Slovakia: World Endurance Championship starting tomorrow

WECH2016.com

September 16 2016

x-bionic sphere® hosts World Endurance Championship with the attendance of 45 countries, which is 7 more than total attendance at previous World Championship.

After todays Vetc check, total number of 132 horses will start tomorrow from Šamorín facing various types of surfaces and after challenging 160 kilometers, riders will finish the race here at our equestrian Race track.

Start is scheduled at 6AM.

We are looking forward to greet each rider at the finish line!

FEI World Endurance Championship 2016 Set to Start

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

A record 46 nations (including Canada, represented by Yvette Vinton and Kataki) will contest the Longines FEI World Endurance Championships 2016 this Saturday (17 September), with the world’s top Endurance athletes already on-site at Slovakia’s state-of-the-art Šamorín Equestrian Centre, brain-child of Slovakian businessman Mario Hoffmann.

A total of 136 horse/rider combinations will head out on the 160-kilometre track in a 6am mass-start, with five loops of 40, 35, 35, 30 and 20kms running across grass, field and forest tracks alongside the River Danube and skirting around Bratislava at the foot of the Little Carpathians mountain range.

The youngest competitor at the Longines FEI World Endurance Championships is 14-year-old Pilar Saravia from Uruguay. Currently ranked number three in the world, she won her first 3* 160km ride on home soil in July, with her second 3* 160km win in Buenos Aires just two weeks later.

Saravia and the grey mare SM Dhanderiega, her winning ride in Buenos Aires, will be flying the flag for the seven South American countries at these Championships, challenging the world’s most seasoned Endurance athletes for a podium spot...

Read more here:
http://www.horse-canada.com/horse-news/fei-world-endurance-championships-2016-set-to-start/

Yvette Vinton Headed to Longines FEI World Endurance Championships

HOrse-canada.com - Full Article

September 10, 2016
by: Equestrian Canada

Dr. Yvette Vinton, who currently resides in Ocala, FL, is set to represent Canada at the Longines FEI World Endurance Championships, taking place Sept. 16-18 in Samorin, SVK.

A veteran endurance rider, Vinton has been involved in the sport for 24 years, competing around the globe for Canada. Vinton is also a veterinarian who specializes in general surgery and chiropractics for horses and small animals. No stranger to the international stage, Vinton has competed for Canada on the world stage many times, most recently the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games in France and the 2012 FEI World Endurance Championship in Great Britain...

Read more here:
http://www.horse-canada.com/horse-news/yvette-vinton-headed-to-longines-fei-world-endurance-championships/?utm_source=Enews+Sept+12%2C+2016&utm_campaign=EnewsSept122016&utm_medium=email

Slovakia braced for FEI World Endurance Championships after stepping in for axed Dubai

Insidethegames.biz - Full Article

By Liam Morgan
Wednesday, 14 September 2016

A total of 136 riders are due to compete at the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) World Endurance Championships, which get underway with the Opening Ceremony in Samorin in Slovakia tomorrow.

The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar are all expected to do well at the event, which remains shrouded in controversy after Dubai was stripped of the hosting rights earlier this year following horse welfare concerns.

Uruguay and Spain are also sending strong teams to Samorin, which was confirmed as the replacement for Dubai in June, while Mario Hoffmann of Slovakia will be looking to make full use of home advantage.

The FEI have confirmed 46 countries from five countries will be represented at the World Endurance Championships, with the main bulk of the action due to be held on Saturday (September 17).

The Samorin Equestrian Centre, the venue for last year’s European Championships, was chosen to stage the event ahead of rival submissions from Fontainebleau in France and Pisa in Italy by the FEI’s Endurance Committee.

Both the French and Italian bids were rejected after they proposed mid-October for the Championships, meaning rides would start and finish in the dark.

Dubai's axing came after the Emirates Equestrian Federation (EEF) was suspended by the FEI for "major horse welfare issues" in March 2015.

Read more here:
http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1041631/slovakia-braced-for-fei-world-endurance-championships-after-stepping-in-for-axed-dubai

USA Riders, Horses Preparing for World Endurance Championship

September 14 2016
by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

USA's Meg Sleeper and Shyrocco Rimbaud, and Tom Hagis and Indian Reinman are in Samorin, Slovakia, finishing last minute conditioning and preparations for the 2016 World Endurance Championship, which will start at 6 AM on Saturday, September 17.

Sleeper will be represented by two of her horses at the WEC. She also owns Syrocco Rabia, who will be ridden by Fernando Paiz for Guatemala. Additionally, Colin for Gold, owned by USA's Valerie Kanavy, will be ridding by Hirofumi Ono of Japan.

Days are filled with caring for the horses - riding, hand walking, hand grazing, feeding, bandaging, lasering (MR4 ACTIVet cordless, cold laser made by Multi Radiance Medical), and team meetings and meals. Horses moved to a main barn at the venue on Monday. "We are in 'The Hague' barn," said Meg, "which I am hoping will be good luck since Val [Kanavy] won the championship there [in 1994]."

Also on Sunday, the horses were able to pre-ride the blue loop (about 12 miles), the last phase of the event. "The trails for endurance are very firm and in fact there are places it is so well packed it looks almost like concrete. We knew concussion was going to be an issue for the horses with this trail, and ours are all padded to try to minimize the concussion," Meg said.

Currently the forecast for Saturday is 75 degrees with no rain.

Meg discussed the competition aspect of the event. "The scuttlebutt is that the winning speed will be 25kph (or 15.6 mph). That’s a blistering pace over 100 miles, and I don’t doubt there will be people doing it. It is going to be a very interesting event.

"To give some more perspective, the awards ceremony is scheduled for 6pm the night of the race (12 hours after the scheduled start time). I have no doubt that there will be those that attempt it and some will be successful.

"The speeds that some can and have achieved, and to be honest the abilities of all high level equine athletes, keep me in constant awe of the horse. And I suppose that’s what sport and competition is: to push the limits of our capabilities.

"All I am able to say for certain is I will do my absolute best in regards to the competition, but also in regards to trying to keep Rim healthy and happy.

"And I can speak for the USA team (and Guatemala and Japan) when I say we will do it clean."

Stay tuned for more updates at
http://www.endurance.net/international/Slovakia/2016WorldEnduranceChampionship/

4 Days till the 2016 World Endurance Championship in Slovakia

WECH2016.com

September 13 2016

46 countries, 5 continents, 136 riders, 149 horses ! The World Endurance Championship of Samorin promises to be a great event!

The best riders are gathered in Slovakia for the highest level of competition that exists in endurance.

If Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed al Maktoum is considered to be the ultra favorite, other rider can take the supreme title. Which one? This is very hard to say!

Unquestionably, UAE, Bahrain and Qatar are to be taken seriously. For the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum arrives with the best M.R.M Stables’ team.

The countries of the Gulf have very good horses with beautiful and long career, like Leonardo, Ajayeb, Napoli del Mar and many others.

Uruguayan riders are known to be fast, but Spain presents a strong team with its two stars riders, Maria Alvarez Ponton and Jaume Punti Dachs.

Other countries have good chances too like France with Jean-Philippe Frances, and Slovakia with Mario Hoffmann, who can be galvanized by running at home.

Before the race, nobody can say who the winner will be. There are too many parameters to be taken into account: how did the horse travel, the configuration of the race, the weather, the fitness of both rider and horse the day of the race …   
And the coach can change riders and horses until the pre vet check and equestrianism is always a matter of the horse plus rider.

All that can be said is that this Championship will offer a very nice show.

So let’s meet on next Saturday at the x-bionic® sphere – Samorin !

Definite Entries Announced for 2016 World Endurance Championship

September 12 2016

Definite entries have been announced for the 2016 World Endurance Championship to be held this weekend in Samorin, Slovakia.

136 riders and 149 horses are on the entry list representing 45 countries.

The complete list can be seen here: http://www.endurance.net/international/Slovakia/2016WorldEnduranceChampionship/DEFINITE-ENTRIES.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