance riding, the equivalent of horse racing losing both Newmarket and Ascot – was announced in a single sentence on Euston Park’s website, which effectively shut down on Wednesday. The national governing body, Endurance GB, has not been offered a reason.

The development follows a week of further publicity surrounding doping cases within Sheikh Mohammed’s wider equine interests including Telegraph Sport's disclosure on Wednesday that some 20 horses trained in stables owned by the Maktoum family in Dubai had been involved in FEI doping cases since 2005.

Telegraph Sport understands that prior to the revelations that led to Sheikh Mohammed’s racehorse trainer, Mahmood Al Zarooni, being banned for eight years, Endurance GB was already resisting proposals for another "private ride" not under the rules of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI).

A similar concept was staged at Euston in August 2009 which enabled Sheikh Mohammed and three other riders, all then serving FEI suspensions, to compete...

Read more here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/horseracing/10047857/Major-blow-for-Endurance-GB-as-Dubai-Equestrian-Club-pulls-plug-on-Euston-Park-sponsorship.html