Sheikh Sultan tells why he is shaking up the sport of endurance

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

December 1, 2016
Horsetalk.co.nz

Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of Emirates Heritage Club in the UAE, has spoken of his Boutheib Initiative in endurance, and the steps he has taken to improve horse welfare in the sport.

Sheikh Sultan was among the keynote speakers at this year’s World Horse Welfare Conference in Britain last month, and he spoke of his strong belief that endurance should not be about the first horse past the post but instead the horse in the best condition at the finish.

In a sport which had been rocked by negativity over recent years, Sheikh Sultan presented a positive and forward-thinking approach with greater rules and regulation to protect horse welfare that has already seen success through a huge reduction in injuries and eradication of horse fatalities through the 2016 season.

“Removing the focus on speed does not remove competition in endurance. The real competition should be about your horse finishing in the best possible condition,” he said.

“We should encourage the art of horsemanship, because the culture of speed has taken over...”

Read more: http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2016/12/01/sheikh-sultan-shaking-sport-endurance/#ixzz4Rbat7Xuo

France's Stephane Chazel Appointed new FEI Endurance Technical Committee member

Inside.FEI.org

23 Nov 2016
Endurance - Appointment of new Technical Committee member

We are delighted to welcome Stéphane Chazel (FRA) in the FEI Endurance Committee, who was appointed for a four year term, following the decision taken by the FEI Bureau in Tokyo on 19 November 2016. Mr. Chazel is replacing the outgoing member Khalid Ahmed Hasan (BRN). The FEI thanks Mr. Hasan for his great collaboration during the past four years.

Coming from a family of breeders and riders of Endurance Arab horses, the new Committee member has always been passionate about this discipline.

Mr. Chazel has participated in Endurance events all over the world (USA, Brazil, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, China, Europe, Malaysia etc.), as you can see here for the international competitions.

Involved for 20 years in this discipline, he contributed to its evolution and regulations within many organizations in France, such as CNREE, ACA, SHF and CREE. In addition, he organized FFE and FEI Endurance events during ten years, while the past five years he has contributed to the development of Endurance in China.

We are looking forward to collaborating with Mr. Chazel and we believe that his long experience in Endurance will further promote the discipline.

UAE: Bouthieb Initiative Takes a Natural Desert Course

Horsereporter.com - Full Article

by Pamela Burton

New endurance tracks pass through UAE's Natural Forestry Reserves

28 November 2016, Bouthieb, UAE ~ Once again His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan has taken ground-breaking steps at his Bouthieb Endurance Village. The CEI* 80km seasonal opener which took place on 25 November, saw the first phase of plans to return to a maximum use of natural tracks through the desert, not seen in the UAE endurance for many years.

New tracks passing through the UAE’s Natural Forestry Reserves

Friday’s Sheikh Hamdan and Sheikh Zayed bin Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Cup took riders ‘off track’ on a beautiful course created to naturally slow the speed and to challenge the skills of the riders. These new tracks cover approximately 30% of the course; water points were strategically placed and no cars were permitted in these areas. This provided a natural environment for riders to understand, appreciate and to respect the welfare of their horses, centre theme of the Boutheib Initiative.

This latest development instigated by His Highness was very much appreciated by both horses and riders. It made a welcome change to the relentless flat race speed tracks that we have become accustomed to seeing in UAE endurance venues. A measure of the success of this most enjoyable day was the 79% (122 riders) completion rate and a clinic that was virtually empty...

Read more here:
http://www.horsereporter.com/bouthieb-initiative-takes-a-natural-desert-course/

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