Australia: Wagin gets going for Tom Quilty cup

Waginargus.com.au - Full Article

By Blayde Grzelka Aug. 1, 2014

THE Tom Quilty Cup has officially opened in Wagin with banners sprouting up throughout town and the Cup’s official handover to the Wagin shire.

The colossal 45 kilogram cup has been delivered today Friday August 1 to the Wagin Shire after making the trip from it’s regular home at the Hall of Fame in Queensland.

It will remain on display at the shire for the seven weeks remaining until the cup begins...

Read more here:
http://www.waginargus.com.au/story/2458765/wagin-gets-going-for-tom-quilty-cup/?cs=1539

Record Entries for 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™

Horse-Canada.com

Horse Sport July 31, 2014 | 0 comments

by: FEI
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Riders, drivers, and vaulters representing no less than 74 nations have been nominated to compete in the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Normandy, the FEI’s flagship event, which kicks off in 23 days. The number is an all-time high and represents a 25% increase compared to the nominated entries for any of the previous editions of the FEI World Equestrian Games™.

The nominated entries list, from which the final entries will be selected, is published today and is available on the event’s official website here.

Jumping has attracted the largest number of nations, with 54 countries entered for the competitions at Stade d’Ornano in Caen, closely followed by Endurance. Riders from 48 countries will compete in the Endurance event, which takes place against the spectacular backdrop of UNESCO World Heritage Site Mont Saint-Michel.

The breakdown of the entries per discipline is as follows:

JUMPING
Total National Federations (NFs): 54
NFs with teams: 38
ARG, AUS, AUT, BEL, BRA, CAN, CHI, COL, CZE, DEN, EGY, ESP, FIN, FRA, GBR, GER, HUN, IRL, ITA, JPN, KSA, MAR, MEX, NED, NOR, POL, POR, QAT, RSA, RUS, SUI, SVK, SWE, SYR, UAE, UKR, USA, VEN
NFs with individuals only: 16
AZE, BER, GRE, GUA, HKG, IND, ISR, JOR, KOR, LAT, LTU, NZL, PER, SLO, TUR, URU
286 nominated athletes, 409 horses
167 combinations expected for definite entries

DRESSAGE
Total NFs: 31
NFs with teams: 25
AUS, AUT, BEL, BRA, CAN, DEN, ESP, FIN, FRA, GBR, GER, IRL, ITA, KAZ, LUX, NED, NOR, POL, POR, RSA, RUS, SUI, SWE, UKR, USA
NFs with individuals only: 6
COL, EST, GEO, KOR, MAR, PLE
154 nominated athletes, 167 horses
103 combinations expected for definite entries

PARA-DRESSAGE
Total NFs: 33
NFs with teams: 19
AUS, AUT, BEL, BRA, CAN, DEN, FRA, GBR, GER, HKG, IRL, ITA, NED, NOR, POL, RUS, SIN, SWE, USA
NFs with individuals only: 14
ARG, CZE, FIN, ISR, ISV, JPN, LAT, MEX, NZL, POR, RSA, SUI, SVK, TPE
126 nominated athletes, 159 horses
102 combinations expected for definite entries

EVENTING
Total NFs: 28
NFs with teams: 16
AUS, BEL, BRA, CAN, ESP, FRA, GBR, GER, IRL, ITA, NED, NZL, POL, SUI, SWE, USA
NFs with individuals only: 12
AUT, BLR, CHN, CZE, DEN, ECU, FIN, HUN, JPN, POR, RSA, RUS
138 nominated athletes, 168 horses
99 combinations expected for definite entries

DRIVING
total NFs: 18
NFs with teams: 15
AUS, AUT, BEL, CZE, ESP, FRA, GBR, GER, HUN, NED, POL, POR, SUI, SWE, USA
NFs with individuals only: 3
ITA, SVK, URU
63 nominated athletes, 508 horses
49 athletes and 245 horses expected for definite entries

ENDURANCE
Total NFs: 48
NFs with teams: 34
ARG, AUS, BEL, BRA, BRN, CAN, CHI, CRC, CZE, ESP, FRA, GBR, GER, HKG, ITA, JPN, KAZ, LUX, MAS, NED, NOR, NZL, OMA, POR, QAT, RSA, RUS, SUI, SVK, SWE, TUN, UAE, URU, USA
NFs with individuals only: 14
ALG, AUT, CHN, COL, DEN, ECU, EST, GRE, GUA, HUN, IRL, KSA, POL, THA
258 nominated athletes, 340 horses
178 combinations expected for definite entries

VAULTING
Total NFs: 22
ARG, AUS, AUT, BRA, CAN, COL, CZE, DEN, FRA, GBR, GER, HUN, ITA, MRI, NED, NZL, RSA, RUS, SUI, SVK, SWE, USA
223 nominated athletes (16 pas-de-deux of 2 vaulters; 20 squads of 6 vaulters; 46 individual females and 25 individual males), 165 horses
177 athletes (13 pas-de-deux of 2 vaulters; 17 squads of 6 vaulters; 32 individual females; 17 individual males;) and 97 horses expected for definite entries

REINING
Total NFs: 25
NFs with teams: 16
AUS, AUT, BEL, BRA, CAN, DEN, FIN, FRA, GBR, GER, ITA, MEX, NED, POL, SWE, USA
NFs with individuals only: 9
CHI, CZE, DOM, HUN, ISR, MAR, RSA, SUI, SVK
96 nominated athletes, 147 horses
91 combinations expected for definite entries

Australia, Austria, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and the United States will be represented in every disciplines. In total 12 countries will be making their FEI World Equestrian Games™ debut – Hong Kong, US Virgin Islands, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Morocco, Mauritius, Peru, Palestine, Romania, Thailand, and Tunisia – demonstrating the increased globalisation of the FEI’s flagship event.

The next and final stage in the Games entry process is the deadline for definite entries, which is August 14th for Dressage and Para-Dressage, Eventing, Endurance, and Reining, and August 22nd for Jumping, Driving, and Vaulting.

Manitoba horse-rider duo to compete at worlds

CBC.ca - Full Article and video

Jessica Manness and horse, Glider, going to World Equestrian Games in Normandy
CBC News Posted: Jul 29, 2014 3:55 PM CT

A Manitoba woman and her horse will take on some of the world's best in endurance riding, a long-distance racing sport, in France next month.

Jessica Manness of Birds Hill and her horse, Glider, will compete in the endurance competition at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France, on Aug. 28.

They will join five other horse and rider pairs in the Canadian contingent, competing against 48 other nations.

"I'm really proud to be doing it. It's been a lot of hard work. It's been years of training," said Manness, who is Canada's top-ranked endurance rider and is ranked 13th in the world...

Read more here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-horse-rider-duo-to-compete-at-worlds-1.2721988

Italy: Afra stars in UAE’s golden moment in Verona

Khaleejtimes.com - Full Article

28 July 2014

Al Baloushi, trainer of the winning horse Rivergum Drifter said, “He has gradually improved with a fifth place, a third place, a second place and now a winning finish. Afra also rode a great race in tough conditions.”

The UAE flag was waved jubilantly as the UAE ladies team celebrated their maiden international triumph in Verona, Italy on Saturday in the Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival-supported first-ever Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies Endurance Cup, a world class ladies competition being held here in Europe for the first time.

Led by a dominant display by UAE’s Afra Khalifa Al Suwaidi on Rivergum Drifter, who took the individual gold while the UAE’s Aya Abdulla Redha on Quersick Niellans, who took the bronze, the Emirati girls established their supremacy both in the individual as well as the team categories...

Read more here:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/sport/inside_sport.asp?xfile=/data/nationsports/2014/July/nationsports_July172.xml§ion=nationsports

2014 USA Endurance Team Member: Heather Reynolds and Chanses

July 27, 2014
by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

It's a good thing for Heather Reynolds and the 2014 USA Endurance Team that Chanses didn't make it as a racehorse. "He was really fast, but he would just look around, rather than race," Heather says. "He's really laid back, a super relaxed horse. He can turn it on when he needs to. When asked to do it, he'll do it. He's just not going to volunteer," she laughs.

Now owned by Heather and husband Jeremy Reynolds who make up Reynolds Racing, and partner Skip Lightfoot, the Reynolds obtained the "cool looking" 9-year-old bay Arabian gelding in 2012 just 15 minutes down the road from their place in Dunellon, Florida. "We were short on horses at the time, and our friend Lynn Ashby recommended him to us. We usually take her word pretty seriously."

That Chanses happened to be a half brother to Jeremy Reynolds' 2012 World Endurance Championship ride in Great Britain, A Kutt Above (they finished 21st), was an added bonus. Both horses are by the sire Patriot Missle.

Chanses had already done a season of endurance rides with previous owner Severiano Martinez, so he was ready to go when the Reynolds bought him and started riding him on the trails. After doing 5 rides in 2012 (including a 25 with co-owner Skip Lightfoot aboard), which featured a win and Best Condition in the Ft Howes 160-km FEI ride, Chanses stepped up in his training and performances. The 16-hand gelding won 1st place and Best Condition in the 50-mile Gator Run with Heather in January, won 1st place and Best Condition in the 75-mile Broxton Bridge with Jeremy in February; and after 3 consecutive pulls for lameness in 100-mile rides in March (after a fall on course), May and July (Tevis, pulled at the Lower Quarry at 96 miles), the gelding finished first in the 100-mile New Mexico Desert Classic Pioneer with Heather in October. After he won his next start, the January 100-mile Broxton Bridge with Heather, the Reynolds knew they had a possible USA WEG Team contender in the gelding.

After the challenging USA Team Trial April 18-19 in Ehrhardt, South Carolina and a number of exhaustive pre-ride and post-ride veterinary inspections, Heather and Chanses topped the USA Team Shortlist that was announced on June 19th for the World Endurance Championship at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France.

A long-time AERC endurance rider (she started as a Junior at age 11), 37-year-old Heather has over 18,000 endurance miles, including 4 Tevis buckles, a Tevis Cup win and 2 Haggin Cups (Best Condition at Tevis), and extensive international experience. This will be Heather's fourth time on a World Championship Endurance team, having competed in Jerez, Spain, in 2002; Kentucky, USA, in 2010, and Great Britain, in 2012.


As a 25-year-old on the World Championship team in Spain, Heather left a big impression on her roommate and teammate Bev Gray, even after her horse Crystal's Charm was unexpectedly pulled at the first vet check for lameness. "Heather immediately got out and started helping the rest of the teammates, and cheering along the course. She's a pro. A career pro," Bev said. "She's my friend; those are memorable times that I'll never ever forget - the bonding we had, and the fun."

Heather is known being humorous in almost any situation, and for being cool under pressure. Chanses will probably retain his cool in the August 28th 160-km race, seeing as he's so relaxed. "I think it will work out great in the herd dynamic overseas, because he's so laid back," Heather says. "He won't end up wasting a bunch of energy the first couple of loops. I don't think he'll get his panties in a bunch."

Heather thinks the USA Team's prospects of winning a team medal in France are "super strong. This is probably the best team the US has ever had. I think that the group dynamic is awesome. And Emmett [US Chef d'Equipe Emmett Ross] has put us through the ringer as far as soundness and the scrutiny on the horse itself. It's been a much higher standard than the past, so I think our odds of arriving at the starting line with sound horses is higher than usual. And everyone that has been selected has amazing backgrounds and their horses have great records, so if luck joins us, I think our team will do amazingly well." She laughs and slightly amends her statement, "If the Horse Gods let the horses arrive on French soil unscathed, we'll be good!"

Bev Gray concurs, "The growth that you see from Heather since Spain, to Normandy, is dramatic. She's a professional, and she's going to do the USA a fabulous job."

Top photo - Heather aboard Ssamiam in the 2010 WEG in Kentucky
Bottom photo - Heather aboard Riverwatch in the 2012 WEC in Great Britain

For more coverage of the Endurance Championship at the World Equestrian Games, see:
http://www.endurance.net/international/France/2014WEG/

Mongolia: Not your run-of-the-mill horse derby

Heraldsun.com - Full Article

Jun. 27, 2014 @ 05:17 PM
Wes Platt

Rose Sandler wants to gallop in the footsteps of a conqueror.

Centuries before Pony Express riders thundered across the untamed American West, Genghis Khan established a long-distance postal system using horse messengers in the Mongol steppe.

Since 2009, a group known as The Adventurists has hosted the Mongol Derby. It’s a race that covers 621 miles of rough, marmot-riddled terrain through unpredictable weather, all on the backs of 25 different horses that riders can only hope want to go the same direction as them.

“It’s going to be awesome, life-changing,” said Sandler, a former Rougemont resident who now lives in Culpeper, Virginia, but often visits Durham to enjoy the music scene at places like Motorco.

The race through the Mongolian wilderness was inspired by Genghis Khan’s use of horse stations – known as morin urtuus – to allow messengers to travel the breadth of his empire, from Kharkorin to the Caspian Sea...

Read more here:
http://www.heraldsun.com/news/x1625942904/Not-your-run-of-the-mill-horse-derby

2014 WEG: 30 days to go: The fitting-out of the venues continues

Normandy2014.com

Thursday 24 July 2014 - 19h42

The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy are hosting 8 disciplines spanning no fewer than 5 competition venues! It’s a challenge, which requires substantial logistics and numerous facilities. Over these last 30 days, the Organising Committee is ready to begin its final push to ensure the very best reception for the 1,000 athletes and 500,000 spectators expected to attend the event from 23 August.

SARTILLY - BAY OF MONT ST MICHEL

Mont St MichelSituated in the Manche area, the town of Sartilly will be the starting point for the Endurance event on Thursday, 28 August.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Bay of Mont Saint Michel will provide a majestic backdrop for this 160 km competition set out in a series of loops.

More information about this venue will be available soon...

Read more here:
http://www.normandy2014.com/news/articles/602/30-days-to-go-the-fitting-out-of-the-venues-continues