THIS WEEK'S CURRENT NEWS

FEI Suspends Saudis

FEI Tribunal issues Final Decisions in equine anti-doping cases

15 September 2021

The FEI Tribunal has issued its Final Decisions in two equine anti-doping case involving a Banned Substance and a Controlled Medication.

The horse Ger Ashir (FEI ID 103UH98 /KSA), ridden by Odai Alqurashi (FEI ID 10203848/KSA), tested positive for the Banned Substance Diisopropylamine following samples taken at the CEI1*100 - Riyadh (KSA), on 6-7 November 2020.

The athlete did not provide any explanation as to how the banned Substances entered the horse’s system.

In its Final Decision, the FEI Tribunal disqualified the horse and athlete from the event, and imposed a two-year suspension on the athlete. The period of the provisional suspension of the athlete, which came into effect on 9 December 2020, shall be credited against the period of ineligibility, meaning he will be ineligible until 8 December 2022. The athlete was also fined CHF 7,500 and asked to pay costs of CHF 2,000…

More at:
http://news.endurance.net/2021/09/fei-suspends-saudis.html

Meet My Endurance Horse (Mule): Applejack

by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

AppleJack, aka “AJ”
19-year-old John mule
sire: Mammoth Jack
dam: Appaloosa

105 Endurance miles
125 LD miles

Jennifer Leach, of Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, had wanted a mule for a long time, ever since seeing a fancy pair of tall mules in a cherry festival parade many years ago. She loved their stoic, regal bearing.

Due to many years of back surgeries from a fire department injury, she decided to get a mule in the hopes that it would be easier on her back. The 15-hand sorrel AppleJack entered her life on, coincidentally, and perhaps auspiciously, National Mule Day, October 26th, 2019, from Dreary, Idaho. When she test-rode him, she was amazed at how much smoother he was on her back than her friend's horses were. She was sold.

“AJ” was Jennifer’s first mule, and only the second one she’d ever ridden. She’d only owned one other equine, a Morgan, and that was over 20 years ago.

She bought AJ for trail riding, but she’d always had Endurance in the back of her mind. “When it became apparent that he was a lot faster than my friends' Quarter horses,” Jennifer says, “I started thinking more seriously about Endurance but I was starting from scratch.”

She started reading about Endurance, and the following spring, 2020, she was ready to start conditioning but she needed a mentor. Enter Skyla Stewart. “I found a great one, purely by happenstance on Treasure Valley Riding Buddies Facebook page. We met and test-rode together at Eagle foothills and then Sklya proceeded to take me under her wing.”

Jennifer and AJ entered their first 25-mile Endurance ride in October in the Owyhee Halloween ride in southern Idaho, where AJ raised a few eyebrows, and not just for his good looks.

“That morning was pretty crazy. He was so riled up, kicking, pawing and bucking, I could barely saddle him and needed help mounting him after falling while trying the first time!” Despite AJ’s antics at the start, they went on to finish well in 12th place.

“Both of us were pretty rusty and in need of some training - and bonding - so we took riding lessons over the winter with Skyla and her horse Jasper. I've learned a lot, but especially if I want AJ to become more at ease, that I need to be the kind of person I would want to be around, whenever I'm with AJ.”

The hard work is paying off; the partners have so far in 2021 completed all 7 of their rides: 4 LDs and 2 50’s. Their last feat was completing all 3 consecutive LD days at Old Selam Pioneer in south central Idaho, put on by the local Endurance riding club, SWITnDR (Southwest Idaho Trail and Distance Riders), with AJ winning the “Getaway Horse” prize.

“I love AppleJack's trot,” Jennifer says. “He has an all-day trot that is really easy on my back. He really seems to love Endurance but I also love that he will tell me when he's tired. The mule's sense of self-preservation is strong.

“His ears flop around when he's moving and happy (Happy Ears) and he often honks like a bullfrog while going downhill, which gets laughs from other riders if not some confusion from the other horses.”

Jennifer was surprised and thrilled with AJ’s Old Selam award. “Bless his big muley heart. I couldn't be prouder of the old guy.

“I love this new (to me and AJ) sport, the people in it and the friends I'm making!”

Meet My Endurance Horse Blog

Double celebrations for Team Great Britain at Ermelo

EGB.myclubhouse.co.uk - Full Article

Web Admin
13 September 2021

Double celebrations for Team GB as ‘talisman’ British Rider earns a European Championship completion while a British-bred horse is crowned FEI European Champion at Ermelo

• British rider Nicola Thorne and Kamilcia cement their place among Europe’s leading endurance combinations finishing in 25th place at the FEI European Championships in The Netherlands on Saturday 6 September
• The experienced Norfolk-based rider and trainer was representing her country for the sixth time, a record for the sport
• Second British rider chosen to ride as an individual at the Championships, Carmine Villani, successfully completed four loops of the 160km track with his horse Vatou de Gargassan before departure from the competition at the fourth vetgate
• British bred horse Warrens Hill Chayze, bred by Lesley Dunn at her Warrens Hill Stud in Monmouthshire and produced to international level by British rider Harry Ingram before being sold to Spain, is crowned European Champion with Spanish rider Angel Soy Coll.

Nicki Thorne who has represented her country six times, more than any other British endurance rider at senior level, has sealed her place on the sport’s highest international stage earning a completion at an exceptionally tough FEI 3* 160km European Championship at Ermelo in The Netherlands.

Nicki and her Polish Malopolska mare Kamilcia finished the gruelling track over sand dunes, heathland and forest tracks in 25th place with a total ride time of 10 hr 30min and at a speed of 15.36km/hr. Of 55 starters from 19 countries, there were 28 finishers with a mixture of gait and metabolic reasons disqualifying the remaining 27 combinations...

Read more at:
https://egb.myclubhouse.co.uk/Cms/Spaces/NEWS/News/Double+celebrations+for+Team+GB+at+Ermelo

Virginia City 100 Moves 2021 Date to October 16

Due to the smoke and poor air quality, the Virginia City 100 Mile Ride will be changing dates to October 16, 2021.

In conjunction with this change, the Red Rock Rumble will be moving TO VIRGINIA CITY, and NASTR will be hosting the Really Rocky Rumble and offering a LD & 50-mile event in tandem with the traditional Virginia City 100.

Ride camp will be based from the VC Rodeo Grounds to accommodate the increased number of riders we are expecting with the pre-ride meeting, dinner, Calcutta and Sunday awards to still be hosted from the historic Ice House.

We hope you all can join us for this groundbreaking effort!

Entry for the combined Virginia City 100 and Really Rocky Rumble 55/25 is now available!
https://form.jotform.com/202427217764152

For those riders who ALREADY have entered the VC100 your entry is GOOD TO GO and already on file. Please note late fee goes into effect for any unpaid entries as of Oct 1st. Full refunds will be paid for cancellations received by Friday, October 8th. Cancellations after October 8th will be refunded minus a $35.00 administrative fee to cover some of the costs for already purchased food and awards.

We can hardly WAIT to see you all there!!

Spain's Angel Soy Coll Wins European Endurance Championship Aboard Warrens Hill Chayze

Spain's Angel Soy Coll Wins European Championship Aboard Warrens Hill Chayze

Finishing second was France's Vincent Gaudriot aboard Bum Baya D'Aqui in 7:39.53.

Former multiple European and World Champion Maria Alvarez Ponton from Spain finished third aboard JM Elegido in 7:45.58.

Team gold went to Spain with a complete ride time of 23:23.52; Jaume Punti Dachs finished 5th aboard Echo Falls to complete the winning team. France got the silver in 23:34.40, and Team Italy took home the bronze in 26:26.26. How's that for timing.

Individual results can be seen here:
http://www.endurance.net/international/Netherlands/2021EuropeanChampionship/NED_CH_EU_E_2021_Individual.pdf

Team results can be seen here:
http://www.endurance.net/international/Netherlands/2021EuropeanChampionship/NED_CH_EU_E_2021_Team.pdf

More info at:
http://www.endurance.net/international/Netherlands/2021EuropeanChampionship/

U.S. Endurance Team Finishes in Fifth Place at 2021 FEI Endurance World Championship for Young Riders & Juniors

USEF.org

by U.S. Equestrian Communications Department | Sep 10, 2021

Ermelo, The Netherlands – The U.S. Endurance Team finished in fifth place at the 2021 FEI Endurance World Championship for Young Riders & Juniors in Ermelo, The Netherlands, marking the program’s best finish since 2015. The team combinations of Charlene Dugan (Muncy, Pa.) and Southern Justice, Alex Shampoe (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Promissin Gold, Meghan Wert (Spring Mills, Pa.) and Dude Free Gold each completed the 120km ride, which included four different loops. The team was led by Chef d’Equipe Lisanne Dorion and included 15 crew members and an additional eight dedicated support staff. Alex Shampoe was the team's highest-placed athlete, finishing in 14th. ©Murielle Mulder

In the only major international championship of the year for U.S. Young Rider and Junior endurance athletes, the 2021 FEI Endurance World Championship was a welcomed opportunity for talented and upcoming youth athletes from the U.S. to test their horsemanship skills against other international youth athletes in a competitive championship environment. The 2021 FEI Endurance World Championship for Young Riders & Juniors saw more than 20 countries comprised of 74 total combinations contest the ride with 38 pairs ultimately passing the final horse inspection to complete the ride. Each horse was required to pass a mandatory veterinary inspection focused on soundness and metabolic recovery rate at the conclusion of each loop to continue forward with the ride, with two checks occurring before combinations set off on their final loop.

Providing a pathway to future senior championships, the U.S. Endurance Team finished all three team combinations, with Shampoe earning 14th place as the highest-placed American and finishing the ride in 6:23:44 with Promissin Gold, a 2013 Arabian mare owned by Valerie Kanavy. Dugan rode Southern Justice, a 2012 gelding owned by Sally Jellison and Dessia Miller, to 32nd place overall, completing their fourth and final loop at 7:27:40. Wert and Dude Free Gold, a 2008 Arabian gelding owned by Valerie Kanavy, took 34th place, completing their ride in 8:01:50...

More at:
https://www.usef.org/media/press-releases/us-endurance-team-finishes-in-fifth-place-at

Malaysian National junior riders shine on leased horses in Holland

11 September 2021
By LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: It was nothing short of a stunning performance from the national equestrian athletes who galloped to a fine silver on leased horses in the FEI World Endurance Champion-ship for Young and Junior Riders in Ermelo, Holland. Faris Haikal Hassan Sa’ari, Yusuf Luqman Zakaria, Nur Qasrina Amani Zakaria, An-Nur Muhd Imran Eirfan Anuwar and Anfal Insyirah Abu Talib, riding on horses on loan from France as they could not bring their own due to border restrictions, clocked 19’11:16 in the 120km race. The French team secured gold in 16’57:27 while Belgium claimed the bronze medal with 20’43:03.

It is the first time Malaysia have made the podium in their fifth participation...

Read more here:
https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/others/2021/09/11/national-junior-riders-shine-on-leased-horses-in-holland

Great Britain: This 80-Year-Old Woman Treks 600 Miles Every Year With Her Horse & Dog Proving Age Is Just Number

September 9 2021
Taniya Firoz Khan

To redefine your idea of 'age is just a number', meet 80-Year-Old Jane Dotchin, who for the 40th time, has packed her saddlebags and embarked on an adventurous trek from her home in Hexham, Northumberland to Inverness, Scotland.

Since 1972, Jane has been making this annual trip on her 13-year-old horse, Diamond, travelling 600 miles on horseback.

Jane carries everything she needs for the trip on her back, including her tent, food, and a few essentials...

Read more here:
https://www.scoopwhoop.com/travel/80-year-old-woman-treks-600-miles-horse-dog/

The Climate Ride: one horsewoman’s epic trek from John O’Groats to Land’s End for environmental education

9 September 2021
by Mel Beale

A 22-year-old horsewoman from Devon has completed an epic ride from John O’Groats to Land’s End with two horses to raise money for environmental education around climate change.

The journey involved a temporary bridge built in front of her by Highways England to avoid a seven-mile detour and navigating busy roads where she was “nearly killed by a car” everyday.

Elsa Kent embarked on the challenge, which she named The Climate Ride, on 25 June with her two mares Rosie and Summer. It took the trio 64 days of riding to make the journey, which totalled over 1,000 miles.

“From a young age I’d always known horseback travel resonated with me,” said Elsa, who has worked at horseback safaris across Africa. “I came back from Kenya earlier this year when it was red-listed and had a couple of months before I start my masters, so I though ‘no time like the present’ and just decided to do it...”

Read more here:
https://www.yourhorse.co.uk/news/the-climate-ride-one-horsewomans-epic-trek-from-john-ogroats-to-lands-end-for-environmental-education/

UAE's Al Muhairi makes history at world championships for young riders

Team KT/Dubai
Filed on September 9, 2021

Al Muhairi exhibited extraordinary maturity and composure to master an international field of 74 riders UAE’s Saeed Salem Atiq Khamis Al Muhairi turned the FEI CSI 4 Star World Endurance Championships for Young Riders and Juniors into his time machine when he won the challenging 120 lm ride for the third consecutive time at Ermelo, Netherlands, on Thursday.

Still, only 19, Al Muhairi exhibited extraordinary maturity and composure to master an international field of 74 riders as he triumphantly crossed the finish line in a time of five hours, nine minutes and 10 seconds.

It was a stunning repeat performance of his Italian successes, at San Rossore in 2019 and Valeggio Sul Mincico in 2017...

Read more here:
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/sport/horse-racing/uaes-al-muhairi-makes-history-at-world-championships-for-young-riders

2021 Old Selam Pioneer: Put This Ride on Your Bucket List

The Old Selam Endurance ride is named after a legendary horse named Old Selam who helped two prisoners escape from the Old Idaho State Penitentiary in 1901. The first man to try was Bob Meeks, of the Butch Cassidy gang. He unhitched Old Selam from the wagon and took off, headed north into the hills (the very hills the ride traverses), but he was caught the next day and returned to the prison with Old Selam.

5 days later another prisoner, Sam Bruner stole a saddle and bridle and Old Selam and escaped. Same was never caught, but Old Selam was found 6 months later far south near Swan Falls dam on the Snake River.

Nobody knows if Old Selam was drafted or if he was complicit in the escapes, but we’d all like to think he was gung ho for the adventures, and that we’re all chasing his spirited ghost out there on our Endurance ride trails. The Old Selam ride started in 1979 right out of the prison, (which opened in 1872 to “some of the West’s most desperate criminals,” and functioned until 1973), trying to retrace some of Old Selam’s escape trails, and eventually moved up to the current Ridecamp in New Centerville, which is surrounded by its own deep history of mining during the gold rush.

It’s a true village that puts on the Old Selam Pioneer ride in southwest Idaho over Labor Day. It’s SWITnDR’s (SouthWest Idaho Trail and Distance Riders) fundraiser ride. Club members put the ride on and run it. Our Ridecamp is on Cini Baumhoff’s family land in a sweet spot under the trees by Grimes Creek.

I like to call Old Selam the ‘best kept Endurance ride secret in the Northwest’… but we don’t want it to be a secret. Put this on your Bucket List. It’s a challenging ride with the ups and downs of the forested hills (riding day 1’s 50 aboard Owyhee Justice, Karen Bumgarner recorded over 5400 feet of elevation gain), and the footing is simply spectacular. I have not ridden another Endurance ride in the USA with such incredibly good footing over the entire ride.

Read and see more from this ride at:
http://www.endurance.net/international/USA/2021OldSelam/

Three USA Young Riders finish World Championship in Netherlands

The 120-km CEI**** Young Rider Junior World Championship in Ermelo, Netherlands on September 6 2021, saw a total of 74 starters from 21 countries compete. 38 finished. UAE's Saeed Salem Atiq Khamis Al Muhairi finished first riding Haleh in 5:09.10.

Alex Shampoe finished 14th aboard Valerie Kanavy and Wendy MacCoubrey's Fine Cut Gold in a ride time of 6:23.44.

Charlene Dugan finished 32nd aboard Southern Justice, owned by Sally Jellison and Dessia Miller, in a ride time of 5:30.57.

Meghan Wert finished 35th riding Dude Free Gold, owned by Valerie Kanavy, in a ride time of 5:48.52.

Complete results can be seen here:
http://www.enduranceresults.info/endurance-team-styria/liveresults-view/?ride=1&id=556&event_nr=1169&date=20210908&timing=Endurance%20Team%20Styria&competition_nr=1&fbclid=IwAR0F6gq8cACSS6Zoa_F3tjZLcVWBLzyjmXeoUunesJyGiClgzXQQ4eov3A8

Yukon: Major’s Promise Large Animal Rescue holds endurance race

PRE-RACE CHECK – Volunteer vet Paulina Gonzalez, right, checks Anam Cara while Lynn Cheverie holds her friend.

Major’s Promise Large Animal Rescue held its inaugural endurance race this past Saturday.

WhiteHorseStar.com - Full Article

By Morris Prokop on September 7, 2021

Major’s Promise Large Animal Rescue held its inaugural endurance race this past Saturday. It was held off of Cadet Road, where two 10-kilometre courses were set up.

Major’s Promise was established in 2017, and has helped 70 horses since then.

According to director Paula Dupuis, the name is based on a horse they once cared for.

“At the time I had a yearling that was super-sick, and we weren’t sure it was cancer or anything, and I just decided that Major would be the namesake, in case anything happened to him. He is now in Alaska, doing liberty, trick riding and everything else and is healthy as an ox.”

(A liberty horse is a horse that performs tricks in a group without a rider.)

Dupuis explains how the organization came about.

“I wasn’t doing anything with my health degrees in Animal Sciences, and I’ve always been big on horses, and we just decided to start helping them when we can...

Read more here:
https://www.whitehorsestar.com/Sports/major-s-promise-large-animal-rescue-holds-endurance-race

UAE'S Al Muhairi eyes hat trick in Netherlands

Team KT/Dubai
Filed on September 8, 2021

UAE will also be looking to complete a hat trick of wins in the Team Event, having struck gold at San Rossore and Valeggio Sul Mincio

Two-time champion Sayed Salem Atiq Khamis Al Muhairi will spearhead the UAE’s challenge at the 2021 FEI World Endurance Championship for Young Riders and Juniors which will be held at Ermelo, Netherlands.

The 19-year-old rider, who recorded impressive wins at the last two editions of the event at San Rossore (2019) and Valeggio Sui Mincio (2017), in Italy, is among five UAE riders who will compete for individual and team honours at the prestigious bi-annual Championships.

The last edition of the FEI World Endurance Championship for Young Riders and Juniors which took place in San Rossore, Pisa, in September, 2019, saw the complete dominance of the UAE team with Saeed Almuhairi (M7 Endurance Stables) winning the gold.../

Read more here:
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/sport/horse-racing/uaes-al-muhairi-eyes-hat-trick-in-netherlands

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