2014 WEG: Conditions Improve during Endurance Race

Normandy2014.com



Thursday 28 August 2014 - 16h58

Halfway during the day ground conditions on the Endurance track of the World Equestrian Games championship in Sartilly/ France were improving. 

“It is getting better,” reported Jean-Philippe Frances after passing the third loop, getting ready for two more to go. “The first two loops were terrible”, the most experienced French rider said. Frances came fourth in the individual ranking at Lexington 2010, winning the best condition award. For Normandy2014 he is putting faith in his anglo arab gelding Secret De Mon Coeur, who is the youngest horse in the French team.

2014 WEG Live Endurance Update: Bronze title defenders Germany out of the race

Sartilly, France--Aug. 28


Thursday 28 August 2014 - 14h50

That was a short hundred miles for the defending bronze title holders from Germany at the Endurance race of the World Equestrian Games 2014 in Normandy. After completing 73 kilometres the team was already destroyed, leaving only one of the five riders in competition.

Sabrina Arnold, vice European champion, was the first victim. Her horse Saltan developed metabolic problems and she decided to go straight to her own veterinary doctor  instead of presenting for official inspection. Jenny Stemmler’s horse Radja D’Aurabelle took a wrong step on the road and fell lame while Nabab La Majorie for Belinda Hitzler had too high a pulse. Senior team rider Dr. Gabriela Förster (56) withdrew Priceless Gold voluntarily. “I knew that it would be difficult and tough. It is better not to continue.” Sabrina Arnold’s older sister Melanie is the last one standing from the team at Lexington 2010. Heavy rainfall over days before the competition had influenced the footing, forcing the horses through deep mud. The organizers responded by lowering the average speed from 15 to 14 kilometres per hour.

2014 WEG Live Endurance Update: Costa Rican horse and rider suffer fall

Sartilly, France--Aug. 28 - 10h43

Costa Rican combination Claudia Romero Chacon and Dorado suffered a fall during the first loop of the endurance competition of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games shortly after 8:30 a.m. local time. The pair fell 400 meters before the first checkpoint on course, and the horse was fatally injured in the fall. The rider was also injured but was conscious when she was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

An update on Romero's condition will be provided as soon as it's available.

The Fédération Equestre Internationale released the following statement:
"The FEI has conducted an immediate investigation into the circumstances of this tragic accident and the investigation shows that the horse struck a tree at the side of the track in a forested area. The horse sustained a head injury and died instantly. There are no signs that the horse slipped prior to the impact."

Conditions in Sartilly are muddy thanks to wet weather over the last week.

Romero and Dorado finished third in April at the Canas CEI*** (Costa Rica). Dorado (Siroko--Catrina, Rey Mago), owned by Jorge Eduardo Vargas Jenkins, was 12.

Bahrain riders ready for world endurance

Gulf-daily-news.com

August 27 2014

SUPREME Council for Youth and Sports Chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee President Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa will lead some of Bahrain's finest riders at the World Endurance Ride Championship, to be held tomorrow at Normandy, France.

The championship, which consists of five races over 160km, will see riders from 47 countries. The Bahrain team members are lined up in all five rides.

Shaikh Nasser will lead the Bahrain Royal Endurance team which consists of Shaikh Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Raed Mahmood, Jaffar Merza and Isa Bu Hazza.

The event will take place at the area which saw historical events during World War 2.

Read more here:
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=384728

Oman’s riders gear up for Endurance Cup

Timesofoman.com

August 27 2014

Normandy: Oman's endurance team is participating in the World Cup finals of endurance, being held in the French city of Normandy.

Forty-nine countries are participating in the tournament. While 34 countries will compete in the team category, 15 will compete in the individual category. As many as 348 horses will participate, with five riders for each team.

The Sultanate's participation in the World Cup finals of endurance comes as part of the World Equestrian Games, which will have the participation of 60 countries, competing in eight events.

It is the Sultanate's first participation in the World Equestrian Games.

Global event
Sayyid Monther bin Saif bin Hamad Al Busaidi, chairman of Oman Equestrian Federation said that the World Equestrian Games, which began on Wednesday, is a prestigious global event and Oman's team is taking part in the tournament for this reason.

The Omani riders seek to repeat the achievement of the Royal Cavalry in the World Cup 2012 in Britain when they won the third place and the bronze medal.

2014 WEG: New format will test horse and rider

Gulfnews.cm - Full Article

Endurance competition is the biggest in the history of the World Equestrian Games

By Leslie Wilson Jr, Racing & Special Features Writer
Published: 19:29 August 27, 2014

Dubai: The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) has developed a new format and measures that will both test the riders and also improve the welfare of endurance horses when the marathon event takes place on Thursday.

Held over 160km, the endurance ride is one of the biggest events at the World Equestrian Games, which are currently taking place in Normandy, France.

More than 1,000 riders and horses from over 70 countries are competing at the two-week extravaganza including first-timers from Peru, Palestine and Kazakhstan.

The endurance competition, which is the biggest in the history of the event, is attracting a lot of attention.

A total of 260 riders representing 49 countries will be seen in action, among them past winners, new riders, old horses and new horses...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/new-format-will-test-horse-and-rider-1.1377432?utm_content=1.1377432&utm_medium=RSS&utm_source=Feeds&utm_campaign=New_format_will_test_horse_and_rider&localLinksEnabled=false&utm_term=Sport_RSS_feed

Rain test awaits UAE endurance team in Normandy

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Endurance trainer Esmail Mohammad hopes hard work will pay off

By Leslie Wilson Jr, Racing & Special Features Writer
Published: 18:27 August 27, 2014

Dubai: Endurance trainer Esmail Mohammad expects the hard work put in by the UAE team during the summer to pay off when the five-member squad compete in the gruelling showpiece event at the FEI Alltech Equestrian Games at Normany on Thursday.

Led by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, the defending champions take on some of the world’s best endurance riders in the 160 metre event, which for the first time, will be held over five loops.

Mohammad understands that it takes more than just practice to excel at this level of competition and is also hoping that the individual horse skills of each rider will hold them in good stead.

“The team have been practicing very hard all summer, at various endurance sites across Europe,” he told Gulf News. “The acclimatisation is important but nothing can prepare you for the conditions that you will encounter on the day of the ride...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/rain-test-awaits-uae-endurance-team-in-normandy-1.1377405