Australia: Local riders to tackle Gobi Desert Cup

Northernstar.com.au - Full Article

Marc Stapelberg | 4th Aug 2017 7:00 AM

THE desert in Mongolia conjures vivid images of a foreign culture and harsh conditions.

For Horsetalk Riding Farm owners Steve Clibborn and Joyce Corbett it will be their personal battleground for a week as they strive to conquer exhaustion, heat, cold and mental fatigue while participating in a 480km race through the unforgiving desert.

The inaugural Gobi Desert Cup will take place in September and is a 480 kilometre endurance ride starting 160km outside UlaanBataar, the capital of Mongolia.

Riders will ride a new Mongolian horse especially trained for The Gobi Desert Cup everyday for 80km.

There will be two vet checks daily at about 40km and at the end of the 80km course.

The veterinarians will check the horses heart rate, gait and general condition to be deemed fit to continue.

Horsetalk Endurance team member Joyce Corbett is a national champion in endurance riding with seven Quilty Buckles and eventually winning the coveted Tom Quilty Gold Cup in 2004 which is Australia's most prestigious endurance horse race...

Read more here:
https://www.northernstar.com.au/news/local-riders-to-tackle-gobi-desert-cup/3208628/#/0

Uruguay: High Speed Competitive races in Trinidad, Flores

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

4 August 2017
Race report made with the assistance of Lucia Olascoaga

Trinidad, Flores, Uruguay. Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 July.
This was the seventh race on the Uruguayan endurance calendar with 11 CEI races in the year, including the Pan American Games next October.

Trinidad received at this race track a big number of the country’s endurance community. Competitions of CEI2* 120km and CEI1* 80km were held out both in senior and junior categories.

The CEI2* 120km was divided into four stages of 38.5km, 34.5km, 28km and the last loop of 19km. In senior category, Isha Judd – URU (Ashva Fire Fly) came first. Second place was for Nicolas Stirling – URU (LG Lejamsi) and third place finish went to Pilar Saravia – URU (Che Niebla).

In the third loop, we saw the elimination of Martin Stirling – URU (Naranjito), he arrived in this stage in first position, followed by Monica Pinto Lima – URU (Himalala da barra). It was a very strong race from the start onwards with an average speed of 23.63km/h for Monica Pinto Lima – URU (Himalaia Da, Barra) who maintained the first position from the beginning and almost won, but the horse didn’t pass the last trot...

Read more here:
http://endurance-world.com/high-speed-competitive-races-trinidad-flores/

Marahau, NZ kindergarten teacher ready for Mongol Derby adventure

Stuff.co.nz - Full Article

JESSICA LONG
Last updated 11:52, July 31 2017

A 22-year-old Marahau-based kindergarten teacher leaves next week to take part in the world's longest, toughest horse race – the Mongol Derby.

The starting gun will sound on August 9 and Marahau adventurer Marie Palzer will start her ride alongside 40 others in a race that traces a path of military leader Genghis Khan.

"I'm ready. [I'm] definitely nervous but I'm super excited. I just can't wait to get over there."

Palzer has spent the last four months training and prepping herself for the "exciting" and "scary" adventure, knowing only a third of the riders will make it to the finish line before the 10-day deadline.

The time had "come along so fast" and on Tuesday Palzer will be on a plane to Mongolia with nothing but her saddle and riding supplies...

Read more here:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/95144296/Marahau-kindergarten-teacher-ready-for-Mongol-Derby-adventure

Rider from Bahrain suspended and fined over endurance horse’s positive drug test

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

August 2, 2017
Horsetalk.co.nz

A rider from Bahrain has been suspended from competition for six months and fined 2000 Swiss francs after his endurance mount tested positive to five substances not permitted under FEI equine anti-doping rules.

The Bahrain-registered horse Ultreia Larzac, ridden by Othman Abduljaleel Al Awadhi, competed in the CEI2* 120km ride at the Bahrain International Endurance Village, Sakhir, on January 14 this year.

The horse was selected for drug testing. The blood sample revealed the presence of caffeine, theophylline, phenylbutazone, oxyphenbutazone, and dexamethasone.

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant. Theophylline is used to open airways in the treatment of respiratory disease. Phenylbutazone and its metabolic byproduct oxyphenbutazone are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with painkilling effects. Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid drug with anti-inflammatory effects...

Read more at https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2017/08/02/rider-bahrain-suspension-fine-endurance-horse/#OoSjzXMdLBQybC4j.99

World Arabian Organization Shames Desert Endurance

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

July 28, 2017
by: Pippa Cuckson

Endurance racing in the Middle East is sacrificing Arabian horses “on the altar of sport” and the FEI must take “firm and prompt action to definitely prevent another dismal catalogue of catastrophic injuries” next season.

Those are the views of Peter Pond, president of the World Arabian Horse Organisation (WAHO), who has written a forthright letter to FEI president Ingmar de Vos about the ongoing welfare crisis in the Middle East and the UAE in particular.

The WAHO executive resolved to approach the FEI during its annual conference in Bahrain in February, which was attended by delegates from 34 of WAHO’s 65 member countries. There Mr Pond gave an address underlining that the executive committee was “extremely disturbed by the chain of events” and that the “rate of attrition is serious abuse of all the horses taking part.” At that stage, there had been 11 reported deaths in the UAE national and international sport since the turn of the year.

He added: “Arabian horses have tremendous heart, tremendous courage and tremendous bravery, which is why they are the chosen breed for endurance. To stay silent and effectively abandon them to the fate would be to go against our core values and objectives...”

Read more here:
https://www.horse-canada.com/horse-news/world-arabian-organization-shames-desert-endurance/

Online course for grooms covers anti-doping rules in horse sport

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

July 28, 2017 Horsetalk.co.nz

Grooms around the world are able to access an online course to help them understand the anti-doping and medication rules that apply in equestrian sport.

The course was developed by the British Grooms Association with the help of industry professionals. It is used by the British Equestrian Federation for its team grooms.

The association’s communications director, Liz Daniels, highlighted the course following recent cases before the FEI Tribunal in which well meaning grooms or other helpers used substances that resulted in horses returning a positive blood test...

Read more at https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2017/07/28/on-line-course-grooms-anti-doping-horse/#C0YzwgmTXYOIOscS.99

Mongol Derby awaits Canadian

Simcoereformer.ca - Full Article

By Jacob Robinson, Simcoe Reformer
Wednesday, July 26, 2017 4:57:50 EDT PM

When Long Point's Olivia Wood first told her family what she planned on doing after graduating university it was almost too crazy for them to comprehend.

“My mom thought I was pregnant and I was covering it up with some outlandish excuse,” the 24-year-old laughed. “She thought she was being punked... she was not so keen on the whole idea but she's come around and been super supportive.”

Earlier this year Wood, a Cambridge, Ontario native, completed her final year of studies at Niagara University in New York State before moving to Norfolk. Knowing the window to travel freely was quickly closing, Wood decided to combine her love of horses, athletics, and nature into one high-risk, high-reward activity.

She soon got accepted to what's known as the Mongol Derby, a 1,000km (621 mile) endurance horse race that aims to recreate Genghis Khan's empire-busting postal system. The Aug. 6-19 event claims to be “the longest and toughest horse race in the world”.

“Your chances of being seriously injured or dying as a result of taking part are high,” the derby website reads. “Individuals who have taken part in the past have been permanently disfigured, seriously disabled or lost their life.”

The trek sees 40 riders from around the world head out into the wild with nothing more than a GPS and 11 pounds (5kg) of gear atop semi-wild Mongolian horses...

Read more here:
http://www.simcoereformer.ca/2017/07/26/mongol-derby-awaits