In Brief: Barry Armitage (52) from South Africa

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

by admin
30 August 2017

Name – Barry Armitage
Age – 52
From – Cape Town, South Africa

Biography of Barry Armitage.

I studied clothing design and worked in the industry before getting into the yachting world. Horses became a part of my life when I returned to South Africa after many years of living in Europe. With riding partner Joe Dawson, I made three television series retracing epic horseback journeys that shaped history. One of those television series was about our ride in the 2011 Mongol Derby and began my obsession with long distance adventure racing. I rode the Derby again in 2012 crossing the line in a first-place dead heat with Irish jump jockey Doni Fahey only to lose due to a vet penalty.

We were introduced to riding on the Wild Coast while filming our first expedition in 2010, again in 2011 during a 2,200km charity ride across South Africa and have ridden the coast extensively since. The first edition of Race the Wild Coast was held in October 2016 and won by South African Monde Kanyana. The film we shot about the race will be released in October 2017.

Notable achievements / palmares.

My most notable achievement must be winning the Mongol Derby this year. I had a great ride and was fortunate enough to be able to put pressure on the front runners on the last two days with some great horses. We were travelling very quickly, all three of us at the front of the race struggling to pass the vet checks in the heat, and I was fortunate that things went my way this time unlike 2012.

My toughest ride however was from Cape Town to Grahamstown in South Africa; 950km in six days over some pretty tough country. Joe and I were racing against the record of Sir Harry Smith’s 1835 ride which he achieved using the horseback postal system of the time. It was a brutal ride making use of a team of 36 horses. Our longest day was the last; 205km ridden with tired bodies and suffering from a lack of sleep. The tough old Englishman beat us to Grahamstown by four hours and as a result we called the resulting television show Chasing the Ghost of Harry Smith...

Read more here:
http://endurance-world.com/in-brief-barry-armitage-from-south-africa/

Australia: Tackling the mini at 'the ultimate test' in endurance riding

Armidaleexpress.com.au - Full Article

Ellen Dunger - @ellen_159

29 Aug 2017

A year ago I couldn’t have even contemplated taking my horse to a massive event, let alone one of the biggest rides on the endurance calendar. People used to hold their breath when I rode Pepper for the fear of her exploding.

My persistence with the Arabian Stockhorse mare was met with calls to “get rid of her and get yourself a decent horse.”

Born stubborn, I battled on and took her to dressage and pony club events before taking on our first 40 kilometre endurance ride in Windeyer in June this year.

Pepper and I then ventured north to Killarney for our second for another successful completion before I was encouraged by long-time endurance rider and Armidale local Ruth van der Wegen to enter the 120 kilometre mini marathon at Shahzada. Shahzada, ‘the ultimate test’, is held annual in the last week of August at St Albans in the Hawkesbury...

Read more here:
http://www.armidaleexpress.com.au/story/4886417/shahzada-to-finish-is-to-win/#slide=6

Great Britain: Teenager not daunted by endurance horse racing event

Ealingtimes.co.uk - Full Article

August 23 2017

Competing at your first senior endurance tournament may have daunted some but 14-year-old Ollie Holman admitted he wasn’t too nervous as he headed to Euston Park.

The Imberhorne School pupil finished 22nd in the HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup 80km distance on his horse Grace.

The largest ever ride staged in Europe, endurance consists of three separate distances with riders competing in the 80km, 120km and 160km.

Endurance is a mixed gender sport and the winning is the first one to cross the finishing line while stopping periodically to pass strict veterinary checks which deem the horse fit to continue...

Read more here:
http://www.ealingtimes.co.uk/sport/15491609.Teenager_not_daunted_by_endurance_horse_racing_event/

Great Britain: Annie Joppe’s endurance blog: this time, at the big one, our luck ran out

Horseandhound.co.uk - Full Article

Annie Joppe
10:55 - 23 August, 2017

Well, how to begin? Our European Endurance Championship adventure is now over and it’s back to drizzly old Cornwall (wouldn’t swap it for the world).

It was meant to be amazing, meant to be perfect and, above all, meant to be successful. Unfortunately for us it was none of these. We have had almost two years with 100% completion rate for all our horses at all distances and this time, the big one, our luck ran out.

In our wisdom (hindsight is a wonderful thing) we left to go to Brussels on the Sunday at the crack of dawn to stay the night near Dover with the ferry early on the Monday morning. This brought us to the venue at lunchtime on Monday giving us plenty of time to settle in, check out the route and plan; with the actual competition on the Thursday.

Packing and final prep of Fantom had gone seamlessly but the worries started on the journey. Fantom is normally very good at drinking in the trailer and eating on the way. However this time he didn’t drink at all and ate very little. At our overnight stop he seemed stressed and again refused to drink and ate very little, the pattern repeating itself on the ferry and on the road to Brussels.

On arrival he was very dehydrated, a situation that was rapidly remedied and he began to drink and eat well again. The whole venue was challenging being in a park in the city and space at a premium...


Read more at http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/blog/annie-joppes-endurance-blog-time-big-one-luck-ran-629804#xRy6YDOegqT7D8kl.99

Great Britain: Experienced rider excited by future of endurance horse racing

Ealingtimes.co.uk - Full Article

August 23 2017

She may have not finished herself but Nicki Thorne was delighted with the impact the HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup Festival will have on endurance racing.

Thorne, 46, was taking part in a home race at Euston Park, in Norfolk, and had been going well on her horse Crazy Girl in the 160km discipline before retiring with 40km to go.

The largest ever ride staged in Europe, endurance consists of three separate distances with riders competing in the 80km, 120km and 160km.

http://www.ealingtimes.co.uk/sport/15491610.Experienced_rider_excited_by_future_of_endurance_horse_racing/

Australia: Expressions of interest being sought from Endurance riders for 2018 World Equestrian Games

Equestrian.org.au

Equestrian Australia is calling for further expressions of interest from endurance riders who wish to join the group working to represent Australia at the World Equestrian Games 2018.

The intent is to gather together riders who wish to prepare themselves for possible selection to represent Australia at this event.

Senior riders for the 2018 World Equestrian Games should be aiming to finalise their qualifications during 2017.

Please note these events will be completely self-funded. Riders will be responsible for the following costs:

Return airfares to the competition
Horse transportation and related costs
Transport to/from the airports
Meals and accommodation
Insurance (The EA National Office can assist with this insurance)
Entry fees and any other related expenses
If you are interested in riding at an International Championship and in representing Australia, we encourage you to submit an expression of interest using the below form.

EOI_ WEG2018_Endurance.pdf

Expressions of Interest close on the 29th September 2017

For any further information, please contact Stef Maraun at the Equestrian Australia Office on 02 8762 7713 or stefanie.maraun@equestrian.org.au

Malaysia: Careful planning helps Sultan Mizan's team surge to victory

NST.com.my - Full Article

By ADRIAN DAVID - August 20, 2017 @ 8:40pm
SETIU: A carefully-calculated strategy and high morale helped Malaysia bag the two gold medals at the 80km equestrian endurance race at the Terengganu International Endurance Park in Lembah Bidong.

Team manager Che Mat Din said they had studied the strengths and weaknesses of their rivals, especially main challengers Thailand, before formulating a plan to succeed.

“After 20km, we changed our plan when we found out Thailand and Cambodia lagging behind by some 20 and 30 minutes, respectively. We were cruising at an average speed of 20 km per hour and got our rhythm going.

“During the water break and short rest as they completed the first leg of 35km, I advised the team riders to maintain their speed into the second leg of 25km...

Read more here:
https://www.nst.com.my/sports/others/2017/08/270347/careful-planning-helps-sultan-mizans-team-surge-victory