Catch Rider's UAE Trip Ends in Double Dope Test Shock

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

January 12, 2018
by: Pippa Cuckson

The risks of accepting “catch rides” in Middle Eastern endurance was highlighted again this week by revelations that two of the horses lent to Argentina’s Daiana Chopita during her first winter season in Abu Dhabi turned out to be doped.

Borrowed rides JC Cahuel and HLP Gadafi tested positive to banned diuretic Trometamol after both placing third under Chopita in their respective FEI rides on December 9th and December 23rd. The two race rides, both at Abu Dhabi’s premier venue Al Wathba, were only Chopita’s second and third ever CEI starts in the UAE. She had ridden neither horse in FEI competition before.

The 23-year-old is now provisionally suspended, pending a FEI Tribunal hearing. Two other top placed horses in the same rides ridden by Emirati jockeys also tested positive – JLB Noche to Trometamol and Crazy Antar to controlled and specified substances Theophylline, Caffeine and Paraxanthine...

Read more here:
https://horse-canada.com/horse-news/catch-rider-uae-double-dope-test/

US calls for action on continued deaths at endurance events

WeeklyTimesNow.com.au - Full Article

FRAN CLELAND, The Weekly Times
January 9, 2018 5:00am

THE US Equestrian Federation has protested what it says is the continued abuse of horses owned by endurance stables in Group VII nations after more deaths in competitions.

In a strongly worded letter to the Federation Equestrian Internationale (FEI), the official sporting body said sanctions and rule changes were not having sufficient effect after more than eight equine fatalities at the Dubai and Al Wathba venues in the first five weeks of this season due to catastrophic injury. They follow a dozen similar deaths at these same venues the previous seasons...

Read more here:
http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/sport/horses/us-calls-for-action-on-continued-deaths-at-endurance-events/news-story/44d4c932890757737f720b23deb1dc82

UAE: Teenager Al Mazrouei steals show in the 11th edition of HH Shaikh Mohammad Endurance Cup

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Emerges victorious in the 11th edition of HH Shaikh Mohammad Endurance Cup

Dubai: Teenager Saif Al Mazrouei stole the thunder in the 11th edition of HH Shaikh Mohammad Endurance Cup on Saturday. Al Mazrouei, aboard Nopoli Del Ma, emerged victorious in the CEI 3* 160-km event, presented by Longines, at the purpose-built Dubai International Endurance City.

The HH Shaikh Mohammad Endurance Cup headlines the four-day HH Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup Festival, which opened on December 28 and concluded on Saturday.

“This was a very important race for me to win, because it is named after His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and we are so proud to have won this race. My horse Nopoli Del Ma is a champion horse, and this is definitely the biggest win of my career,” the 18-year-old rider said.

Al Mazrouei had first announced his talent to the world in 2015 when he won gold at the 120-km FEI World Endurance Championships for Young Horses in Valeggio Sul Mincio, Italy.
 Trained at MRM Stables, Al Mazrouei’s horse, 14-year-old Nopoli Del Ma, is the one that was ridden by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, when he won the 2015 edition of HH Shaikh Mohammad Endurance Cup.

Shaikh Hamdan also won the 2016 running of the prestigious competition, while last year Humaid Matar Rashid Al Mazrouei emerged victorious aboard Rajas.

The the 160-km ride on Saturday had 360 competitors starting the ride, from 44 countries...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/teenager-al-mazrouei-steals-show-in-the-11th-edition-of-hh-shaikh-mohammad-endurance-cup-1.2152671

Desert Endurance Could Jeopardize All Equestrian Sport, Says AERC

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

January 5, 2018
by: Pippa Cuckson

Fears that a welfare scandal at the 2018 Tryon World Equestrian Games will taint all equestrian sport are highlighted in a strong letter to the US Equestrian Federation from the American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC.)

AERC president Paul Latiolais cited his members’ “outrage and protest” about the continued abuse of horses in the FEI Group VII (Middle East) and hinted this could soon attract the attention of the animal rights lobby.

The letter was posted in full on AERC’s Facebook page in the wake of the current desert racing season’s attrition rate, and the UAE’s failure to acknowledge measures repeatedly put in place since 2013 to clean up sport in their region...

Read more here:
https://horse-canada.com/horse-news/desert-endurance-jeopardize-equestrian-sport/

UAE: Endurance Cup takes pride of place in Dubai

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Strength-sapping race takes place on Saturday

January 5, 2018 Gulf News
Staff Report

Dubai: The much-awaited HH Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup presented by Longines takes place on Saturday, to celebrate the remarkable contribution and support of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for endurance riding and equestrian sport at large.
The 160km race takes place at Dubai Equestrian Club, Meydan...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/endurance-cup-takes-pride-of-place-in-dubai-1.2152116

UAE: Al Tayer Motors Marks 7th Association With Gamilati Endurance Cup for Mares

Albawaba.com - Full Article

January 4th, 2018 - 12:32 GMT
Press Release

Al Tayer Motors and Land Rover provided Range Rovers to the first six winners in Dec 30 race

Al Tayer Motors, the UAE’s official Land Rover importer-dealer, began its association with the Gamilati Endurance Cup for Mares in 2012 and the December 2017 staging marks the company’s seventh sponsorship of the event.

The Gamilati Endurance Cup for Mares, being held as part of the HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Festival, seeks to recognise and honour the best rider and mare combination in endurance racing. The sport requires the rider and horse to work in perfect harmony as a combination. They must manage pace to complete long distances in the shortest riding time while passing stringent veterinary examinations to ensure that the horse is in a good physical condition.

As one of the UAE’s leading automobile dealerships, Al Tayer Motors is committed to providing its customers with a world-class ownership experience from the time they step into its superb facilities. The award-winning after-sales service team ensures that customers are well looked after and their vehicles cared for in the best possible way to ensure a long and mutually beneficial relationship...

Read more here:
https://www.albawaba.com/business/pr/al-tayer-motors-marks-7th-association-gamilati-endurance-cup-mares-1069242

UAE: Record entries at HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Festival

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

2 January 2018
by Admin

Dubai International Endurance Village, Dubai, UAE. Thursday 28, Friday 29 and Saturday 30 December 2017. More than 800 combinations took part in the first week of the HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Festival.

For a lot of riders from the UAE and abroad, the HH Sh. Mohmmed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup – CEI3* 160km, scheduled on Saturday 6 January, is the highlight of the season.

Traditionally the build up to this race are a series of races and for this season nothing different besides the fact that the lead up with three races were held the week ahead of the main event.

First part of the trilogy was the HH Sh. Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Festival – Ride for Private Stables CEN 100km, scheduled on Thursday 28 December...

Read more here:
http://endurance-world.com/record-entries-hh-sheikh-mohammed-bin-rashid-al-maktoum-festival/