Canadians met the heat across the world

Equestrian.ca - Full Article

28 February, 2023

Where completion is an enormous feat for horse and rider, 73-year-old Canadian Robert Gielen finished in 41st place in a field of 37 countries and 129 starting combinations at the 18th edition of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Endurance World Championships 2022 Butheeb held in the desert of Abu Dhabi (UAE) on Feb. 25, 2023.

The Championships were originally scheduled to be held in Verona, Italy in October 2022 but were postponed in September due to safety concerns at the venue and the bidding process was reopened with an extended timeframe out to April 2023.

Aboard his own ‘More Bang For Your Buck’ (Doran x Forty Thieves), a 14-year-old Arabian gelding, who earns his nickname ‘Bang’, the Flesherton, ON, native was one of two North Americans in the competition...

Read more here:
https://www.equestrian.ca/news/dDoZFGmQ6ny6XevTB/weekend-highlights-feb-24-26-canadians

Australia: Riders in the pink for fight against breast cancer

NoosaToday.com.au - Full Article

04/03/2023
by Erle Levey

We can confront a serious issue by bringing some light-hearted moments into our lives.

The McGrath Foundation has shown this with their Pink Test at Sydney Cricket Ground that was launched in 2005.

It’s a similar story with the Bony Mountain Pink Ride for Breast Cancer.

Hosted by Warwick Trail and Endurance Riders Association, this month marked 18 years of holding the charity event – with just two years missed due to wet weather.

Queensland Endurance Riders Association (QERA) president Dick Collyer said the Warwick club was formed in the late 1960s.

This year’s event was significant for a number of reasons...

Read more here:
https://noosatoday.com.au/news/04-03-2023/riders-in-the-pink-for-fight-against-breast-cancer/

Saudi Arabia: Bahrain’s Hashemi wins ‘very hard’ 120km AlUla endurance horse race

AlArabiya.net - Full Article

by Marco Ferrari, Al Arabiya English

Soft sand and warm temperatures posed challenges for riders at a 120 kilometer endurance horse race in Saudi Arabia’s AlUla on Saturday.

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Bahrain’s Mohammed Hashemi, riding 11-year-old gelding Leon, won the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Endurance Cup in the ancient city of AlUla.

But four other horses from Bahrain’s royal stables did not make it to the end of the race, disqualified after failing to pass veterinary checks.

The race was “very hard,” winner Hashemi told Al Arabiya English at the podium. “The weather was hot, and the track was a little bit bad, but in the end we did what we came for...”

Read more here:
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/saudi-arabia/2023/03/04/Bahrain-s-Hashemi-wins-hard-120km-AlUla-endurance-horse-race

Van Deusen Sole American Finisher At Rescheduled FEI World Endurance Championship

FEI/Jon Stroud Photo

Chronofhorse.com - Full Article

By: Erin Harty
Mar 3, 2023 - 6:18 PM

It was a long road to Butheeb (United Arab Emirates) for the 2022 FEI World Endurance Championship, in more ways than one.

The biennial event originally was scheduled to take place in Verona, Italy, in late October 2022, but was cancelled about six weeks beforehand due to concerns about track readiness and athlete safety at the venue. The Fédération Équestre Internationale reopened the bid process, and on Nov. 10, announced that the Butheeb International Endurance Village, about an hour from Abu Dhabi, had been chosen from five countries who submitted bids to host a rescheduled championship on Feb. 25.

“We didn’t think it was going to be in UAE, out of the five possibilities [for host countries],” said Cheryl Van Deusen, a member of the U.S. teams at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games at Tryon (North Carolina) and the 2021 Longines FEI Endurance World Championship (Italy), who had been preparing to compete in Verona. “We were expecting [to compete in] March or April, we didn’t think that they would take us to Abu Dhabi.”

Considering the recent history of the sport in the UAE, whose national federation has been suspended twice in recent years (in 2015 and again in 2020) for major horse welfare concerns and running afoul of FEI rules, the idea of the country hosting an FEI championship initially met with considerable concern and skepticism. (In fact, the FEI removed the 2016 World Endurance Championship from Dubai because of horse welfare concerns; it was held in Samorin, Slovakia, instead.)

But Van Deusen, the sole member of the American team to finish at Butheeb, had high praise for the competition...

Read more here:
https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/van-deusen-sole-american-finisher-at-rescheduled-fei-world-endurance-championship

FEI to Ask Racing For Alignment Over Doping Bans

HorseSport.com - Full Article

People banned for doping in one horse sport can continue to train and ride in another; the FEI thinks it’s time for a more joined-up approach.

By Cuckson Report // Pippa Cuckson | February 24, 2023

Licensed trainers can continue to operate in one horse sport while sitting out a suspension for doping in another. But now the FEI believes it is time for some joined-up thinking and will ask racing jurisdictions if they can recognise each others’ bans.

The move follows the FEI’s latest provisional suspension of UAE endurance and thoroughbred racing trainer Ismail Mohammed since February 3. He has been suspended or fined for multiple anti-doping infringement by three different governing bodies since 2005.

Since February 3, all his registered FEI endurance horses have become ineligible to compete until 30 days after a new trainer is assigned, which includes four horses nominated for this weekend’s FEI world endurance championship in Abu Dhabi.

Yet racing rules will allow Mohammed to continue training Flat horses from his long-time bases in Dubai and Newmarket, UK. He has saddled 16 runners under Emirates Racing Authority (ERA) rules since being stood down by the FEI...

Read more here:
https://horsesport.com/cuckson-report-1/fei-ask-racing-alignment-over-doping-bans/

Bahrain Claims Dual Gold; Late Sprint Backfires for UAE

HorseSport.com - Full Article

Butheeb successfully organized the delayed 2022 World Endurance Championships, but a 36% completion rate shows the sport still has work to do.

By: Horse Sport staff | February 27, 2023

HH Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain has finally become the world endurance champion, also claiming team gold at Butheeb, Abu Dhabi, on Saturday. Sh Nasser has aimed for a senior title since 2004, starting in 19 championships and completing 14 of them. This time he finally did it, with 10-year-old Darco La Majorie, also recent winner of a 160-km race in Sakhir.

Nasser was not first over the line after a racing finish at speeds touching 30kph at times with the three Emiratis who had flanked him over the six loops. As so often in endurance the winner was not immediately confirmed as the tense final vetting stage ran its course. It was close call for Nasser; he left it near to the maximum final presentation time, but Darco La Majorie was able to return to a heart rate of 63 beats per minute (the maximum permitted was 64) and an average overall speed of 21 kph.

The final spurt was too much for prospective winner Abdullah al Marri and second over the line Ahmad al Harbi. Their horses vetted out with heart rates of 70-plus. This pushed the host side out of the team medals; the UAE’s two other two riders had been vetted out earlier in the competition. However, the UAE’s defending world champions Salem Hamad Saeed Malhoof Al Kitbi and Haleh claimed individual team silver...

Read more here:
https://horsesport.com/horse-news/bahrain-claims-dual-gold-late-sprint-backfires-uae/

USA's Cheryl Van Deusen and JG General finish World Endurance Championship

February 26 2022

Congratulations to Cheryl Van Deusen and JG General on a courageous performance in completing the FEI Endurance World Championships Butheeb 2022, where the pairing placed 40th amongst a huge international field. JG General was one of just two North American horses to complete the challenging 160km Abu Dhabi desert course.

Photo by US Equestrian, Ahmad Wagdy

More from the event at http://www.endurance.net/international/UAE/2022WorldEnduranceChampionship/