Australia: Racing the Mongolian steppe

ChinchillaNews.com.au - Full Article

by BROOKE DUNCAN
23rd Jul 2019

DERBY: Taroom's Sally Conway is preparing her mental and physical resilience ahead of taking on the Mongol Derby - the most gruelling, rugged and longest horse race in the world.

In two weeks Conway will swap southwest Queensland for the harsh environment of Mongolia, where she will ride semi-wild horses across 1000km in 10 days - tracing the ancient messenger route established by Genghis Khan.

The intrepid adventurer first heard of the Mongol Derby in 2017 while she was working at a safari lodge in Kenya.

A visitor to the lodge had completed the derby and Conway - along with an English friend - decided to do it together.

"Then things in Kenya actually went pear-shaped, we were involved in the Laikipia land invasion where basically our ranch, the safari lodge we were working on, got completely taken over so I came back to Australia and she went back to England,” Conway said.

"Not long after that my aunt committed suicide, and so I decided that I was still going to do it and do it to raise money and awareness for mental illness...”

Read more here:
https://www.chinchillanews.com.au/news/racing-the-mongolian-steppe/3786908/

Royal Cavalry wins French Jullianges endurance horse race

Timesofoman.com - Full Article

July 21, 2019 | 6:23 PM by ONA

Paris: The Royal Cavalry won first place of the two star 122-kilometre French Jullianges endurance horse race organised by International Equestrian Federation.

The race included four stages, as the first stage was for 38 kilometres the second for 33 kilometres, the third for 31 kilometres and the fourth stage was for 20 kilometres. 35 horse riders from the Sultanate, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Spain and the Netherlands participated in the race.

Ali bin Hassan Al-Farsi, riding Raphal de Creer, won the race...

Read more at:
https://timesofoman.com/article/1644088

Oman: Medication breach sees Endurance rider suspended and fined

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

July 22, 2019
Horsetalk.co.nz

An endurance rider whose mount failed a drug test after a 160km contest in Muscat, Oman, has been suspended for six months and fined 3000 Swiss francs.

The FEI Tribunal also imposed costs of 3000 Swiss francs – twice that sought by the FEI – against the Oman-registered rider, Abdul Hamid Al Murad Al Balushi.

This was because Al Balushi failed to file a response in relation to the failed drug test in a case the tribunal said could have been dealt with through an administrative procedure. This would have removed the need for a formal tribunal hearing.

Al Balushi rode Esus De Maraval in a CEI3* contest on April 12 last year...

Read more here:
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/07/22/medication-breach-endurance-suspended-fined/

Australia: Tackling 1000km endurance ride across Mongolia for charity

Beefcentral.com - Full Article

Jon Condon, July 19, 2019

AN intrepid young horse enthusiast from Central Queensland is about to embark on the experience of a lifetime, competing in this year’s 1000km Mongolia Derby endurance horse ride.

Twenty-one year old Sally Conway from Spring Creek and Caenby, between Taroom and Wandoan, will next month tackle what is regarded as the longest and toughest horse race in the world.

While Sally has only limited experience in endurance riding, she ‘grew up’ on a horse, and spent her gap year before uni riding race horses in France, and worked a training season with a trick-riding team in the US...

Read more here:
https://www.beefcentral.com/news/community-and-lifestyle/tackling-1000km-endurance-ride-across-mongolia-for-charity/

Australia: US and Canadian visitors love Rainbow Beach!

RainbowBeachCommunityNews.com.au - Full Article

July 18 2019
By Connie Caudill

Four endurance young riders along with their two sponsors came to Australia from the US and Canada to take part in an International Endurance Ride Exchange.

It’s sort of like a student exchange but only for one event, a 50 mile endurance ride that was to be held near Eidsvold on the Rockybar property on June 8.

This exchange is an arrangement between the American Endurance Ride Conference and the Queensland Endurance Riders Association.

On the first trip to Australia in 2016, the young riders requested to go and ride horses on the beach. So arrangements were made to ride on Rainbow Beach...

Read more here:
https://rainbowbeachcommunitynews.com.au/us-and-canadian-visitors-love-rainbow-beach/

Australia: Striking gold in the Mary Valley trails

NoosaNews.com.au - Full Article

18th Jul 2019

LOCAL endurance rider Kaylea Maher on a locally bred Arabian horse Matta Mia Dimari have claimed the Holy grail of endurance horse riding with 160km of true grit on the weekend.

Maher fulfilled her dream of holding up the coveted Tom Quilty Gold Cup when she crossed the line on Saturday ahead of 298 other riders from across Australia and abroad in the iconic endurance race.

Hosted at the Stirling's Crossing Equestrian Complex in the Mary Valley, it took the tough-as-teak duo 10 hours and eight minutes to complete after setting off at midnight on Friday.

The mother of two said while she was hopeful of taking out the win, there were so many factors that influenced the end result.

"Every ride you just take as it comes, as you never know what the end result is going to be,” Ms Maher said.

"You always have to have hope in your horse and believe in your horse, and that's what we did.

"We believed in each other and we worked through all our challenges and he came home really strong. I'm really happy with his achievement...”

Read more here:
https://www.noosanews.com.au/news/striking-gold-in-the-mary-valley-trails/3782655/

Mongol Derby 2014 winner Sam Jones to compete in the Gobi Desert Cup

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

13th July 2019
Race Report made with the assistance of Heather Wallace

Sam Jones, a horse trainer based in Western Australia will be competing in the Gobi Desert Cup from 27 August – 6 September 2019. Sam is a horse trainer working mostly with breakers and remedial cases.

She says, “I would like to be able to do every race / adventure / endurance ride everywhere! But Mongolia holds a very special place in my heart and I cannot wait to return to the steppe. The more I have heard about the Gobi Desert Cup the more impressed I am, I am excited to be part of an event that gives so much back to the local community. My main goal for this race is to enjoy it! I find the isolation and wide open spaces make it easy to live in the moment and nothing beats riding a good horse across the steppe!”

After winning the gruelling Mongol Derby and racing Race the Wild Coast, Sam is turning her sights on the Gobi Desert Cup, which is fast growing a reputation for horse welfare and high level of preparation and organization...

Read more here:
https://endurance-world.com/mongol-derby-2014-winner-sam-jones-to-compete-in-the-gobi-desert-cup/