New Zealand: Philip Graham notches first NZ 160km endurance champs win

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

Robin Marshall | 27 March 2016

A Canterbury combination has taken out New Zealand’s CEI3* National Endurance Championships over 160km, with Philip Graham and Rosewood Bashir prevailing in the 19-strong field at Springfield, west of Christchurch, on Saturday.

Graham rode the 13-year-old Rosewood Bashir to win in 10 hours and 43 minutes flat over the challenging Canterbury course, about 65km from Christchurch. Mid-Canterbury challenger Kevin James rode into second place with Glendaar Fire Maid in 11:00.49, with Northern visitor Ashley Cole third on Kahuna Moon in 12:06.37.

It was Graham’s first national 160km championship win, though he has achieved several completions. The field was packed with previous winners, including last year’s winner Georgia Smith, Sian Reed (2012), Mark Tylee (2005, 2007, 2009) Jenny Champion (2008), Kevin James (2002, 2003, 1998, 1996) and Andrea Mason (1991, 1996)...

Read more: http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2016/03/27/philip-graham-first-nz-160km-endurance-champs-win/#ixzz44DJun3M3

Australia: Queensland Parliament Seeking Opinions on Hendra Vaccine

Thehorse.com - Full Article

By Pat Raia
Mar 19, 2016

The Agricultural and Environment Committee of the Queensland, Australia, Parliament is asking veterinarians and others there to share their thoughts about the use of EquiVacc, an equine vaccine developed to fight Hendra virus, in horses.

The virus was first recognized in 1994 following the death of a popular horse trainer and 20 horses in Hendra, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Hendra virus (HeV) occurs naturally in flying foxes, or “megabats,” found in Australia.

“The megabats carry the virus but don't get sick,” explained Melissa Hines, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, professor at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine.

The virus, which to date has only been found in Australia, is thought to be transferred to horses via contaminated urine, feces, and/or fetal fluids. According to the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA), the disease can cause respiratory or neurologic signs of disease in horses, and 70% of the horses that tested positive for the virus die...

Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/37293/queensland-parliament-seeking-opinions-on-hendra-vaccine?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=welfare-industry&utm_campaign=03-24-2016

New Endurance Great Britain events put focus on welfare

Horseandcountry.tv - Full Article

By Charlotte Ricca-Smith on 22nd-Mar-2016

Great Britain is to host four new endurance events this summer – with all prize money going to the horses that finish in the best condition.

Best Condition Award

The events at Euston Park in will be fun in ‘strict accordance’ with the FEI’s Best Condition Awards.

Each course will be designed to keep horse speeds down to an average 20kph and will include up to five vet gates. The events will use ‘sophisticated veterinary knowledge and experience’ to ensure they adhere to the highest standards of horse welfare.
The biggest change to the events is that all prize money will be allocated to the Best Condition Award.

'Restore the reputation'

“The Euston Park rides offer Great Britain an opportunity to restore the reputation of the discipline by enforcing our key values of endurance riding,” said John Hudson, chairman of Endurance GB...

Read more here:
http://www.horseandcountry.tv/news/2016/03/22/new-endurance-gb-events-put-focus-welfare

UAE endurance: Gauging the depth of frustration

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

Neil Clarkson | 22 March 2016

Petitions have been a time-honored way to highlight a cause, and the one that seeks to have this year’s World Endurance Championships moved from the United Arab Emirates has certainly done that.

Petitions can be treated purely as a numbers game, but the internet has changed the terrain somewhat.

What constitutes a good number of signatures on a petition about an equestrian discipline that is little known outside the horse world? A thousand? Two thousand? Fifty thousand?

Who knows? The Change.org petition that targets the Dubai event had 5385 at the time of writing, which I would suggest is a solid show of support, indeed, for a sport with a modest international profile.

The first tranche of 4000 online signatures went to FEI President Ingmar De Vos on February 10.

For me, the comments posted by the mix of individuals who signed the petition provide valuable insight into the prevailing views on this matter.

One hopes that De Vos and the FEI’s endurance chiefs have taken the time to read the responses, for they paint a picture of a very angry horse community...

Read more: http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2016/03/22/uae-endurance-depth-frustration/#ixzz43eAU49lR

Great Britain: New organisers reveal exciting Golden Horseshoe plans

Horseandhound.co.uk - Full Article

Rachael Hook
09:55 - 19 March, 2016

The new organisers of the Golden Horseshoe have been confirmed and they have exciting plans for the ride’s future.

Last year the competition celebrated its 50th anniversary, but with former organiser Barbara Wigley stepping down and no new organiser in the pipeline, the future of the ride was uncertain.

However, new organisers Jo and Andrew Chisholm (pictured) have now taken the reins of the popular Exmoor endurance competition...

Read more at http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/we-owed-it-to-the-sport-passionate-endurance-riders-take-on-the-golden-horseshoe-530304#YSlILD5X8qeAzUWB.99

UAE: Rashid Dalmook wins second consecutive Dubai Crown Prince Cup

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Ghanim Said finished runner-up two seconds ahead of Saeed Mohammed Khalifa

Published: 17:44 March 19, 2016 Gulf News
Staff Report

Dubai In an impressive display of riding skill and sportsmanship, Shaikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum earned a second victory in the prestigious Dubai Crown Prince Endurance Cup, triumphantly crossing the finish line with outstretched arms in the company of MRM teammate, Saeed Mohammad Al Mehairi and Ghanim Said Salim Al Owaisi of F3 Stables.

Maintaining contact and the striking distance of the best horses and riders was Shaikh Dalmook’s strategy in the ride that included a roster of 158 national and international participants...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/rashid-dalmook-wins-second-consecutive-dubai-crown-prince-cup-1.1693370

The Maktoums: From Bedouins to Billionaires (Part I)

Horseracingnation.com - Full Article

March 15 2016

Time does not wait in Dubai. It is an impatient measure of what is immediately past and what is going to happen next. And so it is for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum who dreamt the same dreams of his father, Sheikh Rashid…the dream of transforming Dubai from a sleepy seaport dependent on pearling into an international trading center sustaining his people into the future. Yet this Sheikh doesn’t just conjur; he plans and executes. He hires the brightest of talent and expects the best in performance. He operates, in part, from OPM (other people’s money)…investment dollars. And like any dream that requires a kind of myopia with the reality of investments amid world fiscal meltdowns and international terrorism, Sheikh Mohammed never wavered from his vision of Dubai. Much like the racehorse in flight, he grabs the bit and charges forward.

Of the things that Sheikh Mohammed treasures beyond Dubai’s future are his children and his horses. For this is a determined man, a champion endurance rider himself, who has consistently infused the pockets of bluegrass breeders at the Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton auctions in his quest for the Kentucky Derby roses and Breeders' Cup glory. The Maktoum brothers first set their sights on American bloodstock in 1980, spending $2.45 mil on primarily the Northern Dancer line (Levin/2002). “The Dancer” had been a relatively smallish colt but had proven heart and stamina on the American track in the 60s. As a sire, his progeny had proved adept on all track surfaces, particularly grass, which was the European, Asian and Australian surface of choice. The Dubai entourage was just getting warmed up when in ‘84 they spent close to $42 mil setting a record for single day sales at Fasig-Tipton. Continuing to make purchases into the present day with his majib, led by John Ferguson and some of the finest bloodstock minds in the racing industry, they are a force in international racing. Of note is the fact that 1980 was not the first sale attended by “Sheikh Mo” in Lexington. The previous year he flew commercially into Lexington incognito. Upon arrival he discovered that the area’s hotels were booked to capacity and ended up staying at a small motel down the road from Keeneland. The next morning, dressed to blend in, he hovered in the back of the sales theatre, careful not to draw the attention of the Irish bloodstock agents from the Curragh that might recognize him from British stakes racing where the Maktoum brothers had been making their mark (Wilson/2006).

What is unique about the Maktoum mentality is that they consider any loss as a lesson and a factor in the next victory….something to build upon...

Read more here: