UAE: Teenage Sensation Al Merri wins 2017 Gamilati Endurance Cup

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

The 17-year-old, delighted with his win on Raya, is first congratulated by Shaikh Mohammad

February 23, 2017
Gulf News
Staff Report

Dubai: Hamdan Ahmad Al Merri and his mare, Raya, emerged the winners of the sixth Gamilati Endurance Cup for Mares sponsored by Al Tayer Motors Thursday, a 119km ride held at the purpose-built Dubai International Endurance City.

The 17-year-old, who has been riding since the age of six, was first congratulated by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, following his victory which stopped the clock in at 4:23.45.

Speaking after the win Al Merri said: “This is a very special win for me, I have been training very hard, and have waited a whole year for this race. My horse is a strong horse and credit must go to her as well, I have been riding with her for a year now and she has done a really good job...

More at:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/teenage-sensation-al-merri-wins-2017-gamilati-endurance-cup-1.1983439

UAE: Gamiliati Endurace Cup on Thursday

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Ride is contested over 119 kms in four phases and is open to qualified mares only

February 22, 2017 Gulf News
Staff Report

Dubai: The Dubai International Endurance City is set to host the sixth renewal of the CEN 119km Gamilati Endurance Cup for Mares, organised by Dubai Equestrian Club (DEC), on Thursday.

The ride, which was first run in 2012 was named by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, after the Godolphin-trained flat race mare, Gamilati, who claimed the 2012 UAE 1,000 Guineas at Meydan Racecourse.
The Gamilati Cup is competed over 119 kms in four phases and is open to qualified mares only.

In 2012 the inaugural Gamilati Endurance Cup winner was Ahmad Mohammad Al Jaber Al Marri. The following year Poland’s Kamila Anita Kart won the event aboard Ajayeb while Ajayeb completed back-to-back wins in 2014 under Shaikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/gamiliati-endurace-cup-on-thursday-1.1982917

Australia: Tumut’s annual endurance ride

TATimes.com.au - Full Article

By Frances Vinall - February 22, 2017

Horse riders from as far afield as Queensland and Victoria travelled to Tumut last weekend for the annual Tumut Endurance Ride, this year staged in the picturesque Gilmore Valley.

Competitors had the option of 5, 10, 20, and 40 kilometre rides, and could do a different ride on the Saturday and the Sunday if they wished.

For the past two years the ride has been held at the Tumut Showgrounds, but this year riders had the treat of venturing through the hills of Gilmore, thanks to accommodating property owners...

Read more here:
http://www.tatimes.com.au/tumuts-annual-endurance-ride/

Experts to Debate Equestrian Sport at FEI Sports Forum 2017

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

February 21, 2017
by: FEI

World experts on the Olympic sports of Jumping and Eventing and the non-Olympic discipline of Endurance will address the FEI Sports Forum 2017 when it takes place at the International Management Development Institute (IMD) in Lausanne (SUI) from April 10-11. The programme for the annual event, which is acknowledged as the key opportunity for the equestrian world to gather and debate current topics in the sport prior to the annual General Assembly, is published today and registration is now open.

The Sports Forum will be opened by FEI President Ingmar De Vos, followed by a keynote address from IMD. The first day of the two-day programme will focus on Jumping, with an in-depth look at the future of the FEI’s flagship team series, the FEI Nations Cup™. Other highlights on the first day will be a presentation on the FEI’s online invitation system, discussion on CSI/CSIO requirements. Dress code and youth development in the sport will also be discussed, with a presentation on youth sport from Belgium’s four-time Olympian, Ludo Philippaerts and Peter Bollen, member of the FEI Jumping Committee.

The second day opens with a morning session on FEI Officials, including an update from the Dressage Judging Working Group. The two afternoon sessions are devoted to Eventing and Endurance.

Sydney 2000 Olympic champion David O’Connor (USA), Chair of the FEI Eventing Risk Management Steering Group, and Giuseppe Della Chiesa (ITA), chair of the FEI Eventing Committee, lead the first afternoon session dedicated to risk management. Beginning with a presentation of the Eventing risk management policy and programme implemented by the FEI to date, this will then be followed by a discussion on new proposals and next steps.

Endurance then takes centre stage for the final session of the Sports Forum 2017. Dr Tim Parkin, an expert in veterinary epidemiology, will present the initial findings of the two-year Global Endurance Injuries Study that he has conducted at Glasgow University with fellow specialist Dr Euan Bennet, and there will also be a presentation on bone fatigue and preventing bone injury by Professor Chris Whitton from the University of Melbourne, one of the world’s leading authorities on skeletal injuries...

Read more here:
https://www.horse-canada.com/horse-news/experts-to-debate-equestrian-sport-at-fei-sports-forum-2017/

India: Maharashtra's first horse marathon rewards stamina over speed

Indiatimes.com - Full Article

Nergish Sunavala | TNN | Feb 21, 2017,

On Sunday morning in Lo navla's Kurwande Villa ge, over 50 horses rolled on the ground kicking up dust before grooms wiped them off, massaged their joints and checked their heart rates. The flurry of activity at the stable with its precisely-timed choreography resembled a pit stop in aFormula One race.

And in a sense it was. These horses had just reached the halfway point of Maharashtra's first-ever 40km Endurance Championship. Before being permitted to continue, they had to be presented to a veterinarian, who would check for dehydration, limping and ensure their heart rate didn't exceed 64 beats per minute. The horse declared fit in the shortest amount of time would get a head start. Thus, an army of grooms and riders was engaged in bringing down their heart rate by any means necessary including encouraging them to roll and de-stress...

Read more here:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/maharashtras-first-horse-marathon-rewards-stamina-over-speed/articleshow/57262921.cms

No more starts for Germany's endurance riders in Dubai

St-Georg.de

[translation]

February 16 2017

After the recent incidents related to the distance races in the United Arab Emirates, the German Olympics Committee for Cavalry (DOKR) has now reacted.

The Executive Board has decided not to grant the German distance race any start-up permits for the participation in international distances in Dubai. If German riders are to take part in national races in Dubai, "the DOKR reserves the right not to nominate them in the future for the Championships or the Bundeskader", the wording in the document of the DOKR and the German Equestrian Federation (FN).

The DOKR goes even further. It calls on German organizers not to invite riders from the United Arab Emirates any more. The activities of the DOKR are expressly supported by the Presidium of the Verein Deutscher Abstandreiter und -fahrer (VDD). In fact, the VDD had even called the FN and the Weltreiterverband FEI to action .

Only two days ago eight other medication cases were known. In addition, in the first months of the year the reports of dead horses , which were killed in the races.

ABU DHABI DELIBERATELY EXCLUDED
Is there a bit of the question, why the start ban is limited to Dubai, where there were also dumped in the other Emirates and dead horses. On request, the press office of the FN said: "We have been looking at the events at which German riders are at all. These are the ones in Dubai as well as in Abu Dhabi. On the basis of our information, efforts are being made in Abu Dhabi to implement the FEI guidelines. Therefore, we deliberately restricted the ban to Dubai. "

British authorities take action to ‘change mindset’ in endurance

Horseandhound.co.uk - Full Article

Pippa Cuckson
16:17 - 16 February, 2017

Endurance GB (EGB) and the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) have today revealed further details about their plans to “change the mindset of trainers and riders competing in this country.”

A new endurance working group will look at “parameters around optimum speed, heart rate and recovery times” to be trialled at Kings Forest (14-16 April), Haywood Oaks (28-30 April), Royal Windsor (12 May), and Euston Park (20-21 May).

The move follows growing global concern about horse welfare in the UAE, and also the involvement of the ruling Al Maktoum family of Dubai who remain involved promoting the summer Euston series.

Last year there was no significant reduction in average winning speeds at Euston by visiting riders from Dubai. Sheikh Rashid Dalmook al Maktoum – currently suspended for an alleged FEI doping offence – won a 120km event at Euston on 13 August with Ajayeb, clocking up a final loop speed of 27.4 kph. At her next outing, the world championships in Samorin, Ajayeb sustained a fatal fracture...

Read more at http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/british-authorities-take-action-change-mindset-endurance-612726#U1gAso001M6iPbLS.99