Slovakia: Hudson has eyes on Aussie team medal at endurance worlds

Centralwesterndaily.com.au - Full Article

September 7 2016
Matthew Findlay

Orange endurance rider Ben Hudson says he and his beloved steed Oso Cap Braveheart will relish the experience of representing Australia at next week’s Federation Equestrian International World Endurance Championships, in Slovakia.

Hudson, just 23, was named in the five-strong Australian squad after winning his second consecutive Australian Championships at Imbil in July, he clocked just over 10 hours on the little but big-spirited Arabian stallion to do so.

Only three seconds separated Hudson and runner-up Kaylea Maher.

For the confused, or unfamiliar, endurance riding is exactly as it sounds – riders and their mounts navigate their way around the very long, often gruelling courses in a bid to clock the fastest time they can.

“That is one good thing about the sport though, there’s the competitive riders who go hard and ride in about 10 or 11 hours but there’s also a lot of people riding for the challenge,” Hudson explained...

Read more here:
http://www.centralwesterndaily.com.au/story/4140904/hudson-aussies-set-eyes-on-teams-medal/

Slovakia: Hamdan hopes to repeat landmark 2014 victory

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Published: 17:51 September 16, 2016 Gulf News
By Leslie Wilson JrRacing & Special
Features Writer

Dubai: Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, will be hoping to repeat his landmark 2014 victory as he leads a strong UAE team in the Longines FEI World Endurance Championship in Slovakia today.

Shaikh Hamdan, who will start the 160km ride at the state-of-the-art Samorin Equestrian Centre as the huge favourite, produced a breathtaking ride on Yamamah to win the gold in Normandy, France two years ago.

In what is often described as one of his best performances, Shaikh Hamdan and Yamamah overcame rain and testing conditions to triumph over a world-class field of 173 riders from 47 nations at the historic venue.

Today, he will be joined by four of the UAE’s finest horsemen as bids to give the UAE a fourth individual gold in the event following victories by his father, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who was triumphant at Euston Park, Great Britain in 2012 and his younger brother Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the shock winner at Jerez, Spain in 2002...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/hamdan-hopes-to-repeat-landmark-2014-victory-1.1897190

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/