Namibia Dominates Africa Endurance Champs

Allafrica.com - Full Article

3 September 2014

Namibia dominated the African Endurance Championships which took place in and around Walvis Bay last week by winning three of the four individual and team titles on offer.

Competing against South Africa, Namibia won the Heavyweight, Junior weight and No weight categories over 122km but for the first time in recent years lost the Standard weight category.

About 60 South African riders and 110 Namibian riders took part in the championships which started in Walvis Bay and included various loops to the salt pans, to the lagoon and through the dunes.

Namibia's George Wessels on Kalharabi Romeo won the individual heavyweight category in a total time of six hours 41 minutes 13 seconds, finishing more than 10 minutes ahead of compatriot Pierre de Wit on Dr Pepper (6:51:30), while Rex Barnard of South Africa on Rexette Missy came third in 6:51:35.

The times of each country's top three riders were taken into account for the team competition, with Namibia winning the gold medal ahead of South Africa...

Read more here:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201409031394.html

Australia: 2014 Shahzada

9/3/2014

The 34th annual Shahzada, "the ultimate test in horsemanship" was run August 25-29 in historic St Albans, New South Wales, Australia. The ultimate test is held over 400 km over 5 days, and you get a completion and placing only if you finish all 5 days.

This year there were 57 entries; 27 completed all 5 days.

First place was Ian Curtis and Blakes Heaven Summer Wind in a total time of 35:02 for the 5 days. Second was Narelle Childs and Halo Kazaam in 35:56.

Four juniors completed the marathon, with Josephine Jansen and Windaroo Devina Glamour finishing 4th. Fifteenth place Karen Rhodes received her 19th Shahzada buckle. Sixteenth placed Marg Boland and Rosebrae Cameo won the Best Managed Award.

Riders had to deal with occasional showers, and heavy overnight rain for the second day. "The already tough terrain became almost impossible when rain made the course and river crossing nearly impassable," the Shahzada website reported. Some of the course had to be re-routed for the horses' and riders' safety.

For complete results, see http://www.shahzadaresults.org/14entry.htm

Australia: Bendigo horse riders win Granite Rock 80km endurance event

Bendigoadvertiser.com.au - Full Article

By Raelee Tuckerman
Sept. 3, 2014

TWO Bendigo horse riders and their steeds showed great stamina as they led the field home in the recent equestrian endurance competition at Lexton.

Vincent Comer and Angela Nicholls rode side-by-side to take out their divisions of the 80km Granite Rock event.

Comer - who runs the Campaspe Valley Arabians stud in Axedale - won the heavyweight title on Aloha Zabit, completing the distance in 6:28 hours.

Nicholls, who rides for Comer and was competing in only her second 80km endurance test, was victorious in the lightweight section aboard Miss Pasha...

Read more here:
http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/2533865/endurance-riders-prevail/?cs=3380

Olson Overcomes Testing Trail as Standout U.S. Competitor

Diana DeRosa Photo
USET.org

By USEF - ALL DISCIPLINE - Posted September 2, 2014

Sartilly, France - On Thursday morning, 165 horse-and-rider combinations set out on the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games endurance course. Covering stretches of sandy beaches, wooded trails, and town streets, Jeremy Olson (La Motte, Iowa), riding his and Amy Wallace-Whelan's Wallace Hill Shade, were one of only 38 combinations to complete the trying course.

Rain throughout the week created difficult footing, leaving teams to strategize how best to handle the 160 km trail.

Coming through the first vet gate, Olson was in 51st place. He took the course steadily throughout the day, a strategy which allowed him to climb the ranks by the end, finishing in 31st place with a time of 10:46:16.

Riding his entire life, Olson grew up around the sport of endurance with both his parents and sister being active competitors. Olson was placed on the team as an alternate; however, after teammate Meg Sleeper decided it would be in the best interest of her mount, Syrocco Reveille, to be withdrawn from competition, Olson was ready to make his World Equestrian Games debut.

Coming into the Championship, Olson had a second-place finish in the Broxton Bridge Fundraiser CEI3* riding Wallace Hill Shade. He then scored a win in the CEI1* at the Zone Team Endurance Challenge with Noslo's RRenaldo.

Fellow U.S. Endurance combinations were unable to overcome the challenges Thursday would pose, as they were withdrawn at vet gates throughout the day, ensuring the horse's welfare was held as the utmost priority.

Spain was victorious in the Team Championship to take home the Gold medal with a total combined time of 28:56:02. France claimed the team Silver medal and Switzerland earned the Bronze medal.

The Individual Gold medal was awarded to Sheik Hamdan bin Mohamed Al Maktoum, who rode his mare, Yamamah, in a total time of 8:08:28. Marijke Visser and Laiza de Jalima earned the Silver medal, and Bronze went to Abdulrahman Saad A.S.Al Sulaiteen riding Koheilan Kincso.

New Jersey endurance rider does not get to compete at the World Equestrian Games

NJ.com - Full Article

By Hunterdon County Democrat
on September 02, 2014

Margaret Sleeper of Kingwood Township, N.J. was slated to make her third FEI World Equestrian Games appearance in Normandy, France on Aug. 28, with her own Syrocco Reveille. However, after being accepted at the first Horse Inspection on Aug. 27, it was decided by Sleeper, in consultation with the Chef d'Equipe and Team Veternarian, that it would be in the best interest of Syrocco Reveille to be withdrawn from competition.

In 2012 Sleeper was part of the Endurance World CHampionships in The United Kingdon, UK moving onto the squad as a replacement member and turning in the best performance of all U.S. combinations...

Read more here:
http://www.nj.com/horsenews/2014/09/endurance_rider_sidelined.html

2014 WEG: The course and the approach of the organizers

Endurance-belgium.com

9/3/2014
by Leonard Liesens
Caroll Gatelier photos

The course was tough and dangerous in some places. All riders, even the ones achieving a good placing, were unanimous - of course, the riders eliminated are often tending to complaining about this and that.

Portions very technical during the first stage (this with of courses fresh and sometimes excited horses, sometimes ridden by inexperienced riders), swamps during the second stage (this definition was used by JF Francès, the French rider completed 8th), very wet and knee-deep muddy places and of course lots of lost shoes.

The weather conditions from the previous days annihilated all efforts to present a nice course. Jean Louis Leclerc (former French chef d’equipe) was running into despair and pulling his last hairs (sorry, Jean-Louis, I know, it’s easy and naughty) while looking at the sky. On top of that, it was pouring with rain the night before the start. So the competition did not augur well...

But... but... there were many and repeated requests during the chef d’equipe meetings to reduce the minimal speed back to a more decent value. In the beginning (in the schedule) it was said that EACH VETGATE had a closing time (calculate on 15 km/h). During the last meeting, they accepted (after a lot of pressure) to enforce ONLY after the 3rd vetgate this minimal speed. Already better as smart riders could better cope with that on a 100km distance than at each loop - the first stage was the most difficult!!!

Unfortunately, the organizing commitee didn’t want to listen to the requests from the “small nations”’s chefs d’equipe. “If the conditions were to become really tough, the minimal speed would be reviewed, as it is stated in the regulations”… This was the short and final answer from the president of the ground jury. No comments from the technical delegate. So, that’s too bad, let’s then go and run our horse into the ground...

Seing the outcome of the race and considering the tactic adopted by the various countries, it was very clear that the ‘small’ nations were frightened by this minimal speed at 15 km/h. Many went too fast, took too many risks during the initial stage. The horses were fresh, of course, and at this stage the effects on the metabolic do not show… that come later, for some already after the second loop, and for many many others after the third loop. But if, let’s say, it was announced FROM THE BEGINNING, that the speed was 13 km/h, these riders would have managed differently. They would have slowed down in the mud, recollected their horses when approaching the turns, reduced the pace. Maybe they wouldn’t have completed the 160 km, but this slaughter during 2nd and 3rd vetgate wouldn’t have taken place.

Alas ! It’s only after the second loop that the minimal speed has been reviewed, back to 14 km/h. It was too late, the damage was already done. Was had been taken from the horses’s reserves couldn’t be refueled.

Of course, we do not have the same tactic as we plan to race at 13 km/h in place of 15 km/h. This was not understood by either the president of jury or the technical delegate (when was the last time they rode in endurance…). The riders who rushed at the start and cruised in the lead wouldn’t have changed anything, that’s for sure. But others, the riders who came to get an honorable completion! Impossible for a chef d’equipe or any rider to guess at what speed to ride, the stats from last year were not applicable.

The worst in that : the organizers, the chef de piste, the technical delegate have seen the course the day before. They normally knew about the hazards, the possible effects of the humid weather, etc. Because we know that Normandy and rain are good friends. We know about the rain in Belgium too and therefore we take this parameter into account when drawing a circuit.

The reality became obvious to the riders only in the morning, when they discovered the trail. Many were already worried when practicing the days before on the white loop, the training track of 10km. Already after the second loop, there were many eliminations. And the biggest contingent felt after the third one. Most of the eliminations were due to metabolic reasons and this has never been seen before!

The French team was smart enough and patient. They didn’t run into panic while many competitors were ahead of them. They did well in the rough terrain, they are good riders, they ride good horses, they were cautious in the difficult portions. Perfection.

Spain made full profit of its two jackrabbits , Punti and Arboix completing 5th and 6th after a perfect race. The third nation was Switzerland taking advantage of the outstanding result (4th place) of Barbara Lissarague who has the double nationality French/Swiss. The two other Swiss riders rode all the time at 15 km/h to clinch the bronze. Of course, they were lucky that every other nation broke, but don’t you need luck in order to win?

United States was claiming for victory, well this is was could be read in the press before the competition. They went back, tail between the legs. They went too fast.

Belgium was presented as a good pretender for a team medal. But they lost a first rider at the second vetgate, then two and their illusions at the same time at the third vetgate.

There were no other nation except the three on the podium able to classify one team, which speaks for itself.

So what will remain from this WEG ? The nice footage broadcasted by Dubai TV, the victory of SH Hamdam and the second place of Marijke Visser on a borrowed UAE horse (is that a sign of the times), the death of the Costa Rica’s horse.

More photos at http://www.endurance-belgium.com/

Australia's Alexandra Toft shines in World Equestrian Games endurance ride

Weeklytimesnow.com.au - Full Article

FRAN CLELAND THE WEEKLY TIMES
SEPTEMBER 01, 2014

ALEXANDRA Toft, one of the youngest riders in the World Equestrian Games endurance ride, was one of only 38 riders from more than 170 starters to finish the challenging 160km event.

Only three countries finished the event with a full team.

Toft, a member of Australia’s first all-female WEG Australian endurance team, finished 19th with a time of 10:11:23.

She had better fortunes than her mother and fellow team member, Penny Toft, who retired early after her stirrup leather broke.

Penny was unable to get immediate help and the setback left her 15km behind the field so she retired.

“Finishing in the top 20 was my goal from the outset,” Alexandra said...

Read more here:
http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/sport/horses/alexandra-toft-shines-in-world-equestrian-games-endurance-ride/story-fnkivs7w-1227044106783