Saif Noon — first Pakistani ever to participate in the Mongol Derby

DailyTimes.com.pk - Full Article

* The race is not for the faint hearted

Staff Report
AUGUST 18, 2018

It was the longest and the toughest horse race on Earth and this year, a Pakistani contestant became one of the youngest riders to ever attempt the Mongol Derby, a 1,000 kilometre race across the Mongolian steppe on semi-wild horses.

Saif Noon, 19, the first Pakistani to participate in the Derby, rode on semi-wild horses, following the route of Genghiz Khan himself, alongside 43 other challengers.

The race is not for the faint hearted. Participants have to have nerves of steel and sheer determination, surviving on their own wits, living amongst local herders or simply making camp alone in the wild over the ten-day period. They have already had to contend with hail, lashing storms, floods and dangerous river crossings. Most have been bucked off their horses at least once, if not several times, and some have had to pull out because of injury...

Read more here:
https://dailytimes.com.pk/285103/saif-noon-first-pakistani-ever-to-participate-in-the-mongol-derby/

Local mom to ride horseback through Mongolian desert for CHEO

OttawaMatters.com - Full Article & Video

Duff is dedicating her Gobi Desert Cup ride to CHEO, and is collecting pledges for each kilometre.

August 16 2018
by: Jason White

A mother whose daughter is receiving treatment at CHEO for a serious skin disease is showing her gratitude to the children's hospital by raising funds for its urgent care unit with an epic horse ride.

Lorie Duff works with horses professionally, and was invited to ride the Gobi Desert Cup -- a six-day, 480-kilometre horseback endurance ride through a desert in Mongolia.

"I've never done anything like this; I'm not an endurance racer at all," said Duff. "So it was a little bit of a thing where I had to sit back and think about it..."

Read more here:
https://www.ottawamatters.com/local-news/local-mom-to-ride-horseback-through-mongolian-desert-for-cheo-1017255

Mongol Derby Day 8: Yes She Khan, and Yes She Did!

PracticalHorsemanMag.com - Full Story

Prac’s Jocelyn Pierce got sent on the writing assignment of a lifetime and it appears she has survived to tell the tale.

LESLIE WYLIE
August 16 2018

“Riding hard for the finish line just now are MT JP ARCHIBELL (Michael Turner, Jocelyn Pierce, Ed & Jack Archibald, Henry Bell), six riders who have exemplified the camaraderie and joy of this event, done well. They have had dramas but seem to have shrugged them off and just kept trucking. EA girth may still be a cable tie, I lost track ... JP the only lady in their bunch, can't wait to talk to her on the finish and find out how that went. Can she now pee off the side of a horse cos they wouldn't ever stop for her? Mind boggles.” -- Early morning tweet from Derby HQ

As advertised, at 8 a.m. on the nose Jocelyn and her boy toys crossed the 2018 Mongol Derby finish line to a hero’s welcome. Lukewarm beers, ice-cold showers and heartfelt hugs for all. To be followed by a refreshing dip in the lake...

Read more here:
https://practicalhorsemanmag.com/lifestyle/mongol-derby-day-8

World's Top Endurance Horse Tests Positivie to Banned Substance

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

August 15, 2018
by: Pippa Cuckson

The world’s top-ranked endurance horse Shaddad will be unavailable for the UAE’s WEG squad after testing positive to the banned substance testosterone at a UK ride last month.

Shaddad, who is owned by Sheikh Mohammed’s premier MRM barn, was sampled after placing second in a 160km race at Euston Park – the Dubai squad’s summer competition venue – on July 13th.

Shaddad’s 21-year-old rider Saeed Mohd Khalifa Al Mehairi is also provisionally suspended till FEI Tribunal renders its decision, as is the veteran Maktoum barn trainer Ismail Mohammed. The horse is suspended for the standard two months, meaning he must miss Tryon.

Shaddad, a 14-year-old Anglo Arab, was imported by Dubai from France in 2011 and has an incredible record, including a win and a fourth in consecutive years in the gruelling 160km Presidents Cup, Abu Dhabi. He has enjoyed 11 top three placings in his last 18 FEI starts with Al Mehairi and other riders and was a member of the UAE world championship team in 2016.

Al Mehairi participated in the WEG test ride at Tryon with another horse in April...

Read more here:
https://horse-canada.com/horse-news/top-endurance-horse-tests-positive/

Mongolia: Jockey produces ride of her life to win world's longest horse race

Picture: Laurence Squires and The Adventurists
Oxfordmail.co.uk - Full Article

15 August 2018
By James Roberts

Annabel Neasham, from Bicester, finished joint winner of the 1000km Mongol Derby alongside Australian rider Adrian Corby yesterday morning.

The pair took seven days to complete the gruelling endurance race, riding more than 20 semi-wild horses across challenging terrains from giant sand dunes to freezing mountain passes.

Winning the event is an achievement in itself, but Ms Neasham did so after having Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) surgery and admitted crossing the line was a welcome relief.

She said: "People say when they finish, they could easily do another 1,000km.

"Well, I think I’m good with this..."

Read more here:
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/16431447.annabel-neasham-from-bicester-wins-mongol-derby/

WEG 2018: Cutting a swath

TryonDailyBulletin.com - Full Article

By Catherine Hunter
August 11 2018

Crews working to clear WEG endurance trails

GREEN CREEK — Amber Hall owns A & M Site Services in Columbus. She, along with her husband, Milford and their crews, are responsible for making the trials safe and making sure they meet all the Fédération Equestre Internationale rules and regulations.

It has to be 30 feet wide and 14 feet high, completely clear of rocks, holes and tree limbs for 100 miles. Crews are working seven days a week to get the endurance trails ready for the World Equestrian Games in September.

“They are so conscientious about the safety of the horses,” Milford said, referring to the officials at the Tryon International Equestrian Center.

Amber said, in addition to the horses’ safety, it is also very important that the trails are cleared to prevent the horses from picking up any ticks. Because ticks can carry diseases, the horses importing from other countries are being carefully protected from any and all possibilities of picking up a disease that might prevent them from being able to re-enter their home country after the games.

Amber explained that regulations require special footing 12 feet wide, which is the area the horses will actually travel on. “This is called the tread,” she said...

Read more here:
https://www.tryondailybulletin.com/2018/08/11/cutting-a-swath/

World Number One Endurance Horse Tests Positive at British Ride

Grandprix-replay.com - Full Article

Wednesday 15 August - 10h50 | Lulu Kyriacou

An endurance horse, currently ranked number one in the world, has tested positive for a banned substance at Euston Park, the premier British endurance venue.

Shaddad (previously known as QUERSICK NIELLANS) is a 14 year old bay gelding who was competing in the CEI3* 160km ride at Euston Park in Suffolk on July 13th where he finished second and was therefore routinely tested. Ridden by Saeed Mohd Khalifa AL MEHAIRI who has already won on the horse this season at Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi, over a similar distance, the horse is trained by Ismail Mohd who has had the horse in his charge for several periods since 2015. The rider and trainer are also suspended.

​The combination were likley to be selected for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) team for the coming World Equestrian Games (WEG) after a string of good places at endurance' highest level.

​Ismail Mohd was previously a competitor himself but has been training since 2014 and is responsible for a number of horses according to the FEI database including three recent registration in the UK, apparently specifically to compete at the UK Endurance Festival.

​The dope test fail was for testosterone, considered performance enhancing, and is a major blow for both UAE and Euston Park credibility. The ruling Maktoum family have significant endurance interests and despite concerns over a potential conflict with the FEI after various other doping, welfare and rule breaking scandals within endurance, they are the title sponsors for WEG endurance under their Meydan banner...

Read more here:
http://www.grandprix-replay.com/uk/article/5665/world-number-one-endurance-horse-tests-positive-at-british-ride