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/

Revised Press Information from Clean Endurance

27 February 2023

The press information as released yesterday regarding the Butheeb 2022 FEI World Endurance Championships has been revised in view of belated information that a horse died soon after the event.

Clean Endurance is saddened that after it queried the FEI it received confirmation of the death of SORAYA PEU 106FR51, an eleven year old mare from Spain.

SORAYA died in the early hours of February 26th, the night following the event, while being transferred from the Butheeb venue to the Dubai equine hospital.

Clean Endurance has asked the FEI if the official results which show the horse in 6th position will be amended to Catastrophic Injury, and whether the rider and trainer will receive the associated penalty points.

The FEI was not able to respond at the time of writing, although they did confirm that blood samples were taken and a post mortem will take place.

Previous relese is here:
http://news.endurance.net/2023/02/clean-endurance-hopes-butheeb-success.html

Clean Endurance hopes Butheeb success will begin to restore sport’s tactical riding tradition

PRESS INFORMATION FROM CLEAN ENDURANCE

26 February 2023

Clean Endurance is relieved that the 2022 FEI World Endurance Championships (WEC) in Butheeb, Abu Dhabi on February 25th did not result in as many welfare issues as feared. The 160 km long course was ridden at lower average loop speeds (around 21 kmph for the leaders) than recent major events at the same venue.

Clean Endurance is hopeful that the success of the Butheeb 2022 WEC will impact on the manner in which other Endurance competitions, in this region and elsewhere, will be conducted: the results of this event illustrate that it is possible to stage a compelling and tactical event, even on prepared desert tracks, without the hell-for-leather racing which is so damaging to horses and provides no strategic interest.

Prior to the WEC event the FEI warned athletes they must pace themselves carefully and it looks like this warning was heeded by the majority of participants. According to the FEI results there were no Serious or Catastrophic Injuries.

44 out of the 122 horses on the start list successfully completed the 160 km course: the monetary completion awards offered by the Butheeb Organising Committee did unfortunately not appear to be a major incentive for improving the success rate.

Clean Endurance believes the high percentage of Metabolic eliminations (27 horses, a third of all eliminations) remains a source of concern: although it evidences the particular care taken by the officials while examining the horses, it also suggests many horses were overridden. Metabolic eliminations should be largely avoidable with careful management and the results of the 2022 FEI World Endurance Championships indicate there is still progress to be made in that domain.

The disparity between the first combinations across the finish line and the rest of the field illustrates the ‘racing’ versus ‘to finish is to win’ mentality which continues to divide Endurance. More than 2 hours separate the 1st combination across the finish line from the 11th, and the last combination to successfully complete the course arrived 4,5 hours after the winner. Clean Endurance applauds those athletes who ride according to the conditions of the day while making horsemanship and horse welfare a priority.

Clean Endurance also commends the ride strategy of those nations which opt for a concerted team effort rather than aiming for individual medals at the potential cost of injuring their horses and shortening their careers due to high speeds. France and Portugal were rewarded for their team strategies with silver and bronze team medals respectively, whereas the UAE lost their gold individual and team medals when their horses failed to recover enough to pass the final veterinary inspection after sprinting on the last loop at over 27 KMPH.

Clean Endurance sincerely hopes this successful event is a concrete step out of troubled waters for UAE endurance, which still has a lot to do to redeem its sullied reputation. Of particular concern are the number of doping violations as illustrated by the sanctions on record for some of the UAE team members, as well as the extreme speeds regularly seen at the Al Wathba and Dubai venues. There also remain issues with the transparency of reported local competition results and the complete lack of FEI oversight on ‘national’ rides, notably at Al Wathba which opted out of FEI competitions following the major Endurance rules overhaul three years ago.

Clean Endurance is a global collective which aims to restore the traditional values of their sport. It combats fraud, doping and abuse in collaboration with the FEI, National Federations and numerous other stakeholders.

Clean Endurance is happy to supply links for further reading, including coverage in bona fide news media.

Clean Endurance also welcomes comments and suggestions.

Find them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cleanendurance and contact them through the message button, or email contact.cleanendurance@gmail.com.

World Champion!: Shaikh Nasser claims title at Abu Dhabi endurance race

GDNOnline.com - Full Article

26 February 2023

HIS Majesty King Hamad’s representative for humanitarian works and Royal Endurance Team captain Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa accomplished a major international achievement by winning the World Endurance Championship held yesterday at the Boudheib International Endurance Village, UAE, over a distance of 160km.

The event featured 126 riders, both men and women, representing 36 countries around the world.

Shaikh Nasser won the race in a time of 7 hours, 36 minutes and 39 seconds, ahead of UAE rider Salem Al Ketbi and Spain’s Ponte Jauimi.

Royal Endurance teammate Jaffar Mirza came fourth in 7:59:38.

This was the Bahraini star’s first win in the world championship, thus writing a new chapter in his glittering endurance career. The victory came just a few months after Shaikh Nasser’s victory in the FEI World Endurance Championship for eight-year-old horses in Spain...

Read more here:
https://www.gdnonline.com/Details/1195418/WORLD-CHAMPION-Shaikh-Nasser-claims-title-at-Abu-Dhabi-endurance-race#

Bahrain claims gold in Team and Individual podiums at the FEI Endurance World Championship 2022

Inside.FEI.org

25 February 2023
Author: Zein Jardaneh

It was a great day all-around for Bahrain at the 18th FEI Endurance World Championship 2022 held in Butheeb (UAE) on Saturday, February 25 2023, as it claimed the top prize in both the individual and team podiums.

HH Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, with the horse Darco La Majorie, added senior world champion – individual and team - to his already successful equestrian record of achievements, only months after he claimed gold at the FEI Endurance World Championship for Young Horses in Vic (ESP) in October. Khalifa, who shouted “We’re number one!” upon learning of his win, becomes a Senior World Champion for the first time in his storied career; he has participated in 19 Championships since 2004 and has successfully qualified in 14 of them. He won his first gold at the FEI Endurance World Championship for Young Horses in Bablona (HUN) in August 2012.

The Organising Committee and the Championship’s host, the United Arab Emirates Equestrian and Racing Federation, pulled out all the stops to set the stage for an outstanding championship in record time, with the well-being of horses and riders at the heart of all their endeavours. The 160 km track, which was run over six loops, is set against a stunning backdrop, and was prepared to the highest standards with world-class permanent infrastructures and facilities at the Butheeb International Endurance Village. Proper hydration and temperature control were optimised with multiple water points throughout the ride for the competitors to rehydrate.

All eyes were on the previous reigning champion, Salem Hamad Saeed Malhoof Al Kitbi from host nation UAE, with the horse Haleh, who came in second at Butheeb but had won gold at the last iteration of the FEI Endurance World Championship, held in Pisa (ITA) in 2021. “Haleh is a good horse, today was a very hard race (…). We are happy with the results,” Al Kitbi said.

In third place was Jaume Punti Dachs of Spain, with the horse Echo Falls, making this his fifth medal in Endurance World Championships. He is tied with Becky Hart (USA) and HH Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (UAE) for the athletes with the most medals in Endurance World Championships.

Reflecting the overall diversity of this year’s championship, the top ten athletes at the individual podium represented eight separate countries: Bahrain (two spots), UAE, Spain (two spots), Australia, Portugal, Lithuania, Oman and Kuwait. Taking the start were 117 combinations, with 36 nations represented, 23 teams, and 13 nations with individual riders, and a remarkably gender balanced field of participants with 60 female and 57 male athletes competing in Butheeb.

For the first time since the FEI Endurance World Championship was held in 1986, Team Bahrain captured gold, ending Team Spain’s reign as champions, following three successive titles since the World Championship in Caen (FRA) in 2014. Team France, which came in second, is moving up the ranks after being bronze medallists at the World Championship in Pisa (ITA) in 2021. Their 13th team medal, Team France holds the record for the most team medals in the history of the championship. With a total of 24 medals claimed at FEI Endurance World Championships, France is also the nation with the most medals overall.

With favoured teams UAE and Spain having horses and riders eliminated throughout the day, most notably Fares Ahmad Saeed Daafoos Amer Al Mansoori and Saeed Salem Atiq Khamis Al Muhairi from the UAE, who were disqualified from the top individual podium spots due to their horses failing the maximum heart rate parameter exam, Portugal ultimately captured Team bronze.

The last double gold at an FEI Endurance World Championship – for both team and individual podiums – was claimed by Spain and third-place winner Jaume Punti Dachs of Spain in Samorin (SVK) in 2016.

The full roster of countries that participated in the 18th FEI Endurance World Championship is: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, and Uruguay.

Full results here

Libya to host international equestrian race for endurance

LibyaObserver.ly

February 25 2023

The Libyan Equestrian Federation is preparing to host an International Endurance race that qualifies for the 2023 World Cup in France.

The race that will take place on February 28, 2023 and will be supervised and monitored by the International Equestrian Federation with the participation of international referees and veterinarians, according to the Olympic Committee.

This race will be with a distance of 100 km and 120 km on the race track in the "Fum Malagha" area in the city of Tarhuna, and is intended for riders from the age of 14 to 21 years, and for horses 8 and above, in accordance with the laws and regulations in force in the International Federation for World Cup candidacy competitions.

This race is the first among four international races that will be held in Libya, according to the programs prepared by the Libyan Equestrian Federation.