Dubai’s ruler bans steroids as horseracing scandal widens

FT.com - Full Article

By Simeon Kerr in Dubai and Roger Blitz in London
May 23, 2013

Dubai’s ruler has banned the use of steroids in the United Arab Emirates as he seeks to stem the widening doping scandal at his Godolphin stables.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the UAE prime minister, said he had ordered the drafting, with immediate effect, of legislation criminalising the import, sale, purchase and use of anabolic steroids in all horse-related sports.

“Regrettably, one of my stables in Europe has recently fallen below the standards that I expect and will tolerate,” he said in a statement. “I have always believed in the integrity of horseracing...”

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http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/72d37cb8-c3af-11e2-aa5b-00144feab7de.html#axzz2UDChgNrl

Top UAE riders in French endurance event

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Al Jahouri father and son will be among those to compete on Friday and Saturday

Staff Report
Published: 21:23 May 23, 2013

Abu Dhabi: Nearly 200 riders and teams from 22 nations will in action over the next two days in Compiegne, France, with the support of the Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival.

Many of the UAE’s leading riders, including European Open champion Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri and his son Khalifa Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri, who has won many rides in the UAE this season, will be representing the Al Wathba Stables, which are owned by Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.

The UAE riders will be taking part in the 160km ride on Friday and the 160km ride and Nations Cup on Saturday...

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http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/top-uae-riders-in-french-endurance-event-1.1187769

Great Britain: Atrocious weather fails to stop Golden Horseshoe endurance riders

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

By Horsetalk.co.nz on May 22, 2013

If it had been a three-day-event, it probably would have been cancelled, but the endurance riders at last week’s Golden Horseshoe Ride over Exmoor are made of sterner stuff.

The 180 competitive riders a rode through mud, wind and rain in the worse weather the famous event has experienced. But the poor weather failed to put a damper on the riders, and as one official put it, completing the event was “a triumph over adversity”...

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http://horsetalk.co.nz/2013/05/22/atrocious-weather-fails-stop-golden-horseshoe-endurance-riders/#.UZ6m3WRAQUI

Australia: Enduro Annetts wins again

Gleninnesexaminer.com.au - Full Article

May 23 2013

Glen Innes endurance horse rider Jenny Annetts has recently broken a record and won an event.

The NSW state horse endurance ride championships was held in Manilla, near Tamworth a few weeks back and Jenny won the gruelling 160km event in a great time of 11 hours and 23 minutes...

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http://www.gleninnesexaminer.com.au/story/1521554/enduro-annetts-wins-again/?cs=420

Bahrain's Royal Endurance Team is supporting a 120km Endurance Horse Ride

BNA.bh - Full Article

23/05/2013

Manama, May 23 (BNA) -- Bahrain's Royal Endurance Team is supporting a 120km Endurance Horse Ride, part of the Compiegne Festival Mondial d’Endurance, to be held on Sunday at Compiegne near Paris, in France.

Team captain Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa will lead a group of prominent Bahraini riders in this two-day festival, which also includes a 160km ride, set to take place today.

Shaikh Nasser will be racing alongside Yaqoub Al Hammadi, Raed Mahmood, Mohammed Abdulsamad and Abdulrahman Al Saad this weekend.

Fresh from their participation in the recently-concluded Windsor Show in the UK, the Bahrain delegation moved to Compiegne, a commune in the Oise department in northern France, ahead of today’s event, which is sponsored by Shaikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE.

Bahrain team manager Dr Khalid Ahmed Hassan had reached the French capital ahead of the team delegation arrival to ensure the completion of all matters related to the team participation and ensure smooth organization of the 120km ride...

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http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/562094

Australia: Tenterfield hosts huge endurance ride

Tenterfieldstar.com.au - Full Article

May 22 2013

FOR the Tenterfield Endurance Riders Club, the weekend of May 4-5 was a big one.

It was the 27th consecutive ride the club has staged.

The 210 horses, riders and supporters crammed into our Girard State Forest base and tested our resources, not to mention our plumbing and water supplies, and our ability to organise and manage a ride of this magnitude

It was the second biggest endurance ride held in Australia this year.

Despite several campers managing to spear the underground water pipes with star droppers, and the huge demand on the hot water boiler and our plumbing, the “maintenance crew” managed it all with quiet aplomb.

Then there was the matter of finding, five or six veterinarians and technical support people required for a ride of this magnitude.

The administrative and technical people who kept track of the progress of each horse and rider from 3am to the last rider later in the day...

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http://www.tenterfieldstar.com.au/story/1516952/tenterfield-hosts-huge-endurance-ride/?cs=1640

Léonard Liesens Chef d’Equipe for Norway Endurance

Horsereporter.com - Full Article

May 14, 2013
By Pamela@horsereporter

May 12, 2013, Belgium ~ Leonard Liesens is the new Chef d’Equipe for Norway Léonard Liesens, Chef d’Equipe de la Norvège

Leonard Liesens has accepted the position of Chef d’Equipe of Norway, a country that is small on the international endurance scene, but has some very competitive horses and riders. “I have just come from my first clinic in Borway, and all the lakes were still frozen. In spite of the ice and snow, the horses almost never stop training and conditioning and I was very impressed. The riders and horse are quite accustomed to the harsh conditions. The first competition will be the Baltique Championship in Estonia at Kurgjarve on May 24...

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http://www.horsereporter.com/?p=6853