Royal team rider wins French race

GDNonline.com - Full Article

Fri, 29 Jul 2022

SHAIKH Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa won first place in the 160km race of the Jullianges International Endurance Championship in France, leading the Royal Endurance Team to victory in an event which featured elite European jockeys.

The victory was praised by His Majesty the King’s representative for humanitarian works and youth affairs and Royal Endurance Team captain Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa...

Read more here:
https://www.gdnonline.com/Details/1128667

July Mongol Derby Day 6: Run for the hills

Equestrianists.com - Full Story

Holly Conyers
29th July 2022

Day 6 of the July 2022 Mongol Derby, and the tension is ratcheting up a notch. Chris Walker (CWA) and Patrick Heffron (PHE) are clinging on to their lead by a nose, having made it into HS20 this evening. Deirdre Griffith (DRG), Tiffany Atteberry (TAT) and Willemien Jooste (WJO) are camped between HS19 and HS20, holding off the rest of the front runners right behind them at HS19. Will CWA and PHE keep their cool to shake off the ladies doggedly stalking them across the steppe, or crumble under the pressure? It’s all to play for as we enter the final stages of the Derby, with just eight horse stations left between the leaders and the finish line. But this is no cake walk: the riders have hit the mountains, throwing some major spanners in the works...

Read more here:
https://equestrianists.com/updates/july-mongol-derby-day-6-run-for-the-hills/

July Mongol Derby Day 5: Hump day

Equestrianists.com - Full Story

Holly Conyers
27th July 2022

The brave yet bonkers riders of the July 2022 Mongol Derby have broken the back of the beast. They are over hump day, with five of the maximum 10 riding days behind them. And what a day it was: a beautiful, clear morning heated up into a warm afternoon, with just a smattering of refreshing showers as riders sped through lush, verdant valleys and negotiated sandy tracks. The going was good and the horses pleasantly co-operative, but our leaders have struggled to extend their lead from the tenacious chasing pack. Chris Walker (CWA) and Patrick Heffron (PHE) remain out in front after seizing the lead last night, but they have a fragile 18 minute advantage on the seven gritty riders stubbornly clinging onto their tails, camped just behind them at HS16.

Race HQ elected to extend riding hours by an extra 60 minutes until 19:00 today in light of the pleasant weather, to give riders more time to get flying through the course. Bringing up the rear of the field with irresistible good cheer, Alexa Towersey (ATO), Eleanor Aitken (EAI), Tobias Endress (TEN), Marianne Finch (MFI), Sara Beck (SBE) and Brandy Dobbyn (BDO) were allowed an additional hour to be accounted for in the final totting up of riding times, in order to bunch the field back together a little more...

Read more at:
https://equestrianists.com/updates/july-mongol-derby-day-5-hump-day/

Mongolia: World’s Longest & Toughest Horse Race Returns

July 27 2022
Daniel at New Chapter Marketing

After a two year absence, the world’s longest and toughest horse race, The Mongol Derby, is back with a bang, with two races running back to back.

Based on the ancient horse messenger system used by Genghis Khan, in a country where the horse is king, at 1000km the Derby is the toughest test on the planet for equestrian endurance riders. Whilst horses are changed roughly every 35km, at checkpoints strung out throughout the country, riders must endure being in the saddle for up to 200km a day and face the challenges of riding over twenty-eight different semi-wild horses, with varying temperaments and bucking abilities, the inevitable falls and mishaps that happen along the way and navigating through challenging terrain, from giant sand dunes to freezing mountain passes.

After the pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 editions, the twelfth Mongol Derby kicked off on the 23 rd of July and looks set to be one of the most fiercely contested races to date, currently proving too close to call, with no clear breakaways formed.

Riders from ten nations are competing for the prestigious win, with young Kiwi pair, Sam Edney and Annie Hackett, having taken an early lead, before age and experience took over in the form of Irishman Patrick Heffron and Brit Chris Walker. Leading the way at the end of day four, both are experienced riders in multiple disciplines, but with several days riding left anything could happen and a strong American and Australian contingent are breathing down their necks.

Follow the race live at https://equestrianists.com/mongol-derby

The second edition of the Mongol Derby kicks off on the 10 th of August

July Mongol Derby Day 4: The eye of the storm

Equestrianists.com - Full Story

Holly Conyers
27th July 2022

Four days into the July 2022 Mongol Derby and we have our first major shake-up of the leaderboard since our 46 riders blasted off the start line: Annie Hackett (AHA) and Sam Edney (SED) have fallen off the pace for the first time, as we come up against some mountainous terrain. There is a new double act in town. Chris Walker (CWA) and Patrick Heffron (PHE) have ridden a blinder to launch themselves clear of the rest of the field, camped roughly halfway between HS12 and HS13. But they’re not out of the woods yet, closely stalked by a pack of three very determined riders snapping at their hooves.

Deirdre Griffith’s (DGR) calculated early morning horse selection has clearly paid off. Riding alongside Sean McBride (SMC) and Willemien Jooste (WJO) since they hoofed it out of their campsite between HS5 and HS6 yesterday morning, the group have pulled off something of a miracle to propel themselves almost to the head of the race. Camped just outside HS12, they have raced through a formidable four horse stations in just one day, having set off this morning from a campsite between HS8 and HS9...

Read more here:
https://equestrianists.com/updates/july-mongol-derby-day-4-the-eye-of-the-storm/

July Mongol Derby Day 3: Golden hour

Equestrianists.com - Full Story

Holly Conyers
25th July 2022

Day 3 of the July 2022 Mongol Derby, and the drama just keeps coming. Six riders remain locked in battle for the lead at the head of the race, but there’s been a change in the line-up since yesterday: Chris Walker (CWA) managed to catch up to the leaders to join their camp at HS9, while Tyler Donaldson-Aitken (TDO) has dropped off the pace and finds himself camped somewhere between HS7 and HS8. We recount the day’s highs and lows below.

For the third day in a row, riders awoke to blazing sunshine on the steppe. Taking full advantage of permitted riding hours, Ashton Garner (AGA), Kristin Carpenter (KCA) and Morgan Kelly (MKE) bolted out of HS4 where they had spent the night at 07:00 on the dot. Michael Field (MFE), Claire Vile (CVI) and Lena Haug (LHA) were the first to depart HS5, leaving behind their 10 other campmates still busy wrangling their horses and wolfing down some breakfast. CWA, Deirdre Griffith (DGR), Sean McBride (SMC) and Willemien Jooste (WJO) were quick to hop onto their mounts this morning, making a punctual exit from their campsite somewhere between HS5 and HS6. Nancy O’Neill (NON) and Janet O’Neill (JON) were back in the saddle, leaving HS4 after NON’s sojourn to Ulaanbaatar hospital yesterday which left her unscathed but riding in Adventure Class...

Read more here:
https://equestrianists.com/updates/july-mongol-derby-day-3-golden-hour/

July Mongol Derby Day 2: Who needs stirrups anyway?

Equestrianists.com - Full Story

Holly Conyers
25th July 2022

Daybreak on Day 2 of the July 2022 Mongol Derby was a sight for sore eyes (and even sorer behinds): bright sunshine, a cool breeze and wispy clouds. The perfect weather to cover some serious miles across the rolling steppe, stretching as far as the eye can see. By sundown, a hot afternoon had slowed the pace of the field, but the two leading riders from close of play on Day 1 would see their lead clawed back by the chasing pack: we now have six riders vying for the lead, camped together at HS6. The race is on.

At the head of the race this morning at HS3, Annie Hackett (AHA) and Sam Edney (SED) had no option but to sit out a late riding penalty from the previous evening, incurred by riding past 18:00 in order to reach shelter at HS3 rather than risk camping out in some serious rain. A sensible tactical decision last night, an agonising wait this morning watching the seconds tick by and praying the chasing pack didn’t appear on the horizon before they were released. They managed to make it out before their pursuers appeared, but how safe was their lead?...

Read more here:
https://equestrianists.com/updates/july-mongol-derby-day-2-who-needs-stirrups-anyway/