Italy: Za'amah reigns supreme

Khaleejtimes.com - Full Article

September 28 2015

Al Mazroui guides Descarado to victory in Italy

Saeed Mohammed Khalifa Al Mehairbi on Za'amah won the Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Endurance Cup 100km ride with Bahrain's Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa on Kelallie de la Cure and Fahad Al Khatri second and third respectively at the Italian Endurance Festival 2015 in Verona, Italy on Saturday.

In the Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies Cup, the UAE won the bronze in the team competition behind France and hosts Italy.

Meanwhile, Saif Ahmed Al Mazroui on Descarado won the Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival-sponsored FEI World Championship for Young Horses.

Al Mazroui staved off strong challenge from the Spanish and Italian riders as he negotiated the scenic but challenging course adjoining the Garda River in Segurta Park in five hours 26 minutes and 56 seconds at an average time of 22.02kmph...

Read more here:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/sport/horse-racing/zaamah-reigns-supreme

Great Britain: Usk horse rider who tackled 100 miles in one day set to host talk

Freepressseries.com - Full Article

Hayley Mills / Tuesday 22 September 2015

AN USK rider who competed in one of the world’s toughest horse races will be speaking about her experiences next month.

Consultant gynaecologist, Charlie Fleming, competed in the Tevis Cup, in the USA, in August.

The 24-hour 100-mile endurance ride through the Crystal Range of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, is the toughest and most challenging endurance ride in the world, with only around half of all entrants finishing.

She became interested in endurance when she bought her first horse in 2004.

She said: “I was attracted by the combination of map reading in remote areas, horse physiology and pretending to be Dr Doolittle.

“Since then it’s become a passion and I’ve risen from novice, open, through to advanced and now I compete at FEI international level."

Five years ago she had breast cancer and now says she lives to seize the moment...

Read more here:
http://www.freepressseries.co.uk/news/13777529.Usk_horse_rider_who_tackled_100_miles_in_one_day_set_to_host_talk/

European Endurance Championships 2015, Samorin

Endurance-belgium.com - Full Article

by Leonard Liesens

Belgium in disarray. Spain unreachable. France has reasons to worry. Netherlands at their highest.

The Chefs d’equipe claiming for medals of any color must start to worry, would they speak French or another language. Because Spaniards have been reaching summits of perfection in all domains. The time of one Spanish couple above the others is over. Done! Now we have to fight against an armada – that’s saying a lot – of riders, horses and grooms highly organized and working very hard to achieve their goal. And be sure that behind the Arboix, Punti or Luque, there are a lot of others, ready for the fight.

They took the start at the back of the venue, along the Danube and went very fast from the beginning. The first stage of 40km was bringing the horses to a vetgate in the countryside near the footstep of the Carpathians. Even if this stage wasn’t really totalizing 40km, the speed was impressive. The gap between the leaders and others was already reaching 7 minutes. On the trail they (the Spaniards, Frances, Visser and two Hungarians) were cruising at 23 km/h. The four French riders were already left 7 minutes behind.

Then came the second stage, that everyone was qualifying as tough and technical, heading toward the foothills of the Carpathians. It didn’t seem to slow down too much the leaders; they did it at 18 km/h, way faster than during the preride. The Spanish riders Luque and Cervera had slowed down a bit and were 3 minutes behind the leading group. The French riders arrived at the vetgate 15 minutes later. On top of that, they lost Mosti, lame at the trotting. The Belgians were starting their retreat, losing two riders, Bastijns(flutter) and Boulanger(lameness).

The Finnish amazone Huovinen and the Swedish Henrikson were doing very well, together with the French. Both will finish in the Top Ten, even before the French riders. Henrikson has a good competitive horse, like her compatriot Sara Erikson but the latter was not able to complete. The Finnish rider, on the other hand, was unknown for many. She is living in Spain, so she did learn from the best. Another performance to underline is from the Croatian rider Iva Lipovac, completing 13th with her small looking like a mustang horse...

More story and photos here:
http://endurance-belgium.com/n-competitions/15samorin.htm

Bromont WEG Announces New CEO

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

September 15, 2015
by: Horse-Canada.com

The Board of directors of the 2018 World Equestrian Games announces the appointment of its new chief executive officer, Mr. Luc Fournier, taking over from Paul Côté, who has accepted a new challenge.

“Three years before the Games, his talent and his large experience in major events will renew the energy of the team and he can count on our full support and confidence” said François Duffar, chairman of the Board...

Read more here:
http://www.horse-canada.com/horse-news/bromont-weg-announces-new-ceo/?utm_source=Enews+Sept+21%2C+2015&utm_campaign=EnewsSept212015&utm_medium=email

UAE: Shaikh Rashid a world champ in endurance - 1981-2015

Khaleejtimes.com

KT Report/Dubai
Filed on September 20, 2015

Shaikh Rashid was a gold medallist in the endurance championship at the Asian Games in Doha in 2006 at the individual level, and also a member of the team which clinched the overall gold.

The UAE National Olympic Committee (UAE NOC) paid tributes to Shaikh Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum who passed away on Saturday morning. Shaik Rashid, a true horseman, raised the UAE flag high in the international arena.

Abdul Rahman Al Owais, vice president, UAE NOC and chairman of the Executive Council, expressed his deep grief over the huge loss of Shaikh Rashid, describing him as a true horseman who has done honour for his nation and raised the national flag in international events. Owais said Shaikh Rashid would remain to be remembered as an honourable and competent sportsman.

Al Owais extended condolences to His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, praying to Allah Almighty to rest his soul in paradise.

"Shaikh Rashid has left behind a brilliant sports career achieved during his lifetime," he added.

UAE NOC adviser and secretary-general Mohammed Al Kamali said, the late Shaikh Rashid was a champ and a horseman who was keen to represent his country in as many events as possible. He won trophies and accolades in continental and global events, not to mention his crowning moment in the World Endurance Championships in 1998/1999, with the highest rank in the world in endurance events.

He was a gold medallist in the endurance championship at the Asian Games in Doha in 2006 at the individual level, and also a member of the team which clinched the overall gold.

He won more honours and trophies in big equestrian events including titles at the Lutzenberg ride over 130km; the Endurance Challenge in Switzerland in 1998, the Italian 160km Endurance Championship in 2000; and the Bazilio 102km Endurance Championship in Spain the same year.

As the owner of Zabeel Racing International, Shaikh Rashid had led the individual owners list an unprecedented five times with over 428 wins to date. Shaikh Rashid was also a big soccer fan, one of his favourite clubs being Manchester United, among others.

sports@khaleejtimes.com

Bahrain: Sheikha banned over positive drug finding in endurance horse

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

Horsetalk.co.nz | 19 September 2015

A member of Bahrain’s ruling family has received a two-year ban from the FEI Tribunal after her mount tested positive for a banned substance after an Italian endurance race a year ago.

Sheikha Najla Bint Salman Al Khalifa’s horse, Salahdin Du Lauragais, tested positive for the long-acting sedative reserpine, after the 120km 2* star ride in Verona San Martino Buon Albergo in July last year...

Read more: http://horsetalk.co.nz/2015/09/19/sheikha-banned-positive-drug-finding-endurance-horse/#ixzz3mC10yonR

Meet the Torontonian who spent 9 days on horseback riding across Mongolia

Thestar.com - Full Article

34-year-old Liz Brown took part in the annual Mongol Derby, involving 36 riders and 1,220 horses. She reflects on ‘the experience of a lifetime.’

By: Liz Brown Special to the Star, Published on Fri Sep 18 2015

I thought I was hallucinating when I rode past the rotting horse carcass sprawled on a dusty trail somewhere in the middle-of-nowhere-Mongolia. But the swearing behind me confirmed my fellow rider Thomas Ellingsén had seen it too. We halted our horses and stared at the cracked, drying hide receding from the animal’s skull, wondering if it was disease, predators or starvation that had ended its time on Earth. Buzzing flies provided the only white noise in the stillness as Ellingsén brought out his camera to snap a picture, a permanent reminder of the fragility of life in the wild.

It was mid-afternoon of the fourth day of the Mongol Derby and the sun was frying our helmet-clad heads. The next horse station, where we could get more water and new mounts, was more than 25 kilometres away across a wide-open plain and over a small cluster of mountains. Only 10 minutes before, Ellingsén, 38, a rider from Sweden not used to such extreme temperatures, had vomited from heat exhaustion. My other riding companion, Paddy Woods, a 52-year-old Irish jockey, was flushed and gasping as we pressed on. This was the third day of 40 C heat and my mouth felt like it was stuffed with wadded cotton balls, my vision was blurry and my balance was starting to go. As I calculated our speed and distance on my GPS, I let out a sob. It was going to take us at least two hours to reach our next destination.

As my horse plodded on, I closed my eyes, imagining a tall glass of ice water, then licked my cracked, sunburned lips and started laughing that I’d willingly signed up for this torture. This was the adventure I’d spent 12 months preparing for and in the moment, it didn’t seem I would finish...

Read more here:
http://www.thestar.com/life/2015/09/18/liz-brown-i-rode-the-mongol-derby.html