CEI 2* at Rancho Guayacan, Guatemala

On August 3 and 4th. Guatemala National Federation had our longest Endurance ride for this season. The event was hosted at the Rancho Guayacan facilities which provide an amazing atmosphere for a night ride. The 1* and 40km Ride where started early in the afternoon. Guatemala´s south cost hot and humid weather commanded a smart strategy by riders to maintain pace and care for the horses. Unfortunately some combinations faced elimination early on, with only 1 rider finishing the 80km Ride. Damyan Serovic on his Experienced mare Moka finished at a speed of 14.65 Km/h.

The 2* ride was started at 5 Pm with a bit better temperature conditions. During the whole night Jaime Mansilla on Maximus HEP and David Castañeda on Gallardo, dueled for the lead. Making for a very exiting ride that had all spectators on their toes. Both riders finished the loops within seconds of each other, with Gallardo showing faster recoveries. However at the end it was Maximus HEP long stride that took the win. Jaime and Maximus finished at 18 Km/h, with David and Gallardo not far behind. Gallardo took home a well deserved Best Conditioned award.

To close the event Eric Vasquez riding Rashid OV, made a splendid job of managing his horse and winning the 2* Young Riders event, accompanied by the lights of dawn.

Our next event will be on October 5th. On which our national youth championships we held.
Full Results of the event
40Km
1 Luis Miguel de la Roca Carmeloo (BC winner)
2 Paola Estrada Divina
3 Miguel de la Roca Jallardia
4 Oliver Madrid Tsuki

80Km CEI1*
1 Damyan Serovic Moka (BC Winner)

120Km CEI2*
1 Jaime Mansilla Maximus HEP
2 David Castañeda Gallardo (BC winner)
3 Pedro Moran Forte

120 km CEIYR2*
1 Erick Vasquez Rashid OV (BC winner)

Text by Tuni Briz
Photos by
Gaby Zibara
Fernando Paiz L
Stephanie Aizenstatd


Jaime Mansilla/Maximus HEP, Winners of the CEI 2* photo Stephanie Aizenstatd


David Castañeda/Gallardo 66 and Pedro Moran/Forte 60. Getting ready to start the 2* Photo Gaby Zibara


Fernando Paiz and Eric Vasquez with Rashid OV winning as dawn looms on the horizon. Photo F. Paiz

2019 Mongol Derby Day 4

TheAdventurists.com - Full Article

August 10, 2019

Day Four – what a day this has been for one and all. We’ve had riders stretched between horse stations 11 and 16 with the lead swapping around like a game of three card monte, keeping HQ on their collective toes and our field crews on the move. The weather on the steppe did a complete flip-flop from wet, cold, and dreary to hot, dry, and bleary, putting the riders’ nerves, reserves, water supply, and limits to the test. Mother Nature Mongolia Style – she’s not for the faint of heart. The change in temperatures also brought a new wrinkle with respect to racing strategy: the cold damp weather may have made for a miserable ride, but it may have also helped keep those horses’ heart rates down. Holy heart rate penalties, Batman! After a veritable scarcity of penalties in the first three days of racing, the vets were busy today handing out heart rate penalties, marking up those pristine vet record cards that the riders guard with their lives.

This is not to say that the riders are riding irresponsibly – quite the contrary...

Read more here:
https://www.theadventurists.com/adventures/mongol-derby/updates/?fbclid=IwAR0bidCrOCXBkvCf1dpKBQcdtMTcvZ4ansrAcAyBRWJo7lUQri563xJRMjE#1

Daily updates here:
http://www.endurance.net/international/Mongolia/2019MongolDerby/

2019 Mongol Derby Day 3

TheAdventurists.com - Full Story

August 9, 2019

Derby Day Three and it’s been three days of ride-rinse-repeat here (emphasis on the “rinse” – the rain has been relentless) on the steppe, and we are starting to see a more definitive split between the front runners and the back-packers. At the front end, the rat pack of 21 riders pushed on through five-horse stations to bring race action to horse station 12 – a mere 350+ ish km from the start line. Only 650+ more kilometres to go, guys – a piece of cake!

The lead has toggled back and forth between the front runners numerous times during the day, and our eyeballs have been crossed trying to keep tabs on who was doing what, where and why. The superb navigation skills of Ahmed (AA) Bob (RL) kept us all engrossed as their course zigged where other riders chose to zag, but ultimately cost them some precious time in the form of technical penalties for missing some mandatory course markers...

Read more here:
https://www.theadventurists.com/adventures/mongol-derby/updates/?fbclid=IwAR0bidCrOCXBkvCf1dpKBQcdtMTcvZ4ansrAcAyBRWJo7lUQri563xJRMjE#1

Daily updates here:
http://www.endurance.net/international/Mongolia/2019MongolDerby/

2019 Mongol Derby Day 2

August 8, 2019

Rounding up on a very wet day two probably most demonstrated by the overcrowding at horse station seven where the leading 20 (yes 20) riders are drying out – at least they will warm up in the cosy, if somewhat smelly environment of drying clothes, socks and bodies in warm sleeping bags (whoops who forgot the dry bags eek) …. Having eaten a hearty meal of noodles around a GER fir – 5*s at least!

Meanwhile behind them at Horse Station six and Horse Station five…

Camping in a Ger about 10 km past Horse Station six is RRO … She has messaged in safe and sound. But Event Manager Louise Crosbie (LC) is still heading out to double-check.

Navigational errors including Alana Watts (AW) & Holly Rivett (HR) heading were seen heading off to Russia before corrective measures lead them back to a Derby Horse Station and Katie Hasse (KH) and Kelsey Eliot (KE) parting ways in an apparent disagreement of route...

Read more here:
https://www.theadventurists.com/adventures/mongol-derby/updates/?fbclid=IwAR0bidCrOCXBkvCf1dpKBQcdtMTcvZ4ansrAcAyBRWJo7lUQri563xJRMjE#1

Daily updates here:
http://www.endurance.net/international/Mongolia/2019MongolDerby/

Heather Wallace to Official in Mongolian Horse Adventure the Gobi Desert Cup

August 7 2019

Heather Wallace, The Timid Rider, will be working for the second year as an official and photographer for the Gobi Desert Cup, 27 August - 6 September 2019 starting in the capital of Ulaanbaatar and traveling through the Gobi Desert.

Heather Wallace is the writer and photographer for the blog, The Timid Rider, which focuses on the struggling confidence of a returning adult equestrian. She is the award-winning author of non-fiction titles Confessions of a Timid Rider, which details her insights about being an anxiety-ridden but passionate equestrian and Girl Forward: A Tale of One Woman's Unlikely Adventure in Mongolia. This year she will again be attending this unique endurance ride as the photographer and official media guru. She looks forward to strengthening her relationship with the local nomads and to further draw attention to their dwindling lifestyle through her storytelling on social media, in photography, and as a producer on a documentary being filmed this year.

The Gobi Desert Cup is a multistage endurance race on Mongolian horses unlike any other equestrian adventure. Founded in 2016 by FEI 3* Endurance Rider, Camille Champagne, the Gobi Desert Cup is a multi-stage endurance ride and cultural experience through the Gobi Desert, riding trained and conditioned Mongolian horses every day for six days over a total of 480 kilometers.

This challenge is the only one of its kind to combine equestrian adventure and distance riding while positively supporting Mongolian nomadic culture and their horses before, during, and after the event. Combining the safety protocols and regulations of three international endurance organizations with semi-wild Mongolian horses, the event occurs over multiple terrains from dunes to rolling, verdant hills. Each of the 21 international riders will ride six horses in six days, testing their horsemanship, their endurance and their sense of adventure. Each horse is chosen specifically for their physical strength and quiet temper and trained specially for the race by our team of Mongolian herdsmen and veterinarians.

Heather is proud to be part of an organization dedicated to the awareness and sustainability of the last true horse culture through her work with the ride and its Non-Government Organization, the Mongolian Horse and Nomads Foundation and share their mission worldwide.

Please contact Heather Wallace, Media Coordinator at heather@timidrider.com for more information or follow her live updates on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gobidesertcup.

2019 Mongol Derby Day 1

August 7, 2019

Holy thundering hooves of wonder that was one hell of a start to the race. Currently your correspondent is exhausted after getting no sleep for a week in the run up to the launch so I apologise in advance for the brevity of this update.

After being baked in the sun for the training sessions, the riders had their first slap about the face by the weather of Mongolia. The skies opened just as the riders started to tack up. What began as a slow drizzle evolved into a pre-longed soaking that made sure it was hanging around most of the day. Our concerns for the riders turned from heat stroke to hypothermia.

They lined up and ripped out into the wilderness at about 10:30am Mongolia time.

Bob Long (RL) and Frank Winters (FW) (Both hailing from the USA) pushed into the front pack showing all these young whippersnappers how it’s done. Frank somehow managed sneak out of HS2 forgetting to go through the vet check and came right back to loose his place in the front herd and leaving Bob to continue to show some most marvellous horsemanship…

Read more here:
https://www.theadventurists.com/adventures/mongol-derby/updates/?fbclid=IwAR1ejBla9Dg3x3rIOOVqgE1bLJfH41AzsYMSkWyFs7TpmrkmhB_QvYtVHyM

Daily updates here:
http://www.endurance.net/international/Mongolia/2019MongolDerby/

Entries Announced for FEI European Endurance Championship

August 7 2019

The definite entries have been announced for the Meyday FEI Endurance European Championships which will be held on August 17 at Euston Park in Great Britain.

67 riders and 72 horses from 20 countries are on the entries for the 160-km Championship.

The entries can be seen here.

The Meydan FEI Endurance European Championship takes place on Saturday 17th August as a part of the HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum UK Endurance Festival.

Updates on the event can be seen at:
http://www.endurance.net/international/GreatBritain/2019EuropeanChampionship/