Australia: Diary of an Endurance rider : the Journey to the World Championships

Equestrian.org.au - Full Article

Posted by Tayla Hadzi on 09/08/2017

Tayla Hadzi was selected in June 2017 to represent Australia at the upcoming FEI World Endurance Championships for Juniors & Young Riders from 22 – 24 September 2017, in Valeggio sul Mincio, Italy with her mare Oso Edith. Here she shares with us her story ...

"I started Endurance seven years ago at the age of 14. My interest in Endurance began when I started riding at Splendacrest Endurance Stables near Toowoomba, Qld. From the beginning, I have always wanted to compete at the highest possible level that I can. I remember watching the World Youth Endurance Championships in Abu Dhabi in 2011 and knew that was where I wanted to be someday. I competed in my first FEI ride in 2011 at Red Range on Ausden Prince Mahal, aka Rabbit, who is owned by Jay Randle. This combination helped me continue and start qualifying for the World Youth Endurance Championships in Italy 2017. I did my first 3 * 160km ride at the end of 2015 on Rabbit and we completed it in 10hrs and 35mins and took out First youth and Best Conditioned as well as Best Managed horse in both the youth and open divisions. Having ended that year of Endurance on such a high I was ready to take on the next year to do bigger and better things.

I flew down to Melbourne at the beginning of 2016, meeting like-minded people who all had their sights set on competing or being part of an Australian Endurance team. This was a great introduction to all of people who were ready to help all of us on our journey.

In January 2016 I joined Oso Arabians in Albury, managers Amanda and Andrew Kettlewell had a big professional Stable that I was keen to be a part of. This was an exciting new step for me making Endurance my life. Working at Oso has taken my riding to a new level, competing in different states and spending many hours in the saddle.

Oso Arabians was host for the Australian team camp and the first FEI ride of 2016. This was a very busy and exciting week, prepping horses for the FEI ride as well as working and participating in the camp. The camp was an awesome opportunity for everyone to get know each other as well as having many guest speakers share their knowledge with everyone. Meeting previous Australian team competitors, selectors and team vets. After a very informative week I was partnered with Oso Lorikeet for the 120km 2* and came away with a completion and 4th Youth...

Read more here:
http://www.equestrian.org.au/news/diary-endurance-rider-journey-world-championships

Mongol Derby 2017 Beginnings

TheAdventurists.com - Full Article

August 8, 2017 Mongol Derby
The Mongol Derby doesn't do things by half. It's known as the toughest horse race on our fine planet for very good reasons. Victory, or indeed abject hardship could be within reach for any of the riders.

Before we detail those to watch, let's have a little report of yesterday's goings on from our team on the ground. Over to adventure Chief Miss Katy:

"The riders have finally got their feet on the steppe and enjoyed the steep learning curve of the first test ride. New saddles and bridles, huge new horizons and a whole new species to contend with - the mighty Mongolian horse. Yesterday (Sunday) riders were briefed on essential protocols such as using their satellite trackers, and the all-important urtuu changeovers - procedures and etiquette. All weighed out successfully at 85kgs dressed or less, and most even got to enjoy a cupcake before they tackled the scales. A few of the bigger guys have lost several kilos to do this and should be congratulated. The next few kilos will come off much more easily in the coming weeks.

Riders have seen the whites of each other's eyes; some asked detailed and clearly competitive questions of the referee teams, keen to understand every possible lever and advantage available to them during the race. Others had questions about safety, what happens when it all goes tits up and what the food is like. Needless to say, the food will be...different to what they might usually feast upon. Others were eerily quiet and are therefore hard to categorise. We have another two days pre-launch to see who is in it to win it and who are already praying to the gods to get them home safely

Folks are (as usual) bricking it about the navigation. Our course briefing and beautifully rendered maps, created by Daren Parr, seemed to settle most down. At every urtuu there will be a stack of maps for the next leg, with a simple key of terrain, ascent/descent, and key obstacles. All laughed nervously at the prospect of the railway crossing at Bayan around half way - get a Mongolian horse through a railway underpass? Really? Yes, really. Also most laughed when he said, "you're going to cross two roads". In 1020kms...

Read more here:
https://www.theadventurists.com/the-jibber/mongolderby17onestowatch

The Mongol Derby 2017: Meet the Riders

TheAdventurists.com

August 8, 2017 Mongol Derby
The world’s longest and hardest horse race should not be taken at all lightly. As well as the odd bone here and there it has broken many a heroic soul. Starting this Wednesday, forty-three tenacious and toe-curlingly brave riders prepare their bodies and minds for the upcoming onslaught. Many of them will not make it to the finish line, though you can be sure they’re going to give it every damn iota of effort they have within themselves.

Ladies and gentlemen, in their own words, it is our honour to present to you the marvellous Mongol Derby entrants for 2017...

See them all here:
http://www.theadventurists.com/the-jibber/2017/8/7/the-mongol-derby-2017-meet-the-riders

New Zealand: Self-confessed horse-fanatic a champion endurance rider

Stuff.co.nz - Full Article

ILLYA MCLELLAN
Last updated 14:18, August 8 2017

Fancy getting up at midnight to ride 160 kilometres on horseback? Not many would, but for some people, it's just the ticket.

Wairarapa's Jenny Champion is one of them, recently winning the Equestrian Sports NZ Endurance Championship Series for 2017 and her 10th and 11th endurance riding commemorative buckles.

Champion said she was a bit of a horse fanatic but some people could not get their heads around endurance riding.

"You tell people you are going to start riding at 1am and travelling 160 km on horseback and they look at you like you're crazy. It can take between 8½ to 17 hours to complete.

"My last time was 11 hours, so it's a long time riding. You have to look after your horse and adjust the way you ride to your horse's strengths to make the distance..."

Read more here:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/95548813/selfconfessed-horsefanatic-a-champion-endurance-rider

Anya's Road to Italy

GoFundMe.com

My name is Anya Leverman and I am sixteen years old. I live in 100 Mile House, BC and my passion is endurance riding.

Endurance racing is long distance horse race where the distances can vary from 40km to 160km, with mandatory vet examinations for the horses .

I started endurance riding when I was six years old and over the last ten years I have worked hard to further my abilities. This year I was fortunate to finally receive elite status ( ie 10 X 100 Federation Equestre International races) and was thrilled to be chosen to represent Canada in the upcoming FEI World Endurance Championships for Juniors and Young Riders in Verona, Italy. On September 23rd, I will be the only Canadian riding 120km on Kataki, a ten-year-old chestnut mare provided for me from Vladimir Pazitny from Slovakia.

It will be my responsibility to pay for accommodations and transport for myself, the horse and its owners, as well as for for flights and other expenses for the team vet , Chef d’Équipe (Team Leader) and support crew.

For more information see:
https://www.gofundme.com/anyas-road-to-italy

Canada: Olivia Wood gives new meaning to a whim

Cambridgetimes.ca - Full Article

Former Cambridge resident makes late-night decision to go in Mongol Derby

Aug 05, 2017 06:00 by Bill Doucet Cambridge Times

When most people do something on a whim, they make a non-essential purchase, take a day off work or maybe even join a casual sports league.

Olivia Wood raised the bar on whims.

Hearing “a friend of a friend” had started a GoFundMe page to raise money after being accepted for the annual Mongol Derby — a 1,000-kilometre horse race across the Mongolian Steppe to recreate Genghis Khan’s famous postal route — the 25-year-old former Cambridge resident said she read up on the race and made a late-night decision to apply.

Thinking she would never hear back about her application, she was shocked to be called for an interview and was offered a spot.

“So I was like, ‘Well, I guess I have to do it now.’ It was a fluke, but I’m happy it happened,” Wood said on the phone from Beijing earlier in the week prior to her trip to Mongolia.

The race begins on Wednesday (Aug. 9).

Of course, it’s not like Wood is going in oblivious. The reason the derby piqued her interest is because she’s ridden horses since she was a youngster and considers herself a competent rider. Plus, she’s a bit of a thrill seeker, much to the chagrin of her mother — a joke she felt necessary to put in her derby bio.

“I love anything to do with horses, so there was that aspect, but also the fact that it’s so mentally, physically, emotionally exhausting, I just wanted to see how much I could push myself. I like doing those things as well. To me it’s the most epic challenge,” she said.

But Wood realized casual riding would only get her so far, so she spent a month training with gold medal endurance horse rider Darolyn Butler at Cypress Trails Ranch in Texas to get her ready for long distances on a horse.

“If I had not done that, I probably wouldn’t survive,” Wood said with a laugh...

Read more here:
https://www.cambridgetimes.ca/sports-story/7487925-olivia-wood-gives-new-meaning-to-a-whim/

Malaysia: TIEP among world's five best endurance horse riding venues

File pic by ROZAINAH ZAKARIA
NST.com.my - Full Article

By Bernama - August 5, 2017 @ 6:37pm

SETIU: The Terengganu International Endurance Park (TIEP), the venue for endurance horse riding events in the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games (KL2017), is among the best five such venues in the world.

“It can accommodate 320 horses at any one time,” KL2017 (Endurance Horse Riding) Local Organising Committee’s (LOC) Technical Committee and Volunteers Committee chairman Che Mohd Apandi Muhamad told Bernama during an interview here.

He said the size of the park located in Lembah Bidong, here was 33ha.

“TIEP has eight stables and each can accommodate about 40 horses. It became an international championship location when we organised the World Endurance Championship in 2008 involving 146 riders from 42 nations.

“Among the countries with equally good venues (for endurance horse riding) are the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Abu Dhabi,” he said...

Read more here:
https://www.nst.com.my/sports/others/2017/08/264439/tiep-among-worlds-five-best-endurance-horse-riding-venues