UAE: Mansour wins Al Wathba Challenge endurance ride

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

UAE riders complete 1-2-3 sweep in five-stage race

Staff ReportPublished: 17:27 November 16, 2014

Abu Dhabi: Mansour Saeed Mohammad Al Faresi on Fenwick Sunset Tryst, a 10-year-old chestnut gelding, won the Al Wathba Challenge, a CEN 120-km endurance ride at the Emirates International Endurance Village, Al Wathba in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

A total number of 153 riders started the five-stage race with 58 completing the race.

Al Faresi completed the course in four hours 12 minutes and 54 seconds.

Shaikh Hamed Dalmouk Juma Al Maktoum on Printemps De Marot finished second in 04:15:25 while Rashid Ahmad Al Beloushi on Rivergum Drifter was third in a time of 04:16:06.

After the 1-2-3 sweep by UAE riders, India’s Shiv Singh Swaroop Singh on Quersick Niellans and the UAE’s Ahmad Mohammad Ahmad Belqaizi Al Falasi on Castlebar Tornedo finished fourth and fifth respectively...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/mansour-wins-al-wathba-challenge-endurance-ride-1.1413295

Great Britain: Bring your Ponies to the Golden Horseshoe

Endurancegb.co.uk - Full Story

by Nesta Oliver - (Published:10 November 2014)

When you decided to go into Endurance riding and started to think of what kind of horse to have, was your first thought, ‘I need an Arab’? or was it, ‘My cob/pony/hunter/shire or anything else I’ve got can do that’?

Back in the nineteen-eighties ‘my cob (etc) can do that’ is what most of us thought. The Arab as the ideal endurance horse had not been thought of. And those who thought ‘my cob can do that’ were right. In those days the Golden Horseshoe Ride was what everyone aimed for there was only one class, the one that is now called the Exmoor Stag: eighty/forty kilometers over two days. We worked in miles in those days so it was fifty/twenty five: it sounded easier with smaller numbers. In the eighties there were consistently between eighty and a hundred starters for that one class and everyone rode whatever horse or pony they had and knew how to get them fit.


So what happened? How did we get to entries of four or five horses for a competition that used to be thought of as the pinnacle of Endurance riding, available to all riders and all horses, not just the super brave and the elite? A lot has changed between then and now. There are far more competitions available nowadays so that is one reason perhaps, but here are a few others, and perhaps I can show you some reasons to come instead of not.


In the early nineteen-eighties, the minimum qualification for the Horseshoe was to complete one forty mile ride (sixty-four kilometers) and that was it. Nowadays we have to do more than just one ride to qualify, and sensibly so, because that makes sure that horses are fit enough by proving it in competition instead of just putting the miles in training on our own. But there is a difference in how we think of it. Now we call it ‘upgrading from Novice to Advanced’, and ‘Advanced’ sounds like something only the top people do: those with racing or international competition in mind. Remember those eighties? When anyone with any pony aspired to do the Horseshoe? Let’s look at the reality of upgrading because it’s not really so awesome. To get to Open you need three Novice completions; to get to advanced you only have to do two more rides, one of over sixty-four kilometers and one of eighty or more. That progression to advanced doesn’t sound huge when put like that, but we get frightened by that word ‘Advanced’, and we think it is...

Read more here:
http://endurancegb.co.uk/main/news#2014111001

Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad hails endurance young riders

Manama, Nov 8 (BNA) -- Ahmed Al Dossary won the Qualifying Endurance Race for 80km held yesterday at the Bahrain International Endurance Village in Zallaq.
The event was the opening round of the national endurance racing season, and it was held in the presence of Supreme Council for Youth and Sports Chairman, Bahrain Olympic Committee President and Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (BREEF) Honorary President Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who followed all the three stages of the race.

Rashid Al Rowaie came second overall, while Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa finished in third place.

In the first stage which covered a distance of 30km, Al Ruwaie on his horse Jamal from Al Zaeem Stables came first with a total time of 1h 12m 26s in an average speed of 24kph.

Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak on his horse Happy from Al Zaeem Stables came second with a total time of 1h 13m 12s with an average speed of 24kph, while Al Dossary on his horse Khamon from Al Zaeem Stables came third with a total time of 1h 13m 52s with an average speed of 24kph.

The second stage was also with a distance of 30km, and Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak came first with a total time of 1h 14m 06s with an average speed of 24kph.

Al Rowaie came second with a total time of 1h 15m 11s with an average speed of 23kph, while Al Dossary came third with a total time of 1h 14m 10s with an average speed of 24kph.

The third and last stage of the race was over a 20km distance, and Al Dossary came first with a total time of 41m 03s with an average speed of 25kph. Al Rowaie came second with a total time of 41m 29s and an average speed of 25kph, while Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak came third with a total time of 41m 50s with an average speed of 25kph.

On this occasion, Shaikh Nasser assured that the opening endurance ride of the season was very strong in all stages, and what made it strong was the participation of Bahrain’s finest riders from start to finish.

Shaikh Nasser expressed his delight with the entry of many young riders, which confirms that endurance riding in the kingdom is capable of producing a fine field of stars, riders who will be able to continue their march of progress.

Shaikh Nasser noted that BREEF has planned for years to ensure the entry of young participants in endurance races.

He said that the next races will see stronger competition from the stables.

He expressed his satisfaction with the results achieved by the participants at the opening race of the season.

Al Dossary explained that taking the win in the season’s opening race makes him proud, especially since all the other stables and riders were seeking to win as well. He praised the significant role of each member of his team management in helping him to claim his win.


MJ
BNA Article

New Zealand: Latta intent on returning to world endurance champs

ODT.co.nz - Full Article

By Steve Hepburn on Wed, 5 Nov 2014

Susie Latta admits it was a long way to go to not even complete the event but she says she enjoyed every moment of it.
And the Nenthorn Valley horsewoman is determined to return in four years' time.

Latta and her horse, Tkiwa, were reunited on the Latta farm last week after the mare came out of quarantine following her return from the World Equestrian Games in France in late August.

The duo competed in the endurance race at the World Equestrian Games near Normandy but did not finish the 160km event.

But Latta was far from disgraced in not finishing - only 37 out of 170 competitors managed to reach the finish line, in what was a race of attrition...

Read more here:
http://www.odt.co.nz/sport/equestrian/322316/equestrian-latta-intent-returning-world-endurance-champs

Qatar: WAHO 14 Conference Speakers Announced

Horsereporter.com - Full Article

by Pamela Burton
October 21 2014

Under the patronage of H. H. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani, special advisor to H.H. Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, a team of internationally renowned experts with specialist knowledge in a wide range of subjects including equine welfare and behavioral studies, and genetics and cultural heritage, will assemble in Qatar for the 2014 World Arabian Horse Organization (WAHO) conference which begins on Monday, 10 November.

The Qatar Foundation and the Qatar National Research Fund are supporting two presentations to be delivered by Prof. Tadeusz Majda and Dr. Doug Antczak attending from Poland and the USA respectively, who will be joined by speakers from France and the United Kingdom...

Read more here:
http://www.horsereporter.com/2014/10/21/waho-14-conference-speakers-announced/

Australia: Discover a hidden gem at St Albans in the MacDonald Valley on Sydney’s doorstep

Heraldsun.com.au - Full Article

DAVID FITZSIMONS BEST WEEKEND EDITOR AT LARGE
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH NOVEMBER 03, 2014

Abandoned. Overgrown. A pile of rubble with only a warning sign about its dangers for company.

The foundation stone had been laid in 1839 but the building was used for only a few years as its intended purpose — a Catholic church.

Two monks later moved in — but they were gone within five years. And then a bushfire destroyed its shingle roof.

It soon became the forgotten building in the Forgotten Valley.

The area’s correct name is the Macdonald Valley and it’s barely 90 minutes — but a world away — from suburban Sydney.

It traces its settlement history back to the First Fleet but when quicker road-rail access from Sydney to Newcastle was built, the valley became a backwater — hence its Forgotten Valley moniker.

The forgotten building, St Joseph’s Church, stood as a silent sentinel on a hill overlooking the valley for more than 160 years but now, like several other buildings in the valley, it has been restored and rebuilt to offer accommodation to the increasing number of people seeking a weekend getaway from the city.

Today the valley is also a delightful place for a day trip from Sydney — lush paddocks nestle up to the wide expanses of the Macdonald River between historic bridges; old buildings — many still in ruins — dot the landscape and there’s even roadside art, including a farm with fake animals around a waterhole...

Read more here:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/travel/australia/discover-a-hidden-gem-at-st-albans-in-the-macdonald-valley-on-sydneys-doorstep/story-fnjjv02g-1227108117370?nk=1175b042a973303e1193985915d7c6bb

France: 2014 Montcuq

The 38th edition of the 2-day CEI 3* Montcuq ride concluded on November 2, with France's Stephanie Arnal riding Qalife D'Aurabelle winning in a combined time of 10:41.27. Second place with a combined time of 10:46.07 was France's Edmee Merlin riding Zarafa De L'Hom. Third place went to another French rider, Lauriane Recoules aboard Guarfao De Bozouls, in 10:46.49.

Montcuq is one of the most famous endurance rides in the world, being as famous in Europe as USA's Tevis Cup and Australia's Tom Quilty. The trail has changed little over the years, and the history of the race is intimately linked to endurance riding in Europe. Pierre Passemard began organizing endurance riding in France in 1976, founding with Denis Letartre and others the French Equestrian Association Races Endurance, which organized the first endurance ride in France, the 100-km Rodez ride in 1977. The same year, the Florac and the 2-day Montcuq rides were established.

59 started this year's 2-day Montcuq ride; 40 completed the first day, and 26 completed both days. Complete results here:
http://www.2jdemontcuq.com/2-jours-de-montcuq-classement-general.html