Oman: All-Women Endurance Horse Race on March 7

Muscatdaily.com - Full Article

Muscat Daily staff writer
March 05, 2014

An all-women endurance horse race will be organised in Barka on March 7, according to a press release from the Oman Equestrian Federation (OEF).

The race will witness a total of 44 riders compete over a distance of 80km and will be conducted according to the International Equestrian Federation's (FEI) rules and regulations. Some of the participating riders are from the neighbouring countries.

The veterinary examination of the horses will be held a day before the event. The race will kick off at 6.30am and will be held in three stages. The first stage will cover 40km, while the remaining 40km will be split into two legs of 20km each.

Spain's Jon Fernandez de Antona wins at Evora, Portugal

Ecuestreonline.com

Spain's Jon Fernandez de Antona riding Talita Kumi 50% won the CEI3* Evora ride in Portugal on March 1.

Cold, wet, muddy trails with constant ups and downs made for a challenging ride.

Alex Luque and Calandria PH won the CEI2*.

Cuckson lodges formal protest over endurance race in Bahrain

Horsetalk.c.nz - Full Article

By Horsetalk.co.nz on Mar 03, 2014 in News

British equestrian journalist Pippa Cuckson has been joined by the editor of Horse & Hound magazine in lodging a formal protest with the FEI over the treatment of the winning horse in the February 8 running of the King’s Cup 120km endurance race in Bahrain.

The letter, under the Horse & Hound letterhead, is co-signed by Cuckson, who is a freelance contributor to the magazine, and its editor, Lucy Higginson...

Read more here:
http://horsetalk.co.nz/2014/03/03/cuckson-formal-protest-endurance-race-bahrain/#ixzz2uun3GdZm

UAE: Glory for Spanish lady rider Laia Soria Pinol

Khaleejtimes.com - Full Article

Hisham Al Gizouli / 1 March 2014

Spaniard completes the 100-km ride in 3 hrs 23 minutes and 02 seconds at an average speed of 29.55 km/hour.

Top Spanish lady rider Laia Soria Pinol won the 100-km Shaikha Fatma bint Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Ladies Endurance Cup at the Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba here on Friday. Laia Soria Pinol, riding her eight-year-old Magic Cross Bred mare Sembra Rails, completed the 100-km ride in 3 hrs 23 minutes and 02 seconds at an average speed of 29.55 km/hour...

Read more here:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/sport/inside_sport.asp?xfile=/data/horseracing/2014/March/horseracing_March1.xml§ion=horseracing

Great Britain: Young and determined Dace Sainsbury conquered the difficult UAE 160km desert course

Photo by Gilly Wheeler
Endurancegb.co.uk

21st February 2014

Young and determined Dace Sainsbury conquered the difficult 160km desert course in Abu Dhabi with great skill.

Riding her grey mare Ballota she maintained between 18/19kmph over each loop to finish in 8h 56m 05s.
The mare’s recovery times had been good throughout:t around 3 minutes. From the 128 starters just 47 finished (36.72%). The winner was the current JYR World Champion Khalifa Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri

UAE: More than 100 riders confirmed for endurance races

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Attractive prize money and a car up for grabs at Al Wathba

By N.D. Prashant, Staff Reporter
Published: February 27, 2014

Abu Dhabi: More than 100 riders have confirmed their participation for the Shaikha Fatma Bint Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Ladies Endurance Cup and the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Endurance Cup for private owners to be held on Friday and Saturday respectively at the Emirates International Endurance Village, Al Wathba.

On both days, total prize money of Dh500,000 and a car is up for grabs...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/more-than-100-riders-confirmed-for-endurance-races-1.1296808

UAE: setting the pace with endurance horse racer Mahra Al Shamsi

Thenational.ae - Full Article

Anna Zacharias
February 27, 2014

After hours of racing through the desert, Mahra Al Shamsi recites the Quran to her horse to give it strength. Al Shamsi, an endurance horse racer from Ras Al Khaimah, will go to any length for her horse.

She competes for Seeh Al Salam stables in 80km, 100km and 120km events, a test of perseverance, strength and strategy for both horse and rider that may last five or six hours.

“I talk to my horse, I sing to my horse, and I recite the Quran to my horse during the race,” she says. “Sometimes when somebody passes by me, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, what did you say’?”

“I say, ‘No, I’m talking to my horse’. If you don’t connect with the horse, that horse is going to bound off or throw you off.”

Endurance horse racing has grown in popularity with young women since Al Shamsi, 27, took up the sport five years ago.

Training requires a minimum of two or three hours a day, four days a week. “Every season I do seven races, sometimes more,” she says...

Read more here:
http://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/my-uae-setting-the-pace-with-endurance-horse-racer-mahra-al-shamsi#ixzz2ucxM1swR