Al Faresi: I have waited for this moment so long

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Emirati rider says advice of Shaikh Mohammad help him win

By Leslie Wilson JrRacing & Special Features Writer
Published: September 28, 2014

Samorin, Slovakia: With success having eluded him in nine years of riding, Mansour Saeed Al Faresi was probably one of the unlikely candidates to excel in the FEI World Endurance Championships for Young Horses 2014 at Samorin, Slovakia, on Saturday.

The advice of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai helped him brush aside his past disappointment and claim victory for the UAE on a day that ended in heartache for his teammate Shaikh Hamed Dalmouk Al Maktoum.

Shaikh Hamed was the first rider to cross the finish line at the end of the 120km CEI 4* ride, but his horse, Normandy, went lame and was cruelly disqualified in the final VET gate...

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UAE, France dominate Young Horse endurance champs in Slovakia

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

By Contributor on Sep 30, 2014 in Focus

The UAE’s Mansour Saeed Mohd Al Faresi and Tiswan Fageole have won the FEI World Endurance Championships for Young Horses in Slovakia, with French riders filling second, third and fourth places, writes Berry Pattison.

The event boasted one of the highest completion rates for a seven-year-old horses, when 20 completed the 120km ride from 44 starters...

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http://horsetalk.co.nz/2014/09/30/uae-france-dominate-young-horse-endurance-champs/#axzz3EkGq4y3y

Slovakia: World Endurance for young horses off to rousing start

Khaleejtimes.com - Full Article

KT Report / 28 September 2014

An array of riders from the UAE, Argentina, France, Estonia, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic will compete in the challenging 120km CEI 4 event for seven-year-old horses.

Samorin: The FEI World Endurance Championships for Young Horses 2014 got off to a rousing start as riders from 15 countries came together in pursuit of glory at Samorin, Slovakia.

An array of riders from the UAE, Argentina, France, Estonia, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic will compete in the challenging 120km CEI 4 event for seven-year-old horses.

The event opened to the rapturous sound of drumming by a band wearing the green and gold colours of HH Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival as representatives from the participating countries performed a march past waving their national flags to the crowd.

Miloslav Seruga, President of the event was joined by Peter Pellegrini, Minister of Education, Science Research and Sport, Lara Sawaya, Chairman of Ladies Racing Committee in the International Federation of Arabian Horse Racing Authorities (IFAHR) offered an enthusiastic welcome to the riders and wished them best of luck.

The FEI World Endurance Championships for Young Horses is being held in Slovakia for the first time in history. As many as 43 riders will have to cover the gruelling 120-kilometre track from Pezinok to Samorin, which is divided into five loops...

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http://www.khaleejtimes.com/sport/inside_sport.asp?xfile=/data/nationsports/2014/September/nationsports_September230.xml§ion=nationsports

Croatia steals the show at FEI Balkan Endurance Championships 2014

Aroundtherings.com - Full Article

09/25/14
The FEI Balkan Endurance Championships 2014 took place on 20 September in Meljak in the Barajevo municipality of the Serbian capital Belgrade. Seven National Federations were represented with Croatia stealing the show and scooping two of the three individual medals as well as team gold.

The Championship was run over an 80km course made up of four loops consisting of 28km, 20km, 16km and a final 16km. The area of Meljak lies south of the city of Belgrade and is nestled between the two major mountains of the region: the Avala Mountain found to the south east of Belgrade and the Kosmaj Mountain to the south west. The beautiful backdrop of rolling, rural hills provided a technical and testing course for this relatively new FEI Endurance event.

In line with the ever-increasing popularity of the Endurance discipline, this Championship has seen a huge growth in numbers since its inception in 2008. The first official FEI Balkan Endurance Championships took place in Sancrai (ROU) and had a total of 19 entrants, from which 10 successfully completed the 60km course. 2011 saw the event move to Koprivstitsa (BUL) with a similar starting field but a higher completion rate across the 90km course. Finally this year the starting field grew by 50% with 30 starters representing Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, Turkey and, of course, the home nation of Serbia. Alongside a higher number of entrants, this year also saw the event’s highest ever completion rate of nearly 65% indicating the much more advanced level of competition now seen in this part of Europe...

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http://www.aroundtherings.com/site/A__48483/Title__Croatia-steals-the-show-at-FEI-Balkan-Endurance-Championships-2014/292/Articles

2014 FEI Balkan Endurance Championships

Horse-canada.com - Full article

HORSE SPORT SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
BY: EQUINE CANADA

The 2014 FEI Balkan Endurance Championships took place on September 20th in Meljak in the Barajevo municipality of the Serbian capital Belgrade. Seven National Federations were represented with Croatia stealing the show and scooping two of the three individual medals as well as team gold.

The Championship was run over an 80km course made up of four loops consisting of 28km, 20km, 16km and a final 16km. The area of Meljak lies south of the city of Belgrade and is nestled between the two major mountains of the region: the Avala Mountain found to the south east of Belgrade and the Kosmaj Mountain to the south west. The beautiful backdrop of rolling, rural hills provided a technical and testing course for this relatively new FEI Endurance event...

Read more here:
http://www.horse-canada.com/horse-news/2014-fei-balkan-endurance-championships/

Afra Al Suwaidi sets sights on FEI title in Bratislava

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Preview: Emirati rider seeks to bolster her fine season with an eye on Samorin championships

By Leslie Wilson Jr., Racing & Special Features Writer
Published: 02:56 September 27, 2014

Bratislava, Slovakia: Female Emirati horse rider Afra Khalifa Al Suwaidi hopes to bolster what has been a fine season by giving a good account of herself in the FEI World Endurance Championship for Young Horses 2014 at Samorin, Slovakia on Saturday.
The event is sponsored by the HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival, in keeping with the strategy to promote equestrian events around the world.

Italian success

Al Suwaidi led the UAE ladies endurance team to a double gold medal winning success in the Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Endurance Cup in Verona, Italy in July and is now targeting the 120km CEI 4* star ride to help establish her credentials...

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http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/afra-al-suwaidi-sets-sights-on-fei-title-in-bratislava-1.1390616

Shaikh Mansour Festival in Slovakia

Khaleejtimes.com - Full Article

27 September 2014

A competitive field of 48 riders, including five hopefuls from the UAE, will compete for top honours in the 120km ride for seven-year-old horses.

Bratislava — The HH Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival will cross a new frontier in its worldwide patronage of equestrian sports. It lends its support to the FEI World Endurance Championship for Young Horses 2014 at Samorin, Slovakia, on Saturday, a Press release said. A competitive field of 48 riders, including five hopefuls from the UAE, will compete for top honours in the 120km ride for seven-year-old horses.

The UAE challenge is spearheaded by Al Ain’s Afra Khalifa Al Suwaidi, who led the UAE ladies endurance team to a double gold medal winning success in the Her Highness Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies Endurance Cup in Verona, Italy, in July.

Afra will partner the Hassan Rakhan Al Mansoori-owned gelding Ainhoa Tidjor, a horse which helped her qualify for the Slovakia ride. World Endurance champion trainer Ismail Mohammad has entered a four-strong field of horses with Shaikh Hamed Dalmook Al Maktoum, likely to partner the highly-regarded Normandy.

Mansoor Saeed Mohammed Al Faresi will team up with Tiswan Fageole while Mohammed Saeed Mohammed Al Faresi rides Caramel Do Silva. Saeed Mohammed Saeed Al Khayari completes the UAE quintet aboard the UAE-bred gelding Ostro Di Chai.

The Emirati riders will come up against strong riders representing Argentina, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Sweden. France is well represented with a potential 11-strong field while hosts Slovakia have entered four horses...

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http://www.khaleejtimes.com/sport/inside_sport.asp?xfile=/data/horseracing/2014/September/horseracing_September8.xml§ion=horseracing