World Equestrian Games could bring $400M boost to WNC: 9 things to know

Citizen-times.com - Full Article

John Boyle, jboyle@citizen-times.com
March 11, 2018

MILL SPRING – The biggest horse event in the world is about to happen, and it's going to be right in our backyard.

The FEI World Equestrian Games — which organizers say may become the largest sporting event in North Carolina history — are slated to run Sept. 12-23 at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Polk County. The event is expected to draw participants and spectators from around the world, and it could have an economic impact approaching a half billion dollars.

Equestrian Center founder Mark Bellissimo hopes locals join the international crowd for the games, which draw Olympic-caliber talent and are held every four years.

"We want people to realize that this is not only an event for equestrians; this is an event for people who love horses in any capacity," said Bellissimo, who with his business partners has invested more than $200 million in the TIEC...

Read more here:
https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2018/03/11/world-equestrian-games-could-bring-400-m-boost-wnc-9-things-know/401242002/

End of the adventure for the Gallops of Morocco 2018

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

by Admin

Drâa-Tafilalet, the golden dunes of Merzouga, Morocco. Sunday 4 March 2018
It is with emotion that the edition of the Gallops of Morocco 2018 ends. A human adventure where strong bonds are created.

After a week of fierce competition between the sixteen teams, it is the Ch’tis led by Grégoire Verhaeghe, already present at Gallops of Oman, who won the first place followed closely by the women’s team Quazane.

The polo club of Chantilly and Blue Ghallah share the third place of this 100% French podium! A victory brought by organized, communicative teams, who managed to preserve their horses throughout this raid despite the difficult weather conditions beating sandstorms and hot weather!

Participants will remember this unique experience that allowed them to enjoy breath-taking landscapes within the dunes of Merzouga and the city of Erfoud, as well as to discover the generous, endearing and robust Barb and Barb-Arabian. A privileged bond between man and horse, even so powerful that a rider decided to buy the horse she rode throughout this race, a beautiful proof of recognition!...

Read more here:
http://endurance-world.com/end-of-the-adventure-for-the-gallops-of-morocco-2018/

Strong 2017 Season Propels Canadian Endurance Team to 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games

Equestrian.ca

March 8 2018

Canadian endurance athletes saw success across the globe in 2017, putting many riders in the position to declare for the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Mill Spring, NC.

To be considered for the WEG Canadian Endurance Team, athletes must achieve a completion rate of 75% or greater with a minimum of five starts for 120km and 160km single-day rides. With a highly successful qualifying period (which began July 13, 2016 and runs to July 13, 2018) underway –– the following Canadian athletes have declared for WEG to date, making it the biggest longlist in Canadian endurance history:

Karen Badger – Grand Prairie, AB
Wendy Benns – Campbellcroft, ON
Lesley Danko – New Lowell, ON
Colleen DeVry – Bruderheim, AB
Teresa Finnerty – Palgrave, ON
Robert Gielen – Flesherton, ON
Jaylene Janzen – Spruce Grove, AB
Anya Levermann – One Hundred Mile House, BC
Wendy MacCoubrey – Sainte-Justine-de-Newton, QC
Ariel MacLeod – Montney, BC
Tara MacLeod – Montney, BC
Dessia Miller – Berwick, ON
Kimberley Woolley – Finch, ON
Yvette Vinton – Morriston, FL
Lexi Vollman – Regina, SK
Tracy Vollman – Regina, SK
Jaye Yavis – Winfield, AB
Jessica Yavis – Blacksalds, AB
Nancy Zukewich – Ottawa, ON

Read about the riders and horses here:
https://www.equestrian.ca/news/L5PfaySi3WAEuXXqe/strong-2017-season-propels-canadian

Canadian Athletes Announced for 2018 World Equestrian Games Endurance Test Event

Equestrian.ca

Ottawa, ON, March 6, 2018 – The following Canadian athletes have been invited to the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) Test Event – Endurance CEI 2*, to be held April 26-28, 2018 in Mill Spring, NC:

• Robert Gielen – Flesherton, ON
• Wendy MacCoubrey – Sainte-Justine-de-Newton, QC
• Kimberley Woolley – Finch, ON

The three athletes were chosen to compete in the 120km race based on their standings in the 2017 FEI Open Riders World Endurance Rankings, in which MacCoubrey was the highest placed Canadian, followed by Gielen and Woolley as the second- and third-highest Canadians.

MacCoubrey had an exceptional 2017 season that included multiple top-three finishes on her nine-year-old part Arabian mare, Black Bart’s Lolita (sired by Vondar Black Bart). The duo ended the year strong, earning fourth in the FEI Open Combination World Endurance Rankings.

Gielen was close behind in the FEI Open Combination World Endurance Rankings in eighth with his horse, More Bang for Your Buck (Doran x Forty Thieves). The nine-year-old Arabian gelding and Gielen have won six consecutive endurance races together at the FEI level since 2016.

The final athlete competing in the WEG Test Event, Woolley, has competed with her 12-year-old Arabian mare, Schakka Khan (Sambors Destiny x Hesa Champ), at the FEI level since 2013. The duo came in second at the 2017 Coates Creek Challenge, covering the 120km distance at an average pace of 12.14km/hr.

More information on the 2018 World Equestrian Games can be found at https://tryon2018.com.

Australia: FROM THE PADDOCK TO THE FIELD: Stuart Lymbery gives an insight into the world of endurance riding

TheRural.com.au - Full Article, photos, video

by Nikki Reynolds
March 1 2018

THE Riverina is home to some of the finest agricultural producers in Australia. It is also a region that is renowned for sporting success stories.

It is not unusual for an individual to juggle the commitments of working in a family farming business or the rural sector and then backing it up with several sessions of strenuous training a week to meet their sporting goals. This week The Rural talks to Wagga Livestock Marketing Centre operations manager Stuart Lymbery who is also a successful endurance rider and horse breeder based at his Big Springs property “Garone Park.”

STUART Lymbery loves nothing more than a big challenge.

For him that might mean completing the toughest endurance ride known as the Shahzada in St Albans.

The Shahzada stretches some 400 kilometres and is considered one of the most gruelling and challenging events in the sport.

It is an opportunity for horse and rider to be matched against tough terrain big distances and it is the ultimate test of fitness and soundness.

Mr Lymbery has successfully completed this event 11 times. And his gelding Garonne Park Walker has also earned the coveted title of best managed horse...

More at:
https://www.therural.com.au/story/5259068/from-wagga-saleyards-to-the-world-of-endurance-riding-photos-video/

Higgins claims the double at ESNZ Endurance South Island Championship

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

Race Report made with the assistance of Daryl Owen
28 February 2018

Cannington, Canterbury, New Zealand. Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 February 2018. ESNZ Endurance’s South Island Championship event took place this month in the picturesque Canterbury region of New Zealand.

This region is renowned for areas of rough stony ground which is not to be underestimated, and so it was, with two of the six starters completing the event.

Alison Higgins and Northwinds Apollo won the 160km Championship in a gallop finish narrowly ahead of Australian rider Naomi O’Shaughnessy riding Castlebar Party Girl. Higgins’ time across the line was 11:18:33, with O’Shaughnessy a second behind. The two rode the whole ride together, along with junior rider Kate James on Chartei. James, in her first 160km event, safely completed the distance in 11:33:38...

More report and photos here:
http://endurance-world.com/higgins-double-esnz-endurance-south-island-championship/

Road To The Mongol Derby: Getting The Trip

ThoroughbredDailyNews.com - Full Story

February 27 2018

By Kelsey Riley

TDN International Editor Kelsey Riley will be riding in the Mongol Derby in August 2018, and will be regularly blogging about her preparations and ultimately, her 1000-kilometer, 10-day ride across Outer Mongolia. Every rider chooses a charity for which they raise money as part of the process. Kelsey has chosen the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s Second Chances Program at the Blackburn Correctional Complex in Lexington, KY. To learn more about Blackburn, click here.

Hello, followers of my awesome, crazy Mongol Derby adventure. Since I brought you my last blog about battling Lexington’s arctic conditions to get in some riding time, I’ve been coming to grips with the fact that in August, I’ll be riding 1000 kilometres across Mongolia (on half-broke horses with no showers, stables or course markers, albeit). One thousand, that’s a reasonable number to come to grips with. Sure, until your creative mind gets going and you think, ‘wouldn’t it be fun to convert that to distances applicable to racing?

The Mongol Derby, recognized in 2011 by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s longest multi-horse race, is 4,960 furlongs. Or 1,000,000 metres. That’s 496 Kentucky Derbys. Four hundred thirteen Prix de l’Arc de Triomphes. Three hundred twelve Melbourne Cups. Eight hundred thirty three Golden Slippers!...

Read more here:
http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/road-to-the-mongol-derby-getting-the-trip/