Slovakia: Veteran Dachs follows in wife’s footsteps

Shaikh Hamdan leads a posse of riders with the historic Danube River in the background, during the FEI World Endurance Championships in Samorin, Slovakia - Image Credit: Dubai Media Office twitter
Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Spaniard claims Endurance gold in Slovakia as UAE’s hopes are dashed at final vet gate

Published: 21:42 September 17, 2016 Gulf News
By Leslie Wilson Jr Racing & Special Features Writer

Dubai: Jaume Punti Dachs, a veteran endurance rider and trainer, clinched the gold medal at the FEI World Endurance Championship in Samorin, Slovakia, as a spirited performance by the UAE’s Saif Ahmad Al Mazroui and Ganem Abdullah Al Merri, ended in heartache at the final vet gate.

Triumphantly waving the UAE flag, Al Mazroui crossed the finish line first following a final loop cat and mouse battle with Uruguay’s Jonatan Rivera Iriarte, only to see his horse, Napoli Del Ma, disqualified due to an imperfect gait.

Iriarte’s horse, LG Muneerah, suffered a similar fate which left third placed Emirati rider Al Merri in the number spot and anxiously awaiting the vet results. But as luck would have it.

Quran El Ulm was found to have a metabolic condition and was also disqualified.

Dach’s horse, the nine-year-old grey gelding Twyst Maison Blanche, passed the vet test ensuring he would emulate his wife, Maria Alvarez Ponton, who was a two-time World Endurance Championship in 2008 and 2010...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/veteran-dachs-follows-in-wife-s-footsteps-1.1897692

World Endurance Championship - USA Team Eliminated

by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

The USA Team of Meg Sleeper/Shyrocco Rimbaud and Tom Hagis/Indian Reinman vetted in healthy and sound for the 2016 World Endurance Championship in Slovakia today, but unfortunately vetted out during the ride. Indian Reinman was eliminated at the third vet gate for lameness, and Rimbaud was eliminated at the 4th vet gate for lameness.

"Fortunately neither lameness was severe and both horses will be fine to compete another day," Meg said.

"It is hard to put into words how one feels after a pull at this kind of event. It is awesome just to be selected to represent the USA, but of course the idea is to do well and there are so many people that give so much to make it possible for us to be here, it is rather demoralizing to feel like you are letting everyone down."

Meg's other horse, the mare Syrocco Rabia, finished 29th under Guatemala's Fernando Paiz Larrave in a time of 8:35.50. The other USA horse, Colin for Gold, owned by Valerie Kanavy and ridden by Japan's Hirofumi Ono, finished 47th and last in a ride time of 10:23.48.

42 of the 133 starters finished the race, for a completion rate of 35.3%.

Results and updates will be posted at:
http://www.endurance.net/international/Slovakia/2016WorldEnduranceChampionship/

Slovakia: All USA Horses Set to Start World Endurance Championship

September 16 2016

All the USA horses entered in the 2016 World Endurance Championship in Samorin, Slovakia, have passed the pre-ride vet inspection and will start the race Saturday morning at 6 AM.

Meg Sleeper will be riding her 10-year-old Anglo-Arabian gelding Shyrocco Rimbaud. Also owned by Meg, her 10-year-old mare Syrocco Rabia will be ridden by Guatemala's Fernando Paiz.

Tom Hagis will ride his 10-year-old Arabian gelding Indian Reinman.

And Valerie Kanavy owns the 10-year-old Arabian gelding Colin for Gold, which will be ridden by Japan's Hirofumi Ono.

132 horses are expected on the starting line. The event will be streamed live, and results will be updated here:
http://www.enduranceresults.info/longines/liveresults-view/?ride=1&id=307&date=20160918&timing=Longines&competition_file_nr=101

More information, photos and stories will be here:
http://www.endurance.net/international/Slovakia/2016WorldEnduranceChampionship/

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/