Ana Grande Wins 2016 Young Rider Spanish Championship

May 1 2016

With a sprint of 6 horses to the finish line, Ana Grande Avila, riding Jaleo RD 50%, won the 120-km Young Rider Spanish Championship near Badajoz, Spain, on May 1. Paula Mental Sanches was second on Akthara, and Naroa Calvo Ibañez was third aboard Tra Felic. Finishing time was 5:35.13. Seventeen finished out of the 38 starters finished the race.

The Young Rider Championship came the day after Alex Luque won the senior Spanish Championship.

For more information on the Spanish Championships, see:
http://ggjineteraid.blogspot.com/

Hungary: Okorn shines on Ebla

Khaleejtimes.com - Full Article

May 1 2016

Slovenia's Helena Okorn was in a class of her own as she stormed to victory in the Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival-supported FEI Central European Endurance Cup 2016 international 120-km endurance ride held in Babolna, Hungary, on Saturday.

Riding HS Ebla, a horse she has owned for 9 years, Okorn made it a winning debut in this historic Arabian horse breeding town while Polish rider Wojciech Heliasz on Sinda finished second and French rider Marion Wasilewski took third place on Quernika Du Cade.

Earlier in the morning, competitors took off in five different competitions, all international FEI rides with riders from France, Poland, Austria, Czech Rep, Romania, Croatia, China, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Serbia and the host country Hungary in action.

All five rides were held as part of the festival under directions of Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.

Okorn and HS Elba almost made it a start-to-finish affair as they led in three of the four stages though before the final stage of 20-kms, just a minute separated the winner and the second-placed Polish rider...

Read more here:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/sport/other/okorn-shines-on-ebla

Alex Luque wins 2016 Spanish Endurance Championship

April 30 2016

Alex Luque, riding the 8-year-old Abha Quely, won the 160-km Spanish Championship on April 30 near Badajoz, Spain. The pair finished with a time of 7:50.01, 13 minutes ahead of second place Angel Soy aboard Toumai Eureka. Maria Alvarez and Zefira finished in 3rd, 1 second behind Soy. Toumani Eureka won the Best Condition award.

Eight of 31 starters completed the ride.

See the complete results here:
http://ggjineteraid.blogspot.com/2016/04/resultados-finales-del-campeonato-de.html

Qatar: The Sheikha

Thehroseridersjournal.com - Full Article

A new generation of sportswomen is scoring pioneering victories in the fast-changing culture of the Arab Peninsula. One of them is Sheikha Reem bint Muhammad bin Faisal Al Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family who works tirelessly to encourage more women to take up equestrian sports.

April 24 2016

Text maria graae Photography daniel stjerne

Taken from the Summer 2014 issue of The Horse Rider’s Journal

Reem is another name for the small Arabian Sand Gazelle, found only in the Arabian Peninsula and distinguished by its elegant frame and big eyes. Like her namesake, Sheikha Reem lives in Doha and thrives in Qatar’s deserts, one of the harshest climates on Earth. For centuries, these deserts have tested humankind; now they serve as a scenic backdrop and a permanent challenge for the young Qatari endurance rider when she is training and racing her horses. “It gives me happiness and joy,” she says, softly and almost to herself, “being out here in the desert with my horses.”
A couple of years ago, still in her early twenties, Sheikha Reem shattered whatever stereotypes the West might harbour regarding the lives of women living in the Arabian Peninsula when she became the first Qatari woman ever to participate in an international endurance race...

Read more here:
http://thehorseridersjournal.com/the-sheikha/

Great Britain: Ambitious challenge for Alfie and his horse Poppy

Loughboroughecho.net - Full Article

28 APR 2016
BY ZOE HIGGINS

Alfie Wilton, who is seven-years-old, rides Poppy the pony with a number of local horse riding groups through the Sport Endurance organisation.

A YOUNG boy from East Leake with ADHD and autism has set himself the challenge of riding 100 miles on his beloved horse this year to raise money for charity.

Alfie Wilton, who is seven-years-old, rides Poppy the pony with a number of local horse riding groups through the Sport Endurance organisation.

The rides, which he takes while mum Debra and nan Jean walk alongside him, have a calming effect on Alfie and last year he won the East Midlands Junior Rider of the Year award at the Sport Endurance National Awards...

Read more here:
http://www.loughboroughecho.net/news/local-news/ambitious-challenge-alfie-horse-poppy-11245255

Pinol tops in 120-km National Championship Endurance Ride of Portugal

Horsereporter.com - Full Article

by Pamela Burton

Laia Soria Pinol and Kz Magica
25 April, 2016, Fronteira, Portugal~ Laia Soria Pinol riding Kz Magica won the HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival-sponsored 120-km National Championship ride of Portugal held in Fronteira on Saturday, 23 April 2016.

Pinol finished the 120-km ride, run in five stages, ahead of Marisa Bote Chamorro on Tirante with Maite Melgusa Minguez on Harrison in third place. Pinol completed the five-stage ride in 6 hours 24 minutes and 01 seconds at an average speed of 18.74 kms while Chamorro on Tirante did the 120-km distance in 6:32.49...

Read more here:
http://www.horsereporter.com/pinol-tops-in-120-km-national-championship-endurance-ride-of-portugal/

"Fair Endurance" Facebook group starts petition to reinstate 2016 FEI WEC in Dubai

April 25 2016

A Facebook group, "Fair Endurance," for "Endurance riders, horses, trainers and owners of the horses," has created a petition on Change.org.

Countering the 6600-plus-signature petition that was started in February to remove the WEC from Dubai - which the FEI subsequently did - the Fair Endurance group, citing "FAIR PLAY FOR ATHLETES," initiated the petition to reinstate the 2016 FEI World Endurance Championship in Dubai as it was legally appointed by the FEI Bureau in December 2014. "Play sports, not politics!"

The petition further states:

On 7 April 2016 the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI - the International Federation for Equestrian Sports) suddenly cancels the 2016 World Endurance Championships in Dubai that was legally appointed in December 2014.

Read official statement of the FEI Bureau.

Two months ago the FEI and Emirates Equestrian Federation (EEF) made an agreement that established stricter conditions of all Endurance competitions in the UAE.

Trying to punish UAE riders, indeed the FEI punished all riders from all the world that come to the UAE to start in Endurance competitions.

SO FEI PLAYS POLITICS, NOT SPORTS!

We ask all equestrian people to sign this petition, because that agreement between FEI and EEF should be voided as illegal.
Any amendments to the FEI Endurance Rules must be approved by all the National Federations at FEI General Assembly, not by separate agreement between FEI and EEF.

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We hereby petition the FEI to revoke the unwarranted and prejudicial ‘Final Exams Maximum Pulse between 56 and 60 bpm within 10 and 15 minutes’.

• These rules are not practical and affecting us as riders, negatively. 

• We are unable to compete in such unfair situations, without achieving the goal of successfully finishing the ride. 

• There is no level-playing field by implementing such stringent measures for the purpose of punishing any country or any region. 

• FEI published Endurance Rules to be followed in all international competitions, Article: 814.1.5.5: “At the Final Inspection, the Maximum Pulse shall be 64 bpm within 30 minutes”.

Furthermore, we request the FEI to reinstate the FEI World Endurance Championships to take place from 10-17 December 2016 at the Dubai Equestrian Club (UAE).

If a different venue be chosen, we as riders will be affected because of the following reasons:

• Advancing the qualification dates and the event dates, will in turn put the pressure on riders and horses to qualify within such a short period.

• This will not give enough time to qualify the riders & horses, which is not fair.

• Training plans will have to be changed, based on the climatic conditions & track.

• Deciding the venue, just two or three months prior to the event, will affect horses results and welfare of horses will be of high concern.

• The terrain and climatic conditions will not be known until the 14 June 2016, for a high level championship happening in September/October 2016.

• Planning the budget is more crucial and now it is too late and almost impossible to find the money to prepare all arrangements for a different venue, which is still not known yet.

For more information see:
https://www.facebook.com/fairendurance/