Great Britain, Talking Horses: BHA must respond over trainer's doping suspension

TheGuardian.com - Full Story

Chris Cook
Thu 5 Sep 2019

The Newmarket-based Ismail Mohammed has been suspended from endurance racing for two years by the FEI

Readers may be surprised to learn that bans imposed on people by one horsey sport are not automatically reciprocated by others. Whether this situation should be allowed to continue has become a pressing one for the British Horseracing Authority, following the news that Ismail Mohammed, a trainer based in Newmarket, has been suspended from endurance racing for two years over a doping offence involving testosterone.

In a decision reached last month by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), Mohammed was disciplined, along with one other, for a positive test taken from the horse Shaddad at an event in Suffolk last year. The test found 35 nanograms of the anabolic steroid per millilitre of urine taken from the horse, compared to the FEI’s threshold of 20ng. The FEI described testosterone as “one of the most old-school anabolic steroids, which was known to be used in the build-up period for competitions in Endurance”...

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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/sep/05/talking-horses-bha-must-respond-over-trainers-doping-suspension

Meet the Western Australians who took on the Mongol Derby, the world's toughest horse race

ABC.net.au - Full Article

September 4 2019
By Ellie Honeybone

It is known as the longest and toughest horse race on Earth, but for two Western Australians who just returned from competing in the Mongol Derby, it was one of the best experiences of their lives.

Jesse Byrne and Sarah Brown finished third in a field of 40 riders after racing across 1,000 kilometres of vast Mongolian landscapes mounted on semi-wild racing ponies.

The annual adventure race follows the world's first long-distance postal transmission route, laid down by Genghis Khan in 1224.

Sturdy Mongolian horses, used to life on the steppes where temperatures range from minus 40 degrees Celsius in winter to 30 degrees Celsius in summer, carry the entrants on the course.

The object of the event is to ride a series of horses along the route, swapping your mount every 40 kilometres at stations crewed by teams of veterinarians.

It is not a challenge for the faint-hearted but the Aussie duo has returned home in one piece with just a couple of sore knees between them...

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-05/meet-the-west-australians-who-took-on-the-mongol-derby/11467864

Australia: WERI Wicked Wheatbelt Challenge

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

1 September 2019
Race Report made with the assistance of Cara Allan

Merredin WA, Australia. Saturday 17 August 2019. The rejuvenation of CEI competition in Western Australia was brought about by the Acharon Challenge, held in Collie in May last year.

his was the first international (CEI) ride held in Western Australia for five years; a tribute to the late West Coast Acharon (affectionately known as Acky), the stallion sadly laid to rest three years ago. Last year’s ride was the preamble for the recent CEI2* event, hosted by the Wheatbelt Endurance Riders Incorporation (WERI) and held in Merredin over the weekend of the 17 August 2019...

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https://endurance-world.com/weri-wicked-wheatbelt-challenge/

Maktoum Family Endurance Horse Trainer Banned for Steroids Offence

HorseSport.com - Full Article

Ismail Mohammed, a longstanding endurance trainer for the Maktoum family has received a two-year suspension for a banned steroids offence involving Shaddad.

By: Pippa Cuckson | September 3 2019

One of the Maktoum family’s longest standing trainers has been suspended for two years by the FEI for a banned steroids offence involving Shaddad, who was the world number-one ranked endurance horse at the time.

Ismail Mohammed, 56, was also fined 7,500 Swiss francs and ordered to pay 2,500 Swiss francs towards costs. The same suspension, fine and costs order was handed down to Shaddad’s rider Saeed Mohd Khalifa Al Mehairi, 22. The suspensions are backdated to take account of provisional suspensions already served, meaning the pair are ineligible to compete in FEI through August 2020.

The testosterone positive was returned on July 13, 2018, at a Maktoum-sponsored FEI ride at Euston Park, UK. The gelding Shaddad is owned by MRM, the premier endurance stable of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum.

Ismail Mohammed has previous anti-doping violations in both endurance and horse racing. He blamed this latest incident on accidental “contamination” by the horse’s groom on the day, Saleem Khan, who was using a cream containing testosterone to treat muscle soreness on his own shoulders. Khan had worked “diligently” for MRM six years but on this occasion failed to advise MRM management he was using the cream...

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https://horsesport.com/horse-news/maktoum-endurance-trainer-banned-steroids-offence/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Maktoum+Endurance+Trainer+Banned+%7C+Inevitable+Tokyo+Jumping++Mess++%7C+Ingrid+Klimke+Golden+at+Euros&utm_campaign=HS+Enewsletter+-+MONDAY+-+LATEST+NEWS+-+Sept+4

St. Patrick’s Coast Endurance Ride 2019 – Ireland’s Emerald Jewel of Endurance and Pleasure Riding

Farmweek.com - Full Article

By Bree Rutledge - September 3, 2019

THE most eagerly anticipated equestrian event of the year is coming up soon and has been on many riders’ minds and training programmes. The annual St. Patrick’s Coast Endurance Ride is the perfect horse-riding event, whether you are an avid eventer, dressage diva or someone who enjoys exploring the glorious countryside on horseback! Now in its sixth year, this event hosted by the Irish Long Distance Riding Association (ILDRA), has become established as Ireland’s premier endurance event offering stunning off-road riding in the scenic County Down landscape.

On Saturday, September 7, the ride will commence at the excellent venue of Downpatrick racecourse, offering ample parking and on site toilets. The ride meanders across the rolling drumlins of County Down through numerous fields before reaching the East Down Gallops...

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https://farmweek.com/st-patricks-coast-endurance-ride-2019-irelands-emerald-jewel-of-endurance-and-pleasure-riding/

Fines, bans imposed over testosterone level in Endurance horse in Britain

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

September 3, 2019 Horsetalk.co.nz

Excessive testosterone levels found in an Endurance horse who competed over 160km in a contest at Euston Park, England, have result in both the rider and trainer being fined and banned by the FEI Tribunal.

The rider, Saeed Mohammed Khalifa Al Mehairi, who is registered with the United Arab Emirates, rode UAE-registered Shaddad in the CEI3* 160km ride held at the venue on July 13 last year.

Shaddad, a gelding, had blood and urine samples taken for testing. Analysis revealed the presence of testosterone in the urine sample. The internationally agreed threshold for free and conjugated testosterone in a gelding’s urine is 20 nanograms per millilitre.

Shaddad’s concentration of testosterone was found to be 35 nanograms per millilitre...

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https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/09/03/fines-bans-testosterone-endurance-britain/

Better welfare outcomes seen in domestic-level endurance

Horsetalk.co.nz - full article

August 30, 2019 Horsetalk.co.nz

Endurance rides ridden at slower speeds over technically challenging terrain have fewer eliminations and better horse welfare outcomes, the authors of a New Zealand study have found.

Massey University researcher Kylie Legg and her colleagues, writing in the open-access journal Animals, noted that international media recently raised awareness around horse welfare during endurance competitions.

However, much of this attention has been focused on international-level FEI competitions.

Little, they said, is known about domestic-level competitions and their risk factors for elimination...

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https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/08/30/better-welfare-outcomes-domestic-endurance/