Funds being raised to help Kingwood equestrian compete in Slovakia

NJ.com - Full Article

By Lillian Shupe | For NJ.com
on September 02, 2016

Kingwood Township resident Meg Sleeper is headed back to the FEI World Endurance Championships and friends are helping to pay for the trip.

In August, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) named Sleeper and her horse, Shyrocco Rimbaud, or Rim for short, to the United States team. The championships will be held in Samorin, Slovakia, Sept. 16-17.

Getting a horse and a support crew to Slovakia is not an inexpensive task. Although Sleeper got a grant for $10,000, her friend Robyn Farrington set up a GoFundMe account to raise the more than $18,000 more needed to fund the trip...

Read more here:
http://www.nj.com/horsenews/2016/09/njs_sleeper_named_to_us_endura.html

Spanish Sweep FEI European Endurance Championship for Young Riders and Juniors in Portugal

Paula Muntala Sanchez (ESP), aged 21, riding 10-year old part-Arabian Echo Falls secured individual gold and also guided her team to gold at the 120km FEI European Endurance Championship for Young Riders and Juniors in Rio Frio, Portugal on 3 September. (FEI/Endurance in the World) FEI.org

5 Sep 2016
By Pamela Burton

The Spanish athlete Paula Muntala Sanchez riding 10-year-old part-Arabian Echo Falls emerged victorious after the 120km Meydan FEI European Endurance Championship for Young Riders and Juniors in Portugal, leading the Spanish team to gold as well.

Held at the Rio Frio Equestrian Centre, 38 athletes aged between 14 and 21 from 11 countries left in a mass start at 06:30 on Saturday, 3 September. The competition circled in four loops of 40, 30, 30 and 20kms, with gates and veterinary inspection areas on each loop.

The young but seasoned, Sanchez, aged 21, completed the ride in 05:14:57 with an average speed of 22.86 kph riding though the heat of the day, which reached 30°C with 40% humidity.

The all-female Spanish team came into each vet gate within minutes of each other, pulsed down and left in the same way, and arrived at the finish just after Sanchez, placing 2nd - 5th individually in this order: Laura Fernandez Piña on Cadigaam, Bruna Pujols Aumatell on Lludriga De Masferrer, Raquel Costa Condina on Kalima Casanova and Naroa Calvo Ibáñez on Escarsi.

“The plan was to be strong with all the team from the beginning to ensure that at least one of our team members could be in the medals,” said Sanchez after the ride.

Although this did not happen to her, Sanchez stated what might have been the biggest challenge on the ride: “To lose a shoe is a problem because you lose time, and it is difficult to recover in such flat terrain as the one in Rio Frio. The biggest strength of my 10-year-old Appaloosa is in his character. He saves energy during the competition, which allows him to have a quick recovery at the end of each loop.”

When asked about her future endurance goals, Sanchez replied: “My goal is to improve my performance and hopefully to continue as a team member for Spain.”

Echo Falls is by the full Arabian stallion Tango D’Ayres by the legendary Persik out of the Appaloosa mare, Song of Wind.

Spanish cavalry led the way

Heading out in the first wave of the mass start, Spain’s Sanchez and her teammates blended like a grey cavalry into the low fog of early morning as they led the way for the first 40km loop.

The five athletes took possession of the race from the start, never leaving first position throughout, but knew they were being chased by France’s Henriette D Ursel on Wloszka Fontanel and Emma Frances on Quokin De PSA.

João Maria Moura riding Distinto for Portugal kept within five minutes of the first seven riders throughout the course and he was followed by Italy’s Costanza Laliscia on Rok and Camilla Coppini on Veinard Secondo. Great Britain’s hopes were dashed early on as they lost all three riders by vet gate two.

Besides host Portugal, athletes represented Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Spain.

Seven teams started and five teams completed. A course completion of 57% finished the last rider, Imke Lamsma from The Netherlands riding Sjacour in the ride time of 07:43:12 with an average speed of 15.54 kph.

The FEI European Endurance Championship for Young Riders and Juniors is an important foundation for future top Endurance riders. The last edition of this Championship was in 2014 in Verona, Italy. To compete, athletes must have successfully completed at least 3 CEI 2* events or higher.

Manuel Bandeira de Mello, FEI Endurance Director said of the competition: “It was a fantastic day of top quality sport. The Spanish team led the ride from the very beginning showing their supremacy, and the high skill of the athletes and the horses proved that even with a very technical track, a 57% completion rate could be achieved.”

Rui Amante, President of the Ground Jury in Rio Frio commented: “The venue is fantastic and the event went very smoothly. The most important aspect is that the fair play of the 37 competitors was truly amazing for Juniors and Young riders. I am very happy with the outcome of this event.”

Rio Frio - the venue

The trails of mostly sandy soil went through ancient cork oak forest, around thriving vineyards and between irrigated rice paddies, allowing for many natural water spots and easy access points for crews. The public could also view the athletes in viewing areas designated along the national roads. This route has been in use and tested since 2014. The Rio Frio Equestrian Centre is located on the southern bank of the Tagus Estuary, 30km from the Portuguese capital of Lisbon.

Results - top ten individuals

1. Paula Muntala Sanchez, Echo Falls (ESP) - finish time 05:14:57
2. Laura Fernandez Piña, Cadigaam (ESP) - finish time 05:14:58
3. Bruna Pujols Aumatell, Lludriga De Masferrer (ESP) - finish time 05:14:59
4. Raquel Costa Condina, Kalima Casanova (ESP) - finish time 05:15:00
5. Naroa Calvo Ibáñez, Escarsi (ESP) - finish time 05:15:05
6. Henriette, D Ursel, Wloszka Fontanel (FRA) - finish time 05:34:10
7. Emma Frances, Quokin De PSA (FRA) - finish time 05:34:11
8. Maria Moura João, Distinto (POR) - finish time 05:45:18
9. Constanza Laliscia, Rok (ITA) - finish time 06:08:32
10. Camilla Coppini, Veinard Secondo (ITA) - finish time 06:08:33

Results - top three teams

*Teams count the highest-placed three members for classification
1. Spain - finish time: 15:44:54
2. Italy - finish time: 19:04:10
3. Portugal - finish time: 19:40:47
*Also finished: Belgium (finish time 19:57:53) & Netherlands (finish time 20:42:03).

Nominative Entries Announced for 2016 World Endurance Championship

Nominative entries have been announced for the 2016 World Endurance Championship, which will take place in Samorin, Slovakia, on September 15-16.

186 nominated riders represent 46 countries for the 160-km race. Final entries will be announced after horse inspections. The complete list can be seen here:
http://www.endurance.net/international/Slovakia/2016WorldEnduranceChampionship/Nominative_entries_08_2016.pdf

Opening ceremonies will take place at 8 PM on Thursday, September 15. Horse inspections will begin at 2 PM on Friday, and the race begins at 6 AM on Saturday. A live stream of the race will be available at
http://www.feitv.org/live

More stories, tweets, photos and info at:
http://www.endurance.net/international/Slovakia/2016WorldEnduranceChampionship/

FEI President celebrates top equestrian sport and clean Games at Rio 2016

FEI.org

27 Aug 2016

FEI President Ingmar De Vos had double cause for celebration this week after confirmation that all human and equine samples taken during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games had returned negative.

“Keeping our sport clean is a central part of our daily work at the FEI, but to have back-to-back clean Games in London and Rio is something for any sport to be proud of, especially as we were testing for more substances than ever before”, the FEI President said today. “And that’s on top of absolutely brilliant equestrian sport in Rio, so we really have something to celebrate!”

A total of 60 equine samples – 30% of the 200 competing horses – were tested during the Games. The samples were sent to the FEI’s Central Laboratory in Newmarket (GBR), one of the five FEI Approved Laboratories worldwide, with the final batch of results returned to FEI Headquarters this week.

Human testing, which is conducted by the IOC during the Olympic Games, also returned 100% negatives for the equestrian athletes that were sampled...

Read more here:
http://inside.fei.org/news/fei-president-celebrates-top-equestrian-sport-and-clean-games-rio-2016

Great Britain: Raglan expert breeds top endurance horse

Abergavennychronicle.com - Full Article

Saturday, 27 August 2016 By Staff reporter

Endurance rider and horse breeder Chris Wray from Cwmcarvan near Raglan has bred the highest ever scoring endurance horse in a national young horse evaluation day.

Chris’ colt foal, Kamili (Shuawaiman Al Rais x Cloud Stepper) gained his score in the Baileys Horse Feeds/ British Breeding/British Equestrian Federation (BEF) Futurity at Hartpury College on Tuesday (August 23).

Kamili - which appropriately means ‘complete’ or ‘perfect’ in Swahili - scored an elite premium of 9.25 out of a possible maximum of 10.

An elite Futurity premium indicates that the horse has the potential and outlook to perform at international level...

Read more here:
http://www.abergavennychronicle.com/article.cfm?id=102993&headline=Raglan%20expert%20breeds%20top%20endurance%20horse§ionIs=news&searchyear=2016

Slovakia: International Veterinary Endurance Conference

August 28 2016

An International Veterinary Endurance Conference will take place in Samorin, Slovakia on Wednesday 14 September, just before the World Endurance Championships that will start on 18 September.  
 
The topics include presentations by some of the foremost experts in endurance veterinary science, and include genetics, training, clinical science, pathophysiology and physiotherapy. There are also presentations on horse welfare and a report on the Bou Theib system introduced in the UAE 2015-16 season.

The conference is not an official FEI conference, but EOVs and EVTs may find it of interest.

The event is organized by Tierklinik Lüsche GmbH. The equine clinic Lüsche GmbH is a so-called “full-service-hospital” for horses. All disciplines of equine veterinary medicine are represented, including lamness examinations, orthopedic and soft tissue surgery (including colic surgery). With the comprehensive diagnostic and treatment options the equine clinic Lüsche is the one of the most modern equine clinics in Germany.

This event takes place at the same time as the Longines World Endurance Championship, Sept 15-16.

More information, and to register, see
IVEC.info

Australia: Melissa Longhurst Wins 2016 Shahzada

August 26 2016

After building a 1 1/2 hour lead on Day 4, Melissa Longhurst and Pioneer Park Wings of Sudan won the 2016 the Shahzada in a combined time of 38:56 for the 400 kms over 5 days. Clare Feary and Die Kinder Junrei came in second, with a time of 42:37. Gary Pevy and Halimas Esdikam were third in 43:42.

Of the original 45 starters, 22 finished all 5 days.

Winner of the 3-day 120-km Mini-Marathon on Thursday was Elizabeth Moir, riding Coolahlee Park Shaman in a total time of 14:35. Of the 103 starters, 69 completed all 3 days of 40 km.

For complete results, see
http://www.shahzada400.com/