Great Britain: Annie Joppe’s endurance blog: on the edge of a nightmare

Horseandhound.co.uk - Full Story

Annie Joppe - 10 July, 2017

Fitness preparation continues for Fantom and we were lucky enough to enjoy a ‘guided’ interval training session on Dartmoor recently. The going was just right, not too wet, and not too dry and we completed six uphill sessions each of over a mile, interspersed with walking down and steadily progressing between each climb. This succeeded in raising heart rates far more efficiently than any work on the gallops possibly could and I was so pleased with Fantom’s performance and attitude. Unfortunately after that we had four days of driving rain, which meant work on the grass cross-country course ceased.

I am now just back from a weekend in Norfolk. How very idyllic you might say, but our weekend was focussed on Chiara’s first FEI competition; indeed her first race and the biggest occasion in her young life.

As usual the King’s Forest competition was a superbly organised event with an excellent venue and facilities and everything was in place to make things as easy as possible for the competitors.

We had decided in advance to leave Cornwall on a Thursday to avoid the ridiculous gridlock of holiday traffic coming into and out of Cornwall on a Friday. This had the added advantage of giving us a day’s breathing space before the competition which was on the Saturday. We had a straightforward journey with a stop at Bristol Airport (nearly on the way) to collect stalwart crew member, Kiwi, who had flown in from Holland.

There had been a fair amount of rain just prior to the ride, just after the organisers had marked the course which had the dire effect of removing most of the markers. But they were actually superheroes and, almost single-handedly, drove 350 stakes with coloured loop markers into the side of the forest tracks (six different loops of up to 20 miles long!) in time for the competition...

Read more at http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/blog/annie-joppes-endurance-blog-edge-nightmare-625814#IGGuu1tDPPr1LGwO.99

From Goodwood to Mongolia: BEF chief takes on extreme races days apart

Horseandhound.co.uk - Full Article

Lucy Elder
12:53 - 8 July, 2017

British Equestrian Federation (BEF) chief Clare Salmon heads the 12-strong British contingent taking on the longest and toughest horse race in the world.

The 2017 Mongol Derby features 13 men and 29 women from nine countries. The 1,000km route recreates Chinggis Khaan’s ancient horse messenger system and is expected to take around 10 days to complete.

Clare, who started the top BEF job in June 2016, will also be riding in the Magnolia Cup charity race at Goodwood on 3 August — days ahead of the start of the Mongol Derby.

“The challenge of going from the shortest and most glamorous horse-race on ladies’ day at Glorious Goodwood to the longest and most unhygienic one in Mongolia the next day is pretty irresistible,” said the 53-year-old in her race biography...

Read more at http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/clare-salmon-mongol-derby-2017-625680#DuEwWzizsQIhC2Zk.99

Canada: B.C. Wildfires Force Livestck Evacuations

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

July 10, 2017
by: Horse-Canada.com

As more than 180 wildfires burn in British Columbia, and nearly 40,000 residents are under order to evacuate, several online resources have emerged to assist livestock owners.

This wildfire animal rescue map, for example, identifies locations where people can access trailering, pasture horses temporarily and plan evacuation routes. It will be especially helpful, as the fires have forced the closure of some major highways.

Plus, the BC’s Emergency LivestockAnimal Evacuation Group Facebook page was created to provide information to horse owners looking to relocate their animals.

Several news agencies are sharing harrowing tales of horse owners on the run, including one woman’s story of packing up her 20 horses and four dogs and fleeing her home in 108 Mile Ranch, B.C...

Read more here:
https://www.horse-canada.com/horse-news/b-c-wildfires-force-livestock-evacuations/?utm_source=Enews+July+10%2C+2017&utm_campaign=EnewsJuly102017&utm_medium=email

Woman who quit her City job to become a full-time ADVENTURER...

DailyMail.co.uk - Full Article

Woman who quit her City job to become a full-time ADVENTURER reveals how she almost died crossing India on a rickshaw (and shares the items she NEVER leaves home without)

Katy Willings, 34, signed up for a 3,000km rickshaw race across India in 2009
She was working as a management consultant but fell in love with adventuring
Katy quit her London job and now organises adventures for others full-time
She shares what she's learned rafting, riding and paramotoring around the world

By Stephanie Linning for MailOnline
PUBLISHED: 08:00 EDT, 7 July 2017

Whether it is horse riding across Mongolia's rugged terrain or motorcycling through Siberia, Katy Willings has a knack for looking perfectly at ease in settings that would push most others to the brink of their physical limits.
But then again, she has had plenty of practise. The 34-year-old has completed feats of physical endurance in some of the world's most remote and unforgiving locations.

This spirit of intrepidness is made all the more remarkable because up until a little more than eight years ago Katy was working as a 'depressingly mediocre' management consultant in London.

The new, adventure-seeking chapter of her life began when the tragic and sudden death of a close friend led to her signing up to take his place in a 3,000km rickshaw race in India just weeks before the January 2009 start date.
After that came the Mongol Derby, a 1,000km horseback ride across Mongolia, and by the end of 2010 Katy had quit her job and relocated to Bristol to work full-time for The Adventurists, a company that organises adventures for those who find their daily lives a little on the quiet, safe side...

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4647580/Woman-quit-City-job-time-adventurer.html#ixzz4mLR70uvL

Canada: Horses take veterinarians for a run

Producer.com - Full Article

Family affair


Posted Jul. 6th, 2017 by Christalee Froese

CARNDUFF, Sask. — They jointly run an average of 160 kilometres per week and that doesn’t include running to veterinary calls and chasing after three kids.


Dr. Marcel Macfarlane and his wife, Dr. Dawn Pauwelyn, are not only experts on equine colic, feline parasites and bovine prolapse, but they have mastered ultra-marathon running in their spare time.


They have sometimes gone to extreme and unusual lengths to fit lengthy training runs into their schedules. Pauwelyn has run 29 km back to town after dropping off a car at her in-laws’ farm while Macfarlane has jogged 40 km to the U.S. border and back for a parcel. 


Macfarlane can sometimes be found running next to a horse and rider as part of his quest to train for 50 to 162 km races.


“I’m always looking for ways to make training interesting, so I’ll call up my buddy, Jake, and say, ‘you ride, I’ll run,’ ” said Macfarlane, adding that while a horse has more speed, humans can have greater endurance.


Relying on his vast knowledge of equine physiology, Macfarlane said that when the environmental temperatures rise, a horse can’t cool off as quickly and that’s where he can outperform a horse. 


“I’ve done runs with Jake and when we got back in after eight miles, those horses were beat, but I was still OK,” said the 45-year-old vet.
..

Read more here:
http://www.producer.com/2017/07/horses-take-veterinarians-for-a-run/

Scotland: Charities benefit from Peeblesshire endurance ride

Peeblesshirenews.com - Full Article

July 6 2017
by David Knox

ONE of the Scottish Endurance Riding Club’s favourite events of the year took place last weekend in the hills around Broughton.

Almost 150 competitors were received from all over Scotland, and some from south of the border, descended on the Peeblesshire village for this three-day challenge for horse and rider.

While distances ran to a maximum of 80 kilometres over Saturday and Sunday, most riders chose the shorter 30 kilometre as well as the pleasure options – attracted by a different and very scenic route each day...

Read more here:
http://www.peeblesshirenews.com/sport/15391187.Charities_benefit_from_Peeblesshire_endurance_ride/

The Mongol Derby: A Ride of a Lifetime

TryonDailyBulletin.com - Full Story

July 6 2017

Written by Judy Heinrich

Photos submitted

Endurance competitors cover 50 to 100 miles in a single day on a single horse, within allotted times of 12 to 24 hours, depending on distance. There are several mandatory vet checks during rides, to ensure horses are fit to continue and give both rider and horse an hour or so to rest, re-hydrate and eat. Out on the trail, competitors encounter all kinds of terrain in whatever conditions the weather gods decree, from freezing cold to blistering heat, pouring rain and thunderstorms, or some combination. And if they’re lucky, cloudless skies to light the dead-of-night trails. For riders who can’t get enough, there are “Pioneer Rides,” with multiple days in a row of endurance riding for combined distances of at least 150 miles.

It’s no wonder endurance riding is considered an extreme sport. But for Marianne Williams of Tryon, your typical endurance rides just aren’t extreme enough. In August she’ll be competing in the Mongol Derby, deemed the world’s longest and toughest horse race by the Guinness Book of Records. It’s in Mongolia, of course, a landlocked sovereign state in East Asia that’s bordered by China to the south and Russia to the north. The Derby is 1,000 kilometers long – that’s 621 miles – and riders have 10 days to complete it, preceded by three days for navigation and survival training, and meeting the horses.

Unlike typical endurance races for which courses are well marked by friendly florescent ribbons, the Derby course isn’t marked at all. In fact each year’s course is kept secret until right before launch. But you can be sure the riders will experience every type of Mongolian terrain, from high passes, open valleys, wooded hills and river crossings to wetlands, floodplains, sandy semi-arid dunes and, of course, “open Steppe” – the expansive grasslands that cover most of the country.

And forget the trusting longtime bonds that endurance riders invariably have with their horses: Mongol Derby riders are on half-wild Mongolian horses that they switch out every 25 miles. Fresh horses are provided at 25 stations along the way, with choice of horse on a first come-first served basis. So if you’re in the back of the pack, you choose from the horses nobody else wanted...

Read more here:
http://www.tryondailybulletin.com/2017/07/06/the-mongol-derby-ride-of-a-lifetime/