USA Team Starters for 2014 WEG Endurance Championship

August 27 2014

After today's veterinary inspections in Normandy, France, the final USA Team has been announced. They are:

Heather Reynolds on Chanses
Ellyn Olson on Hot Desert Knight
Jeremy Reynolds on Gold Dust Rising
Kelsey Russell on My Wild Irish Gold
Jeremy Olson on Wallace Hill Shade

Alternate Jeremy Olson and Wallace Hill Shade moved up to starting position when Meg Sleeper's Syrocco Reveille passed the vet inspection but showed a lameness for part of the trot out.

USA Chef d'Equipe Emmett Ross said, "After careful consideration, the team Vet, Chef d'Equipe and Selector, have decided to substitute Jeremy Olson and Wallace Hill Shade for WEG 2014. We share in Meg's deep disappointment and appreciate her continued commitment to team success. We thank Meg, her crew and supporters for all they have done and will continue to do to help the US Team, on race day, August 28."

Meg commented, "There are times that are difficult and painful, but the good times far outweigh the bad ones." She'll be crewing for the US Team and sending updates if possible (Wifi is sketchy at the venue.)

Starting time for tomorrow's 160-km race is 7 AM in Normandy; 2 AM (tonight) eastern, 1 AM central, 12 midnight mountain, and 11 PM pacific.

Follow the race here:
http://www.endurance.net/international/France/2014WEG/

Kiwi Endurance Team Looking Strong at WEG

Scoop.co.nz

Wednesday, 27 August 2014, 4:50 pm
Press Release: Equestrian Sports New Zealand
ENDURANCE PREVIEW

New Zealand's endurance riders will have a world-famous back-drop for their 160km race at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in France on Thursday (France time).

One of the five loops of the race, takes competitors past Mont Saint-Michel, one of France's most iconic landmarks and a world heritage site.

Lining up for New Zealand in the one day marathon are mother and daughter Andrea and Georgia Smith (Mangaweka), Alison Higgins (Nelson), who makes her second WEG team, Braden Cameron (Wellington) and Susie Latta (Otago).

The Smiths are the first such combination to represent the sport at an equestrian championship together, and at 17 years old, Georgia is believed to be the youngest ever.

Andrea Smith rode the test event at the Sartilly venue last year, gathering vital intel for the team.

“It is not going to be a straight foot race in Normandy, which is great for teams like us,” says endurance chef d'equipe Tony Parsons (Taupo). “It’s going to require a lot of mental toughness.”

There was plenty of rain when the team arrived at the endurance stables on Monday, but that didn't bother Parsons.

“This is endurance riding,” he says. “It rains . . . we just get on with it.”

He says the horses have all travelled extremely well and the few weeks the team has had at their Brittany base has been hugely beneficial to them all.

“We're in as good a shape as we could be,” he says. “Anything can happen on the day, and we are well prepared for that.”

The 160 km race will be run over five loops, instead of the usual six, at Sartilly – which is situated just over 100 kms from the main games venue in Caen. It has attracted 173 entries from 47 nations

The Smiths are not the only family combination in the event – six other teams boast similar connections.

The race starts at 7am on Thursday (France time) and horses will be checked by vets at the end of each loop. Organisers say it is one of the most technical courses in recent championship history. Loop one, La Lucerne, is 37.9km long and stretches to the north of the venue. Loop two, Avranches, is 35.8km long, and includes the stunning bay with the incredible backdrop of Mont Saint-Michel. Champeaux, the third loop, is 32.8km long and covers ground to the west of the venue. The penultimate loop, Jullouville, is 33.1km long while the final loop, Dragey, is the shortest at just 20.4km long, stretching out to the south-west of the venue.

The age span of entrants is impressive, with 72-year-old Rouslan Gekiev (Russia) the oldest and 14-year-old Constanza Laliscia (Italy) the youngest.

Organisers are expecting the endurance event to be one of the closet contests in years, and no-one is discounting New Zealand.

The Fact Box

• The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games run from August 23 – September 7 in France.

• New Zealand will be represented by teams in endurance (Aug 28), eventing (Aug 28-31) and vaulting (Sept 2-5), and individuals in para-dressage (Aug 25-29) and showjumping (Sept 2-7).

• WEG is held every four years in different locations.

• A record 76 countries are expected to take part, making it the world’s largest equestrian sport event which includes 1000 competitors.

• More than 500,000 people are expected to attend over the two weeks.

• For more information, head to www..normandy2014.com .

2014 WEG: Notes from Becky Pearman

www.endurance.net/international/France/2014WEG

August 27 2014

Photographer Becky Pearman has kindly agreed to share her observations with us as she follows the USA Endurance team around Normandy as they prepare for the August 28th race.

She shared some images of the area, and of the USA Team as excitement builds around the horses arriving at the venue stables:

http://www.endurance.net/international/France/2014WEG/BeckyPearmanNotes.html

UAE endurance squad gear up to defend title

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Shaikh Hamdan leads five-strong squad in showpice event at Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games

By Leslie Wilson Jr
Racing & Special Features Writer
Published: 19:01 August 26, 2014
Gulf News

Dubai: The UAE endurance team faces its first test of reckoning on Thursday when it defends its title at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2014 in Normandy, France.

Significant interest has centered on the 160 metres marathon which has attracted a record 170 riders from 48 nations.

The UAE return as defending champion having won the gold at the 2010 WEG Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky.

Led by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, the five-member squad also includes Shaikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum, Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri, Abdulla Ghanim Al Marri and Saeed Mohammad Khalfan Al Mehairi.

France Rates Chances in WEG Endurance Contest

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

The home team of France is among the favourites for the 160km endurance competition at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, and its riders took to the sandy Kairon beach on Monday as they work to peak their horses for Thursday’s contest.

The race will start from Sartilly and will feature five loops, which is slightly different for a modern race. For French team rider Jean-Philippe Frances, having five instead of six loops will add some extra excitement...

Read more here:
http://horsetalk.co.nz/2014/08/26/france-rates-chances-weg-endurance/#ixzz3BVXRHuye

Canadian Endurance Riders and Horses En Route to France

https://www.facebook.com/EnduranceCanadaInternational

And they’re off – to THE race! The challenge for the Canadian Equestrian Endurance Team will be to navigate 160 kms/100 miles of Normandy countryside as quickly and safely as possible, competing against approximately 260 riders from 49 nations from around the world – a record. The race will be held in Sartilly (Bay of Mont St Michel) on Thursday, August 28th, as part of the World Equestrian Games.

Leanna Marchant, from Calgary, discovered the sport of Endurance while living in Australia, and upon returning to Canada continued to pursue distance riding with her aptly-named ‘little iron horse’, Samsons Fire. Together they have garnered many top honours. While the other Team horses will depart Canada on the 19th, Leanna and Sam have been in France for a couple of weeks, staying at Longues sur Mer Maryse et Jean-Pierre, “2km from the ocean so Sam can see waves!” “I have always wanted to represent my country and to do so with my partner, Sam, is amazing. To also help in promoting a sport which I find is the most natural for a horse and places the horse first in welfare is a bonus! Everyone should experience the incredible bond that develops with your horse doing all these miles in all terrain and weather. It is like nothing else.”

Kathy Irvine, with ‘riding roots’ in the Saskatchewan and Alberta prairie landscape, is partnered with an Arabian mare, Nightwind’s Savanah: “just enough of a (w)itch to be great”. This will be Kathy’s first experience as a rider at a WEG, but she has attended other major international competitions in various capacities as support crew. To Kathy, attending this WEG “means the culmination of 26 years of learning from my mentors, my horses, and from hard knocks. I would hardly dare to say I dreamed of this day, but in a corner of my mind I believed if I worked toward this goal the worst that could happen is that I would succeed. It means having the exquisite honour of being counted among the best Endurance riders and horses in the world. It’s a profound privilege to be finally competing with the best riders, crews, officials and veterinarians in Canada, and for Canada on a world class level.”

Jessica Manness, then a recreational rider, living in Thompson, MB, learned about the sport nearly a decade ago. Today, with her top horse, Greater Glider, Jessica is currently ranked as Number One in Canada and 13th in the FEI ranking world-wide. Outside of competition, Jessica is truly immersed in the equestrian community on all fronts: operating a boarding facility, distributing farm and horse supplies, hosting clinics to provide guidance for potential horse owners, and sitting on both provincial and national boards. “I’m really proud to be doing it. It’s been a lot of hard work. It’s been at least four years of building and building up from that. The trail is set up like the Tour de France where you go right through the middle of town, you go across bridges, and people have horns and streamers and stuff and they are all screaming from the sidelines. Glider’s not really used to that so that will probably be our biggest challenge.”

Yvette Vinton, a veterinarian by profession, loves this sport, and her life revolves around it, as her record clearly dictates; she has completed over forty 100 mile races and over 14,000 miles of competition. ‘Endurance’ has taken her around the globe: Dubai, Malaysia, France, Spain, United States, Brazil, Argentina and Chile – competing in World Equestrian Games, World Endurance Championships, Pan American and National Championships. Yvette will be riding a leased horse in France. WEG “will be a true test of team work between rider and horse (the trail will have some technical challenges - not just a flat race) and of staying safe at the start with 200 + riders all starting at the same time. Nothing could be a greater than being chosen as a Canadian Team Member to meet and compete with the world’s greatest Endurance equestrians – and a chance to meet and see the world’s best equestrians in ALL disciplines. This will be the most exciting 2 weeks of my life!

Team riders and horses will be accompanied and very ably supported by Team Canada Chef d’Equipe Maura Leahy, Team Canada Veterinarian Glenn Sinclair DVM and assistant Team Veterinarians Roxy Bell DVM and Dave Bell DVM. Maura explained: “We are on the final stretch to the 2014 WEG. Leanna and Sam are already in France, and Jessica & Glider and Kathy & Vanna are on their way today. Yvette’s Petit Loup d’Jolie, who is already in France, is waiting to welcome everyone to his home country. We have 4 absolutely incredible riders and horses combinations, along with an equally incredible support team consisting of 16 Grooms, Team Veterinarian, 2 Assistant Team Veterinarians, EC Discipline Manager and Chef – together we are going to be doing great things at the 2014 WEG Endurance race. We also have the support of the whole Canadian Equestrian Team (CET).” Glenn Sinclair, Team Canada Veterinarian, agreed: “We have a very strong team so stay tuned!”

‘Stay tuned’ before, during and after the race by following along on the Endurance Canada International Facebook page. Full biographies on our riders can be found on the Endurance Canada International page on the Equine Canada website. GO CANADA!!

4 Days till the 2014 WEG: Update from Meg Sleeper

August 24 2014

Six am came very early this
morning!! We spent most of it doing photographs of riders, riders with
horses, riders, horses and teams, etc. dressed in various donated
garb. It further emphasized how fabulous our supporters have been!!
Thank you again and again!!! We got done around noon and went riding
at the track and there was more bottle hand off practice (now with the
professional photographers), so hopefully there will be some good
pictures circulating from that session. For a late lunch, we stopped
by our new (as of today) favorite café in Genet (it is our second time
there, but the waitress is really lovely and we learned today that she
and her mother run it together). Jim also joined us for lunch and somehow it came up that our waitress is also a massage therapist. When Jim, with his dry sense of humor, asked if her hands were strong enough (she probably weighs 110 pounds soaking wet), she immediately replied “Wanna find out?” :)

We took Rev for a hand walk down to the beach late this afternoon. We finally got the trail map today and it looks like the trail will again run down along this section of beach (although in the opposite direction). I wanted to get a good look at the footing in the area although it’s still not possible to know exactly where they will mark the trail. Many, many local people and tourists are out walking or biking in this region that is a big vacation area, and several stopped to talk with us as we walked along with Rev, like a big dog. One gentleman who lives locally spoke with us for some time describing the duck blinds along the beech (I hadn’t noticed the ducks were decoys although we hear shots being fired every morning and we knew it was duck hunting). He also told us that they have had a lot more rain than normal and last month the entire beech was underwater. I can only imagine the anxiety of the organizing committee knowing that nearly 200 horses would be soon coming for an event and they didn’t have trail! He also said that the locals believe that if you can clearly see the Mont and Tombelaine (the other island in the bay), bad weather is coming. It was crystal clear this evening, which fits because they are calling for rain all day tomorrow, most days this week, and the day of the ride. I expect the organizers must still be pretty anxious because we have heard they are already re-routing trail because of mud. We were also stopped by three older people, whom did not speak any English, but were curious about Rev’s fly mask. I couldn’t remember the French word for “fly”, if I ever knew it, and we were left trying to pantomime a fly and explain sunburn (it is a long mask to protect her white nose from sunburning) with the only relevant word I remembered being “soleil” for “sun”. I think it worked…at least they were very nice when we parted so I don’t think I said anything terrible.

I am going to include some images I got from the opening ceremonies
as well as from our walk this afternoon to give you an idea of this
section of trail (and the duck decoys). Obviously the sections along
the coast are flat other than the dunes (some areas remind of grass
plains and they are actually called the “salt flats”, but some
sections are just like sandy beach). The sections of trail that are
inland are rolling with terrain very similar to Fair Hill, MD or
Lexington, KY.