UAE: Italian Simula wins HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Endurance Cup

Horsereporter.com - Full Article

by Pamela Burton

26 November 2016, Abu Dhabu, UAE ~ Italian riders dominated with a first and third place finish in the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Endurance Cup, a Two-star FEI 120-km event held at the Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba, in the emirate of Abu Dhabi on Saturday, 26 November 2016.

Veronica Simula riding the 13-year-old grey Arabian mare Poets Corner Zsa Zsa won the 4-stage 120-km ride in a time of four hours 29 minutes and 10 seconds.

In a tight finish Simula edged ahead of Nesreen Khasro Ali Khaled on the cross-bred Andariego, a mere three seconds separating the two while in third place was another Italian, Guilia Vigevani on the part-bred Arabian, Ankara. All three lady riders were given the keys to a 4WD each for their winning performance...

Read more here:
http://www.horsereporter.com/italian-simula-wins-hh-sheikha-fatima-bint-mubarak-ladies-endurance-cup/

FEI President focuses on unique qualities of equestrian sport at FEI General Assembly

FEI.org

22 Nov 2016

FEI President Ingmar De Vos opened the FEI General Assembly in the Japanese capital Tokyo today, delivering the keynote address to almost 300 delegates and focusing on the unique qualities of equestrian sport.

“We all agree that we have the greatest sport on earth and this is for many reasons”, the FEI President said. “We excel when it comes to gender equality, but what makes our sport so great is the unique bond between human and animal, between man and horse. But it is this same unique value which makes our sport vulnerable.

“With the growth of our sport grows also our responsibility to continuously ensure the welfare of our athletes in order to safeguard the integrity of the sport at all times.

“We need to insist on a strict application of our rules. They need to be transparent, clear and not open for interpretation. We need to be irreproachable in our stance and our outlook. These are big challenges.

“There are organisations – increasing in number - that are of the opinion that horses should not be competed or even ridden!

“We need to show them – and the world – that we are not only dedicated to horse welfare but that we are the leaders in that domain. And we also need to educate – to show just how much we do and how committed the equestrian community is to horse welfare. Ignorance creates fear. So we need to show that a true partnership is about trust and respect so that we can bridge that gap and bring people closer to our sport.”

During a packed morning agenda, delegates voted on a number of important issues, including the Olympic and Paralympic format change proposals (see FEI press release here), formats for the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018 and other sport specific matters. Full details of the main decisions made at the FEI General Assembly 2016 are here.

The afternoon featured a series of presentations, including an update on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games from Aki Murasato, Executive Director of International Relations with the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee.

Mark Bellissimo, creator of the Tryon International Equestrian Center, also addressed delegates, providing an update on the venue that was earlier this month announced as the host for the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018.

Speaking directly to the FEI President, Mark Bellissimo said: “We want to let you know that we appreciate how important this event is to the FEI, and how important it is both for us as organisers and the community that we work within. We will do our best not to let you down.”

Nai Yue Ho (SIN), outgoing Chair of FEI Regional Group VIII, who was celebrating his birthday today, was made an Honorary Bureau Member of the FEI. And prior to closing remarks, the FEI President thanked the Japan Equestrian Federation (JEF) for their hospitality, commenting on the fact that it had been 25 years since the FEI General Assembly had been held in Tokyo, and in the same hotel. He then made a presentation to Tsunekazu Takeda, President of the Japanese Olympic Committee and Vice-President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, and to JEF Secretary General Dr Yasuhiko Haruta, who also collected a special plaque on behalf of JEF President Dr Genshitsu Sen.

In his closing address, the FEI President said: “This was a very important General Assembly. We took crucial decisions for the future of our sport and I understand that not everybody was happy, but we followed a very democratic process and in the end there was a clear majority. There are no winners or losers in this debate. These new formats give us a huge responsibility and failure is not an option, so we need to work together with all our stakeholders to prepare for Tokyo 2020.”

Spain's Maria Alvarez Ponton Tops FEI World Endurance Ranking

November 3 2016

Spain's Maria Alvarez Ponton is currently the top FEI Open Riders World Endurance rider with 1131 points. Second is France's Paul Bard with 1035 points, followed by France's Julien Lafaure with 978 points. The USA's top rider is Cheryl Van Deusen, ranked in 34th place.

Portugal's Ana Barbas and E Da Fuica are atop the Open Combination World Endurance Ranking with 381 points. Issa Judd and Jq Zarial are second with 377 point and Luis Crucci and Hld Patron are in third with 348 points. Both are from Uruguay. USA's Kyle Gibbon is 7th with 301 points.

In first place in the Young Riders World Endurance Ranking is Italy's Costanza Laliscia with 860 points. Uruguayans occupy the next two slots, with Belen Mendez in second with 745 points and Teresa Sanchez in third with 738 points. The top ranked USA Young Rider is Kelsey Russell, in 17th place with 359 points.

Argentinian Marcela Peña and Mora Innocent top the Young Riders Combination World Endurance Ranking with 318 points. Uruguayans again sit in the next two slots, with Sebastian Landriel and Maruco (306 points) in second, and Valentina Mendez and As Mister (276 points) in third. USA's Bryna Stevenson is the top USA rider combo in 17th place with 189 points.

VP attends fast UAE Endurance race

Gulftoday.ae - Full Article

From Our Abu Dhabi Bureau
November 13, 2016

ABU DHABI: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, attended the Al Wathba Challenge Endurance ride on Saturday.

Sheikh Mohammed said, “Today’s race was fast, and we did not know the extent of the readiness of horses trained by the various stables and also about their fitness levels.”

“It is our duty to welcome all new stables and to support their riders and trainers.”

Commenting on the success of the new endurance stables, Sheikh Mohammed said, “It is too early to judge the stables after just one race. We need to see how they perform over three to four races. We are still experimenting and we are comfortable with the exercise.

“Though we have the experience we are always looking to better the techniques of training and preparing a horse for competition. Training always provides good results be it in any field.”

The newly-formed M7 Endurance Stables based in Dubai got off to a winning start when Salem Hamad Saeed Malhoof Al Kitbi riding Burkaan edged out Mansour Saeed Mohammed Al Faresi on Tiswan Fageole to win the 120-km endurance ride at the Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi.

Kitbi, riding the 12-year-old bay stallion, finished hand-in-hand with MRM Stables’ Al Faresi on the 9-year-old bay gelding Tiswan Fageole with just a second being the difference between them after the 120-km ride.

The M7 Stables’ rider completed the 120-km ride held in four stages of 40kms, 35kms, 25kms and 20kms in a ride time of four hours 25 minutes and 16 seconds...

Read more here:
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/3078c032-dd1f-42e3-9fc2-f2d7f9031c14.aspx

UAE Senior Sheikh Speaks Out Against Winning at All Costs

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

November 11, 2016

by: Pippa Cuckson

A senior Sheikh from the United Arab Emirates has spoken out about the “winning at all costs” mentality in endurance which has “broken” the core relationship between horse and rider.

HH Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed al Nahyan gave his landmark address at the World Horse Welfare Conference in London on Thursday, to welfare workers and other horse industry professionals from all over the globe.

He did not hold back from blaming UAE riders and trainers for the speed-obsessed, racing-style endurance “which ultimately led to our highly publicized situation in the press.”

“Speed is the number-one problem,” he added. “The higher the speed, the greater the risk of compromised metabolism, severe lameness, fracture and death.”

He said UAE endurance has broken “the relationship between horse and rider; horses often ridden and trained by inexperienced people; mismanagement and cruelty through ignorance.”

Sheikh Sultan is already admired for reforms introduced at Bou Thib, his own endurance village in Abu Dhabi.
However, this was the first time endurance in the UAE has been openly criticised by one of that country’s most distinguished figures...

Read more here:
http://www.horse-canada.com/horse-news/senior-sheikh-speaks-out-against-winning-at-all-costs/

Enduring Hope

Writing-wrongs

November 11 2016

Yesterday, the annual World Horse Welfare conference invited speakers and guests to debate the topic of ‘The Invisible horse’.
There is much to consider from the entire day, with two speakers standing out; Chris Riggs and Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Chris Riggs’ telling narrative on the basic welfare issues facing horses in China was chilling. He described a culture that has inadequate conception of equine well-being, with little comprehension of the horse as sentient, and discussed the paucity of available medication for horses, highlighting the unthinkable lack of drugs licensed to euthanase horses across the population of sports horses, racehorses and working horses.

Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the man behind the Bou Thieb initiative in Abu Dhabi, offered a glimmer of hope for the Endurance horses in the UAE. Clearly uncomfortable on the podium, he deserves massive respect for making the effort to come to the UK, to write and deliver his speech in English, and to have the fortitude to admit publicly that “The UAE form of endurance has broken the normal close relationship between the horse and the rider.”

To help horses in Endurance in the UAE, the change had to come from within. Could this be the tide turning? Could this lead to those in the UAE who do respect their horses being rewarded, and those that don’t, as in the Dubai stables, being excluded?
China is a country developing a very strong interest in Endurance. The horses have to come before the sport. This is an open opportunity for the FEI to make changes, they need to act urgently.

The link to the speech and a transcription is below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TolUllEqIrA

“Your royal highness. Lords, ladies and gentlemen.

Any successful sport must have good rules. And we strongly support FEI and EEF rules, but as these seasons past I became aware with growing concern that the existing rules were encouraging a new type of endurance where speed had become all important. Riders were becoming racers and the effects could be seen in the increasingly poor completion rates. The number of deaths and metabolic problems which ultimately led to our highly publicized situation in the press and media.

It became impossible to ignore the facts. The original type of endurance riding which incorporate respect for the horse and the horsemanship was being lost and they tried to win at all costs.

From the beginning and in Bouthieb we tried to manage our rides with principles of welfare and good horsemanship as high priority. Nevertheless I saw our problems in Bouthieb increasing and I made it clear to those working with us, me and we have to fix this or stop endurance entirely. There could be no compromise, especially where the welfare of the horse was concerned.

I gathered a group of like-minded people and set them the task of making new rules to return endurance to a sport which involves a respectful partnership between horse and rider. When rules not just to be about speed and the first past the post, but also that a horse must finish in the best possible conditions and fit to continue. We should encourage the heart of horsemanship because the culture of speed has taken over.

The rules were developed for our local conditions of flat easy tracks but they can be adopted to anywhere according to the type of country. The rides were through. They are based on the following points:

1. Speed and how to reduce it
It is the number one problem. The higher the speed, the greater the risk of compromise metabolism, severe lameness, fracture and death.
2. The fit to continue

Element of the sport which seems to be disappearing. We have tackled reducing the speed in 4 ways.

- Introducing a presentation heart rate of 56 bpm. FEI maximum of 64.
- Introducing a presentation time of 10 minutes for all loops. FEI maximum 20 minutes.
- Introducing top speed limit of 20 kph within UAE all CENs, with penalties or eliminations for breaking it.
- Instigating 40 minute holds at all vet-gates, with 50 minutes when re-presentation is required.

Re-establishing the relationship between riders and horses. The UAE form of endurance has broken the normal close relationship between the horse and the rider. Horses often ridden and trained by inexperienced people which has frequently led to a disagreement for welfare. Mismanagement and cruelty through ignorance.

Solution. We have introduced the Best Endurance Ride Challenge. As an incentive to encourage the welfare of the horse and return the responsibility to the riders and trainers through education the winners will receive 70% of prize money.

The winners are assisted on 5 basic criteria through a system of points: Speed parameters; recovery time; cardiac recover index; metabolics; gate/lameness.

Method of ride management to control riders, trainers and their followers too.

- Reinforce fair play on the track and in the vet-gate area to ensure competitors can be controlled and rules are observed.
- Introduce as much objective assessment as possible.
- Develop a method of hypersensitivity testing for metablock.
- Enforce attendance of ride briefings as part of the entry qualifications.
- Install cc tv cameras in all hold areas.
- Fixed water points every kilometer. No crewing except emergency outside the points.
- Restrict number of crew per horse and control the crew through number vests to manage horse number.
- No crewing permitted in last 2,5 kilometers and horses must maintain forward movement to finish line.
- Restrict number of cars on the track to one per 5 horses maximum. Two for more horses.
- Spot checks for riders.
- Spot ID check on riders and catch substitutions.
- There may be compulsory hypersensitivity test for outer sensitized on the limb nerve blocking.
- In 2017 season we’ll see more technical and natural trials including in the loops.
- Basic FEI and national rules also apply throughout.

Implementation

The rules work. Last season 4 endurance meetings were run in the UAE using the new rules. The cues of exhausted and injured horses disappeared. Completely with no horses requiring invasive treatment in the clinic. Something unheard of in the village in previous seasons. Unfortunately, catastrophic injuries happen in all equestrian sports and 3 horses out of seasonal total of 3035 starters had to be euthanized. Previous years I’ve seen double figures.

The clinics remained empty, no invasive therapy. We’re sure we’re heading in the right direction. Our strict heart rate and presentation time made it impossible to speed. Riders must slow down if they want to pass the vet check. The rules are used in the CENs which have a 20 km speed limit.

And that gave an added challenge to the riders and bring back a new opportunity for endurance horses. Still with excellent heart rate and recovery, we have seen many horses retire because in the speed races they are too slow.

The veterinarians and officials have all been astonished at how such simple changed have had such dramatic results. The clinic has been so quiet and the vets a starting to bring books to read while they wait. Over the summer, rider were held in Uruguay, Argentina, Germany, France and Morocco. Using some or all of these rules. After initial reservation, the majority of people appreciated them and we are receiving more requests from all over the world to be able to use them.
Planning for the future.

Through last season we enrolled the FEI and received considerable support from their officials. Also the positive feedback and international publicity has received is perhaps the most encouraging credit. It is also highly gratifying that ride organizers around the world have shown an interest in using the Bouthieb initiative.

Bouthieb rides will start to incorporate more natural desert terrain. Riders will be forced to use tracks away from cars so that they have to think for themselves. Plans are being made to develop a Bouthieb Initiative APP for use by ride organizers and competitors. We have plans to help educate young riders and encourage safe competition for novice horses.

Finally we hope to spread the word further greater tv and media coverage.

Thank you.”

Uma Mencia Uranga Brings Lessons from Endurance Horse Racing to the Hilltop

SFS.Georgetown.edu - Full Article

November 7, 2016
by Margaux Fontaine

Uma Mencia Uranga, graduate student in the Walsh School of Foreign Service, is working towards her Master of Arts in Arab Studies (MAAS). But outside of her academic career, she is a professional endurance horse racer.

“My interest in endurance horse racing began when I was a young girl,” Mencia said. “It was a sport that combined both my passion for the outdoors and my love for horses.”

Mencia grew up in a small town in the Basque country of northern Spain. Taking lessons from the endurance team at her riding school, she participated in her first race at the age of twelve and never looked back. Since 2008, Mencia has been based out of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, working with the Fazza Endurance Team (now referred to as Al Aryam Endurance Team).

Her riding career has been complemented by her successful academic career as well. While in Dubai, she studied at the American University, where she majored in Fine Arts in the school of Visual Communications and completed a certificate in Middle Eastern Studies.

“The years I had spent in the United Arab Emirates and my Arabic language studies in Egypt and Morocco sparked my desire pursue the academic study of the language and region at the graduate level,” Mencia explained. “The strong focus on the Arabic language, the diverse classes taught by top faculty in the field, as well as the content courses taught entirely in Arabic is what made the Arab Studies M.A. at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies of Georgetown my top choice program.”

Though she is enjoying her time at Georgetown, riding remains a central part of her life...

Read more here:
http://sfs.georgetown.edu/uma-mencia-uranga-maas17-brings-lessons-endurance-horse-racing-hilltop/