Mongol Derby: For 2 Montanans, unbroken horses and blow-torched marmot come with the territory in 'world's toughest' race

BillingsGazette.com - Full Article

By JEFF WELSCH jwelsch@billingsgazette.com
June 28 2016

They know Guinness calls it the longest and toughest equestrian race in the world – that they’ll be crossing the Mongolia steppe astride a series of unbroken horses while possibly or likely encountering dehydration from searing desert heat, hypothermia from penetrating mountain cold, roving packs of wild dogs, the snarling guard dogs of nomads, intense sleep deprivation, myriad diseases and, perhaps worst of all, dysentery from a local diet comprised of mutton, fermented mare's milk and – we swear this is true – blow-torched marmot.

Here’s what Kelly Hale of Red Lodge and Marie Griffis of Manhattan don’t know about the wild and woolly Mongol Derby, a 1,000-kilometer sprint in August that roughly follows in the hoof prints of an ancient Genghis Khan postal trail.

The route.

“I have two theories on this,” says Griffis, 42, a lifelong Montanan, dedicated horsewoman for just as long, and professional pastry chef. “One, they want to keep it a secret so nobody goes and scopes it out. And No. 2, for our safety.”

We hadn't mentioned the marauding bandits, lubricated by vodka and/or the mare's milk concoction called airag? They're in the Mongol Derby minefield, too.

So it won't be until on or around the Aug. 4 start near the capital Ulan Bator that Griffis and Hale learn, along with 42 other contestants from 13 countries, a remote route they’ll have 10 days to complete...

Read more here:
http://billingsgazette.com/sports/for-montanans-unbroken-horses-and-blow-torched-marmot-come-with/article_2018c549-c9d4-59ec-8670-8dba831b8ab5.html

Scotland: 2016 Cairngorm 100

Cairngorm100.co.uk

June 25 2016

As well as the 100 mile and 50 mile buckles for those completing the distance in the required time, there were two main prizes, the first being the first past the post awarded to the first rider to arrive and pass the final vetting. The second the Overall CG 100 winner. The Overall Winner is chosen by a combination of points awarded at each vet gate inspection, final arrival position and points awarded at the Best Condition inspection on the Sunday morning.

Overall Winner (Prize donated by Mike and Sally Bell)

I’m pleased to be able to inform you that the Overall Winner of the 2016 Cairngorm 100 is

First Ian Patterson on Tannasg Primo Dancer with 183 points

Second Helen McFarland and Just Jake with 172 points

Third Francesca Bakker and Aratahnes Aphrodite with 160 points

Fourth Susan Cox and Eden el Nyhl with 157 points

Fifth place Liz Booth and Zalah with 151 points

First Past the Post (Prize also donated by Mike and Sally Bell)
Helen McFarland, Francesca Bakker and Ian Patterson came over the finish line together in the true essence of the CG100. Sally has kindly offered to engrave two additional tankards so all three will have a first past the post prize.

Golden Oldies Award donated by Performance Equestrian to
Helen McFarland and Just Jake at 21 years (That's Jake not Helen)

50 miles (Half way there buckle)
Julia Harman and Simeric Solaman

Leonne Davenport and Dromasque

100 milers who passed 50 mile vetting awarded the Half way there buckle

Lesley Muirden and Meave

Sally Toye and Emira Bint Letifa

Lisa Falk and Gameboy

Les Sparks and Magic's Mistrel

30 milers

Matt Walker and Cumbria Aswad

It was a tough ride, congratulations to all those that finished

Clive

Australia: Tahlia Franke’s Countdown to Tevis

EasycareInc.com blog - full story

Tuesday, June 28, 2016 by Team Easyboot

With the 2016 Tevis Cup now less than 30 days away, Tahlia Franke isn’t sitting around twiddling her thumbs, she is burning up the trails and the racetrack. On June 25, the 17-year-old from Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, competed in her first track races—and won.

Franke, a senior in high school, has been riding and training both flat track racehorses and endurance horses for Jay Randle’s Splendacrest Arabians for several years. Arabian races are usually held in conjunction with Thoroughbred races, and Franke has “strapped” at a number of them. (A strapper someone who holds a position looking after racehorses. The duties range from cleaning out the stables and yards, feeding, grooming and blanketing horses, plus saddling horses for track-work and races, hence the name.)...

- See more at: http://blog.easycareinc.com/blog/team-easyboot/tahlia-franke%E2%80%99s-countdown-to-tevis#sthash.WVcvPJJT.dpuf

Cristina Mutis, the Colombian champion of horse endurance

TheCityPaperBogota.com - Full Article

Richard Emblin
June 27, 2016

Cristina Mutis chuckles at the fact she never made it to her Sweet 16 party, prom, and high school graduation. While other teenagers were busily picking out dresses and sashes, the young endurance horse racer was harvesting trophies at prestigious equestrian events across South America.

Cristina, fondly known as “Tata,” is Colombia’s ambassador of a high-intensity sport. Although this country has specialized riding clubs and many serious amateurs, few have traveled so far on horseback and risen to the challenge of long-distance endurance. For those who know horses – and Cristina grew up surrounded by them – endurance is far more than an outdoor riding experience, but an extreme challenge in which horse and rider must cover rugged terrain of 80, 120, and 160km. The endurance features rigorous veterinarian checkpoints in order to ensure the welfare of the horses.

Horses average a speed of approximately 20 kpm, and regardless of weather conditions and the trail, riders and horses are subject to the same physical and mental challenge in a competition that can last more than 24 hours. At the finish-line exam, horses are once again carefully examined in order to receive a completion certificate and placing. Exhaustion and stress are common obstacles that can lead to elimination from a race.

Cristina has never known a day in which she has not mounted a horse nor been in a stable caring for one. On her family’s farm in the hills near Bogotá she learned about nutrition and how to psychologically bond with the animals.

A childhood passion turned into a professional career for Cristina and riding required her to undergo home schooling. Even though her parents unconditionally supported her ambition to ride in equestrian events across the hemisphere, the process that led to en- durance began with a “good horse” and hours-upon-hours of training...

Read more here:
http://thecitypaperbogota.com/features/cristina-mutis-the-colombian-champion-of-horse-endurance/13453

France: Shaikh Nasser hails royal team success in Lignieres endurance race

BNA.bh - Full Article

26/06/2016

Manama, June 26 (BNA): HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad has praised the extraordinary efforts made by the the Bahrain Royal Endurance Team's jockeys during Lignieres Endurance Race, where the Bahrainis topped the podium as well as bagging the second, fourth and sixth places. HH pointed out that the performances exhibited by the Bahrain Royal Endurance Team reflects the real caliber of the team's jockeys and proves Bahrain strength in this sport.

HH highlighted the strong display of the Bahrain Royal Endurance Team during the event, stating that it will have a positive impact on the morale of the team who will be preparing for other heavy-weight events scheduled to take place soon.

HH Shaikh Nasser reserved special praise for the administrative and technical teams whose efforts were key to achieve this success. It's worth indicating that jockey Yaquob Al Hammadi of the Bahrain Royal Endurance Team secured first place in the 160km race after clocking 8:17:26 seconds on his horse, Prudence...

Read more here:
http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/733959

Australia: Imbil takes the reins for national endurance championships

Mysunshinecoast.com.au - Full Article

June 23 2016

The Mary Valley in Queensland will play host to the 2016 Equestrian Australia Endurance Championships when Australia’s first purpose-built endurance complex opens its paddocks to riders from across the country between 14-17 July.

The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) event has been awarded to the newly founded Imbil-based Sterling Crossing Endurance Association which is preparing to welcome over 50 competitors from across the country to the region.

Matt Sample, owner of Sterling Endurance Arabians and founder of the club, said he was delighted to host the internationally accredited event which would see the best in the sport battle it out for the national title over distances of 82, 120 and 160 kilometres.

“Hosting the Australian Championships at our new facility is certainly a wonderful way to launch the ride base which we have been working on perfecting since April 2015,” said Mr Sample...

Read more here:
http://mysunshinecoast.com.au/news/news-display/imbil-takes-the-reins-for-national-endurance-championships,44330

Canada: Rider hopes to make ‘Hoofprints for Diabetes’

Weyburnreview.com - Full Article

Weyburn Review
JUNE 22, 2016

Alexandra Teske was upset at the effects diabetes is having on her husband Katlin, and on thousands of others across Canada, and decided to do her part to help.

She is planning to ride her horse Hidalgo alongside her husband from Lang up to Regina on Saturday, July 2, as a fundraiser for the Canadian Diabetes Association, a campaign she has dubbed “Hoofprints for Diabetes”.

Alexandra has been riding her horse from her ranch northwest of Yellow Grass into town, a distance of some eight kilometres (five miles), to help build up the horse’s endurance for the longer ride, and over the weekend went on a three-day trail ride in Moose Mountain Provincial Park with Katlin and some friends.

Hidalgo is an appaloosa, and is about seven years old, and as Alexandra noted, he’s a completely different horse from when they bought him two years ago.

“He’s come a long way. He was sort of a mutt horse,” she said, noting the horse’s previous owner called him “Hammerhead”, and was scared of the horse as it could be aggressive and hard to ride...

- See more at: http://www.weyburnreview.com/news/local-news/rider-hopes-to-make-hoofprints-for-diabetes-1.2283733#sthash.1hPwxrJP.dpuf