Australia: Endurance title in freezing conditions

NoosaNews.com.au - Full Article

19th Jul 2018

IT WAS one of Imbil's coldest nights as more than 150 riders competed in the Queensland Endurance Riders Association State Championships on Saturday at the Stirling's Crossing Equestrian Complex at Imbil in the Mary Valley.

Those participating in the 160km event set off in icy conditions at midnight and it took Matthew Gadsby 11 hours and 48 minutes to cross the finish line and be named the QERA State Champion for the second year in a row...

Read more here:
https://www.noosanews.com.au/news/endurance-title-in-freezing-conditions/3471307/

South Africa: Horse and rider take on Fauresmith at a gallop

IOL.co.za - Full Article

PRETORIA NEWS / 18 JULY 2018, 11:11AM / ZELDA VENTER

NOT even being pregnant or suffering from food poisoning could stop Pretoria lawyer Bianca Rontgen and her purebred Arab horse Lourizon Washington from finishing the gruelling 206.5km three-day Fauresmith endurance race earlier this month.
The 29-year-old Bianca, who is practising at her family law firm Rontgen and Rontgen, together with her father and grandfather, is a keen horsewoman who started riding when she was 4 years old.

The petite, but tough mother-to-be heard three weeks before the race that she was pregnant with her first child, but as she had already qualified for the endurance race in the Free State, and because her doctor gave her the go-ahead to participate because she was so fit, she decided not to let anything stand in her way.

“To know that my baby and I finished this race without any problem, and that my horse was 100% healthy, is amazing. I can one day tell my child that he completed Fauresmith even before he was born.”

Bianca said Fauresmith is - like the Comrades - not for everyone. Not everyone can ride it and not every horse is able to finish it, and this year, 145 horses dropped out of the race...

Read more here:
https://www.iol.co.za/pretoria-news/horse-and-rider-take-on-fauresmith-at-a-gallop-16091976

Nordic-Baltic championship in Jämsä, Finland

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

17 July 2018
Race Report made with the assistance of Heidi Laurinen

Jämsä, Finland. Saturday 16 June 2018. In the mid of June northern riders were competing for the Nordic-Baltic championship in the rugged terrains of Jämsä and in the Finnish midnight sun, when sun does barely go down at all. This was the second time the championship was held in Jämsä, mid Finland.

The first time the endurance community gathered in Jämsä was in 2012. Also this time the weather was on competitors’ side. Sun was shining but the temperature did not rise too much and for this reason the horses as well as the riders managed to complete the steep hills and winding roads fairly well.

The main class, CEI2* 120km seniors started with beautiful sunshine at 07:00. In this event we had 23 riders, who represented Norway, Sweden, Estonia and Finland. Unfortunately not all the Nordic-Baltic countries were able to send competitive attendants for this class...

Read more here:
http://endurance-world.com/nordic-baltic-championship-in-jamsa-finland/

Clamping Down on Paying to Play…by Officials!

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

Cuckson Report | July 17, 2018

It’s my time of year for ploughing through the proposed new rules for all FEI sports, which will apply from 2019 subject to approval at the FEI General Assembly in November in Bahrain.

First, I applaud/berate the FEI for doing something/nothing about the current hot topics (rollkur is a notable oversight yet again).

Second, it’s fun to spot the items meant to deal with the issues I hadn’t realised were issues – and this year there’s a real jaw-dropper in FEI General Regulations. This is a measure to prevent officials secretly paying a show, ride or event organiser to secure their appointment.

We’re not talking about volunteer judges and officials covering their own travel and hotel expenses etc., a global practice accepted as the norm, while far from ideal. We mean handing the organiser a brown envelope to ensure you get the gig in the first place. I will leave you to ponder your own theories why someone would be so desperate to do this.

How X or Y judge ever got appointed – especially in endurance where so many seem afflicted by selective myopia – will always be the subject of gossip between riders who feel that decisions affecting them and/or their friends are unfair...

Read more here:
https://horse-canada.com/cuckson-report/clamping-paying-play-officials/

GBR Team All Set for the Meydan FEI European Endurance Championship for Young Riders and Juniors

July 18 2018

Endurance GB is delighted to confirm the entries for the Meydan FEI European Endurance Championship for Young Riders and Juniors, due to take place in San Rossore, Pisa (ITA) on the 25th and 26th July 2018. The following combinations have been confirmed to represent Great Britain:

Charlie Chadwick on her own Hazelcroft Gosens Tsar
Kate Atkinson on DNS Ronaldo, owned by Kate’s mother Rachael Atkinson
Ollie Holman on Bronze Nahdir, owned by Harry Ingram

Athletes must be aged between 14 and 21 and horses must be a minimum of eight years old in order to compete at the Regional Championship. The 120km course is made up of four loops of 33km, 28km, 31km and 28km respectively. Pre-Ride vetting takes place at 4pm on the 25th July and the ride itself will start at 6.30am on the San Rossore Race Course (Pisa, ITA). FEI Medals are on offer for both team and individual podium placings with a prestigious Best Condition Trophy also to be won.

This will be Kate Atkinson’s third Championship, her second with selected mount DNS Ronaldo. They will be looking to better their result this year and continue the excellent recent form seen with this talented pair.

Charlie Chadwick with Hazelcroft Gosens Tsar will be tackling their second Championship course together. This combination were selected to represent Great Britain in 2016 where they travelled to Portgual as part of the British Team. An unlucky result saw their dream end at the second vet gate – so Charlie will be keen to put some demons to bed. Charlie and Tsar have been competing at International level together since 2014 so they know each other well and are sure to put in a great performance this time around.

A new combination in 2018 is Ollie Holman and Bronze Nahdir and they’ve certainly arrived with a bang! Ollie has been competing in FEI competitions for just two years and has only been partnered with Bronze Nahdir since the end of last season. They have a perfect record this year competing two CEI2*, both finishing in first place. Whilst they may be a new combination, Bronze Nahdir is more than used to the International scene having been competing in FEI Competition since 2014.

Chef d’Equipe, Jo Chisolm, commented: “We are really happy with the team for this Championship – we have a great mix of experience, up and coming riders and new combinations to this level”.

The GBR Young Rider team is being supplied team kit by sponsor Musto so they will be looking super smart to represent their country at this prestigious event. Further information on the event itself can be found on www.endurancelifestyle.it.

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