Abu Dhabi: 200 riders set for Endurance

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

By M. Satya Narayan, Senior Reporter
November 21, 2008

Abu Dhabi: Two competitive rides and two Qualifier rides make up a busy day with nearly 200 riders set to be in action at the Boudtheib Endurance Village in Al Khatem on Saturday.

Organised under the patronage of Shaikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, the rides are being held by the Emirates Heritage Club.

A 100-km ride for juniors and young riders will be the second for the juniors here this season while the second competitive ride today is a national ride open to horses owned by private and small stables in the UAE.

More...

Oman: Endurance race concludes in Barka

Omantribune.com

Friday, November 21, 2008

MUSCAT Habib Al Balushi won the second round of the endurance race, which was held in Barka on Thursday. Nearly 37 horses took part in the race, which was organised by the Omani Equestrian Federation under the auspices of HE Sayyid Suleiman Bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, Chairman of Shabab Club.

While 37 horses took part in the first round (35km), only 18 of them qualified for the second round (30km).

After completing the veterinary inspection in the end of the second round, only 13 horses were qualified for the third and last round (25km).

Habib Al Balushi managed to come first at 6 hours and 1 minute followed by Abdullah Saleh Al Ajami at 6 hours and 19 minutes. Hisham Al Farsi came third with only five second behind the second place winner.

At the end of the race, the chief guest handed over awards to winners and horse riders who qualified for the last round.

UAE: Ponton looks to improve on her European bronze

Thenational.ae.com - Full Article

Amith Passela
November 20. 2008

First it was the junior and young riders, next the men, and now it’s the turn of the women, who will be in action in the first of the three-race series exclusively for the ladies at Al Asayel Endurance Village today.

The 120-km race with an FEI-CEI three-star status has drawn 30 entries including the newly crowned world champion Maria Alvarez Ponton, of Spain. Ponton, who trains endurance horses with her husband Juma Punti Dachs in Dubai for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, won the world crown earlier this month in Terengganu, Malaysia.

She has been in fine fettle with her champion horse Nobby. On whom she won a bronze medal in last year’s European Championship in Portugal.

More....

Bahrain: 80 riders set for qualifying race

Gulf-daily-news.com

21st November 2008

MORE than 80 of Bahrain's top riders are taking part in the 90km Endurance Horseride Qualifying Championship scheduled for tomorrow at 5am at the Bahrain International Endurance Village in Sakhir. Leading the entries in this warmup event is Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation president and Royal Endurance Team captain Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa who will be riding Omsura Nasrohn.

Other prominent Bahrainis taking part includes Al Khalidiya Stable captain and Breef first vice-president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa who will ride Naima El Fayssetts.

Other riders from the Royal Endurance Team include Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalid Al Khalifa, Isa Al Dossary, Abdulla Al Muawda, Ibrahim Al Jaboori and Hussain Al Nayef.

Five entrants will spearhead Al Ruwaie Stables owned by Hassan bin Saleh Al Ruwaie and they are Hamad Al Tamimi, Abdulla Yousif, Jamal Al Tamimi, Abdulla Al Ruwaie and Ahmed Jamal.

The Al Talia Stable, one of the hot contenders tomorrow, will be represented by five riders - Dalpat Hari Singh, Ganpat Singh, Sang Singh Bhati and Ahmed Al Ruwaie.

Mohammed Makki will lead a three-member team from Awal Stables. Other riders are Hassan Ali and Jaffer Salman while Isa Buhazza and Mohammed Khan will ride for Hafeera Stables.

Other stables in the fray includes Bahrain Riding School, Al Shuwamekh, Al Ajyal, Wadi Ali, Al Reem, Al Mughairat, Jehad Ahmed Sharaf, Ali Ghuloom, Abu Younes, Azadi, Abdulla Malalla, Zainab Za'alan, Jassim Malalla, Sayed Hussain Ali and Ahmed Al Mannai.

Ghalib Al Alawi will be the head of the jury committee which also includes Abdulsamad Al Busta and Mahdi Al Klaiti.

The international commissioner is Mahmood Abdulsaheb who will be assisted by Fahad Al Rumaihi. Mohammed Abdulla was named technical commissioner of the race.

The veterinary committee will be headed by Breef assistant general secretary Dr Khalid Ahmed Hassan and comprises of Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Al Hammad, Ibrahim Al Hassan of Jordan, D C Niranjan of India, Bahrain's Ibrahim Yousif, Sabah Al Ka'abi and George Bandalo of Argentina.

A purpose-built veterinary clinic and laboratory will be available at the village and will be supervised by a team consisting of Dr Farida Abdulrazzaq of Bahrain and including compatriot Abdulrahman Abu Al Shouk, Merghani Jilani, Ahmed Dhaif, Milo Kanabo of Dominican Republic and Stephan Prince of France.

France puts in formal bid for WEG 2014

Horsetalk.co.nz

November 18, 2008

As preparations build for the next World Equestrian Games - in Kentucky 2010 - France has put in its formal bid for the 2014 Games, with their proposal placing the event in Basse Normandie, Northern France.

Representatives of the French Equestrian Federation formally presented the Candidacy Book outlining the bid to FEI President Princess Haya, on Sunday.

"The Basse Normandie region has put forward a very serious bid which has the support of the President of the French Republic and the French government," said Mr Christian Paillot, Vice President of the French Equestrian Federation. "It is a safe choice as we already have in existence excellent venues as well as a balanced budget."

The bid will now be circulated to the FEI Bureau and FEI Headquarters for evaluation. The official presentation by the bid committee will take place during the FEI Bureau Meeting in April 2009 when the allocation will be made.

2014 will see the eighth edition of FEIs biggest event after the inaugural event was organised in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1990.

UAE: All Set for Ladies Endurance Championship

20 November 2008

DUBAI - The first endurance ride for the current season exclusively featuring lady riders will be flagged off on Friday at the Al Asayl Endurance Village. The ride is part of the three-round Shaikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Challenge for Ladies, a Press release said.

The UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation, in cooperation with the Al Asayel Endurance Village, is organising the rides for the third consecutive year in the country. The FEI, CEI Three-star series will comprise three 120-km rides, the first of which will be held on Friday. Round Two and Three are scheduled to be held on February 19 and March 13.

Al Asayl Endurance Village, which is situated in Sweihan, Abu Dhabi, will be the venue for all the three rides, which are held under the patronage of Shaikh Sultan bin Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the UAE Equestrian Federation.

Round One will be run in five phases of 30km, 30km, 24km, 20km and 16km respectively and will have a mass start at 6.15am. The ride is being sponsored by UAE realtors Hydra Properties.

Pre-ride inspection will be held on Thursday between 3 and 4pm at the Al Asayel Village premises. Respecting the UAE customs and traditions, the UAE local men folk are not permitted at the rides and private videography and photography too are forbidden.

Over 35 enthusiastic lady endurance riders have already confirmed their participation for the Friday inaugural. They include Shaikha Alyazia bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan who will be riding Ningadoo Moesha, Shaikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, who will partner with Sabee, Shaikha Maryam bint Omer Al Qasimi (Tsalla), Shaikha Asma Taleb Al Qasimi (Koheilan Des Serres) and Shaikha Madiya Hasher Al Maktoum (JG Opie). Also vying in the competition is Maria Alvarez Ponton, the reigning FEI World Champion. Maria won the title after finishing first in the Deyaar-sponsored 160-km FEI World Endurance Championship in Terengganu, Malaysia earlier this month.

Other contenders include Afra Khalifa Al Suwaidi, who was last year’s champion, Shamsah Awad Al Otaiba, who finished first in last year’s Round 3, Reem Shaban Ibrahim Hasan, Aliya Ali Mohd Yusuf Al Marzouqi, Sara Mohammed Al Jaber Al Marri, Nadia Mansor Loudouna, Jamila Ahmed, Nouf Mohammed Khamis Al Dhaheri and Bayan Abdullah Abas Ahmed,.
[More ...]

Kazakhstan: FEI approves 2009 Asian Championship date

The 2009 Asian Championship will be held 16-17 May, in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Almaty is the former capitol of Kazakhstan, located near the border with China. Previous Endurance events in Kazakhstan include the Championship ride.

---

Source, Equestrian Federation of Kazakhstan:

On October 18, 2008 in territory of a horse farm "Altyn SuTek" the competitions of Endurance Championship of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held.
The competitions have passed at a distance 30, 60 and 120 kilometers.

The national champion at a 120-kilometer distance became representative of Ust Kamenogorsk (club "Titan") Yuliya Starikova on Russian trotter Poligon.

At a distance of 60 kms a victory Natalya Dolgikh with Batiy have gained. They represent Almaty club "Altyn-Tay".

Kamilla Djumasaeva and Pinochet also representing "Altyn-Tay" have won at the shortest distance of the Championship.

Results

---

Geographically Kazakhstan is a part of Central Asia, Kazakhstan is more than twice as big as the four other Central Asian republics put together and is roughly half the size of mainland USA. The landscape of Kazakhstan is diverse. The northern forest-steppe turns into steppe, half-deserts and deserts in the South. Kazakhstan is mineral rich. Enterprises involved in extraction and processing of coal, oil, gas, non-ferrous and ferrous metals play a leading role in the national economy. The Republic is a multinational state inhabited with representatives of more than 120 nationalities. The main religions are Islam and Orthodox Christianity, but religious tolerant is the norm. In recent years lots of mosques and churches are under construction and the number of religious people is growing. But Kazakhstan is not as religious as other republics of Central Asia, and as a heritage of the Soviet Union a great number of people are not religious at all.

Almaty is the largest city in Kazakhstan and the former capital of the Republic. The population of the city is over 1.300.000 people. Almaty is a multinational city where various Nationalities are represented as follows Kazaks 51%, Russians 37%, other nationalities 12%. People of Almaty communicate in Russian, Kazakh, or their native languages. Sudden exposure to the outside world has turned Almaty into Central Asia's most cosmopolitan city with shops, restaurants, hotels and casinos that would make the place unrecognizable to anyone who had been away since 1990. Almaty was the capital of Kazakhstan till December 1997. The city has long straight avenues and low-rise architecture. The Zailijski Alatau Mountains rise like a wall along Almaty's southern fringe and form a superb backdrop. There are lots of parks, space and greenery.

More info on Kazakhstan