Local equestrian sees team effort in endurance race as 'absolute honor'

NEW RINGGOLD — The bond between a local girl and her horse led a team to victory Aug. 21 at the Federation Equestre Internationale North American Endurance Team Challenge in Ontario, Canada.

“It was an absolute honor to qualify. I wasn’t expecting it. The athletic power of my horse is just incredible,” Emily Stemmler, 21, of New Ringgold, said Tuesday.

The 75-mile race through the Ganaraska Canadian Forest involved riding four phases of color-coded trails through various terrain with gaits varying from walk, trot and cantor to gallop.

“It was a more technical trail, but I’m used to riding trails around here with hills,” Stemmler said. “Faveur is extremely good at cantering up and down these hills, so it was exciting to go past people. The sheer athletic ability of my horse is incredible.”

Stemmler rode Faveur, a 9-year-old Asgard Arabian gelding, through the finish line in seventh place, combined with the scores of her two teammates, Meg Sleeper, Virginia, who placed first, and Katherine Gardener, Rhode Island, who finished eighth. The race began at 6:30 a.m. and all had to complete the race before 7:30 p.m. to avoid team disqualification.

Seven riders represented the northeastern region of the country in the race, but participants came from as far as California, Ireland, Israel and Romania.

“It was really cool. You encounter people from California, Texas and Alberta, Canada, and you all have the same passion of horses and riding,” Stemmler said. “Endurance is a little different in the sense that everyone is out to finish first and then after that is the competition. Everybody is looking out for each other riding through.”

Each phase of the race was separated by mandatory holds, or rest periods.

“It’s just something that the horse has to do on their own. Faveur did amazing with it,” Stemmler said.

A crew was assigned to each rider to get the horses heart rate below 64 beats per minute as quickly as possible. Horses were checked by an official veterinarian before the horse and rider could continue.

Stemmler has completed a couple 50-mile rides and three 75-mile rides before, so she and Faveur were prepared.

Horses and riders needed to complete five rides through American Endurance Ride Conference, National Federation for Endurance, then complete a 50-mile FEI ride to be eligible to ride at the 75-mile FEI level at NAETC.

FEI is an elite branch of endurance that is internationally recognized and has its own specific regulations and registrations for both horse and rider.

The scariest part of the race was at the starting gate for Stemmler.

“The starting gate is where it’s most nerve wracking. Forty-two horses go out at a trot and sometimes a gallop,” Stemmler said.

Hills proved most difficult for the horses, but Faveur was used to them.

“The toughest part was hills for horses,” Stemmler said. “The trail was mostly all forested with flat ground and hills so there was a lot of up-and-down movement. Compared to terrain around here, I wouldn’t consider it as hard. The hills here are more rocky. This was more sandy.”

Stemmler has been riding Faveur for three years.

“I love this horse. I absolutely love him, he is incredible,” Stemmler said. “I’ve done all but two endurance rides on him. He’s a very independent horse.

“He takes care of me when I ride. If something is wrong with me he just knows and he’ll turn around. He trusts me because he knows I’m taking care of him, too. I never have to worry about him taking off on me.”

Faveur is not an affectionate horse when first confronted, Stemmler said.

“It definitely took time to build up, but after you go that many miles it kind of just develops,” she said.

Faveur, owned by Holly Corcoran, was bred for endurance races.

“He was already trained before I started riding him. From birth, he was bread for endurance and given the best possible advantage,” Stemmler said.

... full article, Republican Herald

FEI database being updated in wake of so-called “phantom races”

Changes are under way to the FEI database as the fallout from the so-called phantom endurance races in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continues.

The UAE national federation was provisionally suspended last March following an investigation by the FEI into what it called major horse welfare issues and non-compliance with the rules in endurance.

Around the same time, evidence emerged of UAE endurance races for which blocks of results in the FEI database appeared to mirror those of earlier races. This issue was unrelated to the suspension.

Read More ...

Endurance in young rider’s blood as she takes on overseas competition

Long haul: Alex Toft, pictured with Magnum and her dog Perry Winkle, has been riding since age two. Picture: Sue Crockett

THERE’S never been any doubt that Alexandra Toft, 20, would take up endurance riding.

Her parents, Penny and Peter, run a successful endurance horse stable at Marburg in Queensland and compete internationally.

Toft has been riding since she was two and completed her first endurance event at seven.

She is just back in Australia after competing at San Rosorre, Pisa, Italy, in a 120km FEI two star young riders event.

She finished in a very creditable sixth place on the Toft’s home-bred mare, Dream Dancer TE.

There were 17 riders from Italy and Europe, five riders from the Middle East including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, with one Australian in a field of 24 horses.

The race was won by a United Arab Emirates entrant at 22km per hour.

The first four places went to the Emirates, fifth to France and sixth to Toft.

Toft has represented Australia on four occasions at two World Youth Endurance Championships, receiving a team bronze medal in Abu Dhabi in 2011.

She also competed at the World Equestrian Games endurance test event in Sartilly, France, in 2013.

Her mount in the San Rosorre ride, Dream Dancer TE, has been stabled in France for three years and is trained by Jean Michel Grimal.

It was the first competitive race for the 11-year-old mare, who finished strongly at an average of 20.3km per hour.

“Dream Dancer TE was fresh at the end in a gallop finishing with the first of many local Italian riders,” Toft said.

“I was very excited with the ride and proud of my horse — she pulled up amazingly.

“It was a great experience riding among the world’s best.

“This was an important race in Dream Dancer’s career and will set her up for future competitions, she is a pleasure to ride and I am confident she will be a champion.”

Other events contested over the weekend included an FEI two-star 120km event and an FEI three-star 160km event.

Full article at The Weekly Times

30 horses disqualified as FEI begins clean-up of ‘phantom’ endurance rides

Thirty horses, the majority trained in 13 stables owned by the ruling Maktoum and Nayhan families, have been disqualified from the UAE’s most onerous endurance race, the 160km President’s Cup, as the clean-up of the “phantom” rides begins.

The FEI has commenced the marathon task of deleting 15 faked rides from its database, and adjusting results of real races whose participants were not qualified to start.

The 30 horses represent 20% of the President’s Cup starters. They include the runner-up, Kalifa, ridden by Suhail Al Ghailani. Hadeer, the ride of world champion Sheikh Hamdan, was not qualified for this or his previous two races with other riders.

Read more ...

Meg Sleeper Places First in North American Endurance Team Challenge

Horsereporter.com - Full Article

by Pamela Burton

28 August 2015 – Canada ~ The 2015 North American Endurance Team Challenge (NAETC), was held 21 August 2015 at Cayuse Creek Ranch in Millbrook, Ontario, Canada. Held every two years, NAETC welcomed competitors from Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Meg Sleeper (US) on her homebred Shyrocco Rimbaud (Rim) won the Seniors 120km ride in a ride time of 6:50:34 with Jeremy Reynolds (US) on Bound for Honor coming in six minutes later. Melody Blittersdorf (US) on Synthetic finished in third with a ride time of 7:26:34. Fourth was Tom Haggis on Indian Reinman, The highest placed Canadian individual in the senior division was fifth place Robert Gielen riding 6 yo Arabian gelding More Bang For Your Buck (Doran x Forty Thieves).

The first ten riders came in within a ride time of 8:46:46. The ride finished 23 Senior riders and 9 Junior/Young Riders. The last Senior rider, Nancy Zukewich riding Nightwind’s Classic Whiskee finished in a ride time of slightly over 11 hours...

Read more here:
http://www.horsereporter.com/2015/08/28/meg-sleeper-places-first-in-north-american-endurance-team-challenge/

NZ’s endurance championships reduced to two days

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

Horsetalk.co.nz | 29 August 2015

New Zealand’s championship endurance rides will be reduced to two-day events on a trial basis as a cost-saving measure.

Events affected include the North Island, South Island and National Championship rides, which cost up to $40,000 each to run.

In a communication to members this week, the country’s endurance board said that based on the 2015 Nationals budget, reducing a ride to two days would save up to $7000, “reduce metabolic issues and condense sponsor exposure and impact”...

Read more: http://horsetalk.co.nz/2015/08/29/nz-endurance-championships-two-days/#ixzz3kOw69ySJ

Canadians Capture Three Medals at 2015 North American Endurance Team Challenge

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

August 28, 2015
by: Equine Canada

Canadian endurance athletes captured a total of three medals at the 2015 North American Endurance Team Challenge (NAETC), held August 21, 2015 at Cayuse Creek Ranch in Millbrook, ON.

Canada fielded five teams for the 2015 NAETC, which is an FEI sanctioned endurance competition held bi-annually, and attracting competitors from Canada, Mexico and the United States.

In the senior division, featuring a CEI 2* 120km race, the North East Mid Atlantic Menace Team from the U.S. took gold, while the Canada East A Team finished silver, followed by the U.S. Central Team in bronze...

Read more here:
http://www.horse-canada.com/horse-news/canadians-capture-three-medals-at-2015-north-american-endurance-team-challenge/