Great Britain: First international call-up for Soham endurance rider

Cambridge-news.co.uk - Full Article

Katie Beckley loving the friendliness of her new horse-sport

By Tim Street
17:43, 15 JUL 2018

She got lost in Thetford Forest in her first attempt at endurance riding – but this summer will see Katie Beckley become an international in the sport.

The 46 year from Soham, who works as a nurse at the Arthur Rank Hospice in Cambridge, has always been a horse-lover and spent many years competing in the somewhat elite world of showjumping.


But she now feels far more at home in the rather more friendly world of endurance riding – which is more about camaraderie and helping out your rivals as horse and rider battle through mud, sweat and tears.

In fact, so much has Beckley and her horse – a nine year old black and white cob called Bear – taken to their new sport that they have been picked to represent England at the Home Internationals in Scotland next month...

Read more here:
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/sport/first-international-call-up-soham-14911763

Australia: Tweed Heads’ Matthew Gadsby and horse Maximus Ra win 2018 endurance state title in Gympie

GoldCoastBulletin.com.au - Full Article

Staff writers, Gold Coast Bulletin
July 16, 2018 3:00pm

TWEED Heads’ Matthew Gadsby has defended his Queensland Endurance Riders Association state title following a gruelling 12-hour journey in freezing Gympie conditions.

Gadsby and horse Maximus Ra sealed a second-straight crown on Saturday after completing the 160km event at Stirling’s Crossing Equestrian Complex in 11 hours and 48 minutes.

More than 150 riders took off in icy conditions at midnight on Friday night, with Gadsby also taking out the Best Conditioned Heavyweight prize after finishing 48 minutes ahead of second-placed Brook Sample and horse Brookleigh Dylan...

Read more here:
https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/sport/local-sport/tweed-heads-matthew-gadsby-and-horse-maximus-ra-win-2018-endurance-state-title-in-gympie/news-story/583c148c65b91d0c8400778d578d60ee

Australia: Megan Finn hopeful of Tom Quilty Qualification

TheAdvocate.com.au - Full Article

Jarryd McGuane
July 12 2018

Elliott endurance horse rider Megan Finn will be trying to qualify for this year’s Tom Quilty Gold Cup event when she takes on the Queensland Endurance Riders Association State Championships this weekend.

Taking place at the Stirling’s Crossing Equestrian Complex at Imbil, Finn will copmpete in the 160km race with the goal of completing the distance for the first time in competition.

Finn said finishing the 160km race was crucial in her hopes on earning her way to the 2018 Tom Quilty Gold Cup at Scottsdale in Tasmania on October 6.

“I doing it to try and qualify for the Tom Quilty, which is down in Tasmania in October,” Finn said.

“I haven’t had as long to qualify as everyone else and you need to have finished a 160km race to qualify and I missed out in my last two tries.

“The Tom Quilty moves around every year and next year it is in Queensland and the year after it is in WA, it is pretty hard for me to take a horse across, so this year is my best chance of doing Tom Quilty...”

Read more here:
https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/5522422/finn-hopeful-of-tom-quilty-qualification/

South Africa: Free State junior tops the log in Fauresmith endurance ride

FarmersWeekly.co.za - Full Article

By Sabrina DeanJuly 12, 2018 8:34 am

A 14-year-old Free State girl, Marjulyn Myburgh of Bethlehem and her Arabian mare, Rasheeq Amor, left the competition in the dust during the first week of July to come home in the fastest time in the annual Fauresmith 200 endurance race.

A 14-year-old Free State girl, Marjulyn Myburgh of Bethlehem and her Arabian mare, Rasheeq Amor, left the competition in the dust during the first week of July to come home in the fastest time in the annual Fauresmith 200 endurance race.

The three-day ride covers a distance of about 200km across mountainous terrain in the area around Fauresmith.

Myburgh, who is a member of the Free State Endurance Union, finished top of the log after completing the race in a time of about eight hours and seven minutes...

Read more here:
https://www.farmersweekly.co.za/agri-news/south-africa/free-state-junior-tops-log-fauresmith-endurance-ride/

Patagonia: The Gaucho Derby

TheAdventurists.com

A new world-class horse race in Patagonia.

We here at The Adventurists created the Mongol Derby a staggering 10 years ago. Not content with running the world's longest and toughest horse race for so long, we thought we should take our equine expertise across the pond. Behold, the Gaucho Derby.

What?
The Institute of Adventure Research shouted 'Gaucho Derby' at us quite loudly, then disappeared into their cave of intention. This can mean only one thing. Soon, they'll reemerge glorious, sweating and full of ideas that we'll then craft into an adventure that will redefine horse racing. Yet again.

It's going to be a long-distance, endurance event on horseback, in one of the most eyeball-meltingly brilliant spots on this planet.

Where?
Mr Tom initially wanted to do it in the North Pole, but we reminded him it was a bit chilly, had no horses and didn't really go with the name. So Patagonia it is. The Institute is investigating racecourse options in the mountains, deserts, pampas and grasslands of the southern section of the Andes.

When?
Plans are being crafted as we speak, with a Institute of Adventure Research-led pioneers edition penned for later in 2018 and the first full edition targeted at October 2019.

I'm sold.
Great. That's a wise life decision right there. Slap your email in the box below and we'll add you to the mailing list - giving you all the details of how the preparation is going, plus you'll get first dibs on sign up when it comes.

High-Speed Test for Three-Year-Old Sport Horses Scrapped Amid Outcry

Horse-Canada.com - Full Article

July 13, 2018 | Comments
by: Pippa Cuckson

A 5km test for three-year-old sport horses at speeds, which could exceed 30km/h (18.6m/h), has been scrapped by organisers of the FEI World Endurance Breeding Championships after outcry from riders and Arabian horse breeders.

The Samorin Equestrian Centre in Slovakia were the organizers of the event which was to featured speed trials for three-, four- and five-year-olds as detailed in this promotional flyer. The tests were intended to provide a supporting attraction during an Arabian Horse Festival starting September 29, which incorporates the official FEI 130km endurance championship for seven-year-olds. It is understood the FEI was unaware and had not been asked to approve the additional program, but it has intervened in recent days.

Astonished horsemen took to social media to call for a boycott. Others queried the “sanity” of any producer attempting to break-in and then prepare young horses for these onerous tests in just 10 weeks. All categories would have been required to achieve a heart-rate recovery of just 56 beats per minute within 10 minutes...

Read more here:
https://horse-canada.com/horse-news/high-speed-test-scrapped/

Great Britain: Endurance Nominated Entries for WEG

July 16 2018

The British Equestrian Federation (BEF) has today confirmed the nominated combinations selected by Endurance GB, which have been submitted to the FEI, for this year’s World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina (USA), 11-23 September 2018.

The nominated combinations are (in alphabetical order);

Rachael Atkinson with her own Tannasg Psyches Realm

Caroline Cowley with her own HS Bellini

Dominique Freeman with her own Rising Heat, and Carla Eigenauer’s WCF Atillah

Nicola Thorne with Heather and Jeremy Reynolds’ Grand Ku, and Heather Reynolds’ Treasured Moments

Equestrian Team GBR is supported by the UK Sport National Lottery funded World Class Programme; the British teams are very grateful to the support they receive from official partners Dodson and Horrell, Equi-Trek, Falpro England, Musto, NAF and Point Two Air Vests.