Sport Endurance EVO issue n. 18/2017

N. 18 WINTER SPRING 2017

photo by Michele Ardu Mohd. Juma Mohd. Ali Al Muhairi

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Raid de Tordera Desert rides Endurance Grand Slam

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N. 18 WINTER SPRING 2017 Quarterly Endurance Riding Lifestyle Magazine Printed on the 10th of April 2017 Next issue 10th of July 2017

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MR. STÉPHANE CHAZEL: I BELIEVE IN GENETIC IMPROVEMENT

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BARCELONA SANTA SUSANNA 63rd INTERNATIONAL RAID

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RAJAS, ALIAS ROMAN DE GARGASSAN

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THE H.H. SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN RASHID AL MAKTOUM CUP

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THE PRESIDENT CUP 2017 ONCE AGAIN...

A FRENCH TOUCH!

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ENDURANCE GRAND SLAM “MARGOT CHAZEL, A STEP FROM THE SKY”

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Publishing Company Cultural Association Sport Endurance EVO Via Alba Fucens, 22 - L’Aquila Italy - VAT IT01628140665 Publisher/Manager Luca Giannangeli (lucag@sportendurance-evo.com) Marketing and Business Developer Elena Vanni (elenav@sportendurance-evo.com) Artwork Vincenzo Brancadoro (brancadoro@gmail.com) Supervisor Giovanni Graziani (sportendurance2@gmail.com) Photographers Michele Ardu (photocover), Oreste Testa, Chiara Gobbetti, Dominique Cognee, Barbara Miller, Sistemaeventi.it, Meydan team, Ford Haggin, Hapoop photography, Leigh Young, Juan Matas, Joan Caimel, Julien Taymont, Lynne Glazier.

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RAID DE TORDERA 7th EDITION

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE BOUDHEIB WORLDWIDE INITIATIVE

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TRIATHLON: RACE WITH THE BEST IN x-bionic® sphere SAMORIN - SLOVAKIA

I believe in genetic improvement

Interview with Mr.

Stéphane Chazel appointed new FEI Endurance Technical Committee member

I

n your opinion do new endurance bloodlines exist?

Endurance as a discipline has existed in Europe for 35 years and some bloodlines have yet to be tried perhaps.

But I very much believe in genetic improvement by mating the top performance horses with the best breeding stock!

Take the case of the Arab stallion, PERSIK, consider that the best stallions he has sired in terms of number of winners are: FADASIR (3rd 120km Huelgoat), PERSICKO (3rd 200km Montcuq) , OUT LAW PERSIK (winner 160km Florac), ARQUES PERSPEX (3rd 130km Montélimar), TANGO D’AYRES (2nd 120km Wadi rum), SADEPERS , KHADAR. Five of these 7 very fine stallions finished among the top three in international competitions.

What choices are breeders making at the moment?

The current trend is to cross “classic” endurance pedigrees (for example Persik, Zulus , Habdan Enzahi , Kabul, Moulouki, Fawzan, etc.) with horses coming from Arabian Flat racing lines (like Tidjani, Dormane, Kesberoy) in their pedigrees that bring strength and mass.

TWIST MAISON BLANCHE the present world champion is the best example of such a cross: ARQUES PERSPEX (PERSIK ), his sire, bred with a daughter of the top performance horse in flat racing, OCTAVIUS by CHERI BIBI !!

Is a horse an endurance athlete from the beginning or does he turn into one?

A horse is born with a give genetic potential for sport. Training enables it to express that potential! But the added value generated by training is the same for all horses. What makes the difference is the initial genetic potential!!

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THE IMPORTANCE OF A CORRECT ANTIPARASITIC THERAPY

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eworming is part of routine horse health care but it is often underestimated in terms of application, precisely because it is a habit.

Main equine parasites are roundworms, small and big strongyles, pinworms and gasterophylus, each species has its own particular life cycle and different periodicity.

The molecule we choose often doesn’t take into consideration periodicity and parasite type, believing that all drugs are almost alike.

To avoid mistakes, you should first rationally plan your yearly therapy with an eye to the parasites’ biological cycle. It is necessary to use different types of molecules with appropriate intervals of administration and accurate weight based dosage. Insufficient vermifuge may not achieve the desired therapeutic effects.

With warm temperatures, it is more appropriate to use pyrantel and praziquantel in order to attack pinworms while, in cooler temperatures, it is preferred to use moxidectina to attack encyted larva of small strongyles. With cold temperatures you must use moxidectina and iv-

ermectin to eliminate small strongyles, larva and roundworms. You will achieve many results: efficacy and optimization of drugs, cost containement, colic risk reduction, a healthy horse, pasture protection from contamination and resistance prevention.

It is advisable to carry out a global health care and sanitation management based on a regular cleanliness of the environment, disinfestation and vaccination.

Healthy horses that graze in paddocks that aren’t overcrowded and where manure is regularly removed, can follow a normal parasite control programme. It is advisable to consult your vet to decide the most appropriate parasite treatment and in order to agree upon a correct planning and possible periodic stool analysis to evaluate treatment efficacy and assay the number and power of parasites in the stable / breeding center.

ACME is a made in Italy brand, a leader in the equestrian field, it produces and sells horse anti-parasitic drugs. In these recent years it dedicated itself to epidemiological studies regarding infestations of this species.

What measures can be adopted?

Contro i parassiti gastrointestinali del tuo cavallo Grandi Strongili, Piccoli Strongili (Ciatostomi), Tenie

Puoi acquistarlo senza ricetta Nuovo formato per cavalli fino a 700 kg di peso Puoi utilizzarlo durante tutte le fasi della gravidanza e della lattazione Leggere attentamente il foglietto illustrativo. È un medicinale veterinario: chiedi consiglio al tuo veterinario. Tenere fuori dalla portata dei bambini. L’uso scorretto può essere nocivo.

Aut. Pub. n° 32/VET/2016

ACME Srl Cavriago (RE) Tel: 0522 941919 tech.info@acmedrugs.com www.acmedrugs.com

For further information visit www.anicahorse.org

15th - 17th September 2017 Rome (Ita) - Capannelle Racecourse

Italian National Championships ENDURANCE - RACING - SHOW - WESTERN DRESSAGE COMPETITION Italian National Association for the Arabian horse

T

he ANICA was founded in Rome on the 12th of November 1979. The Association was approved by the W.A.H.O. (World Arabian Horse Organization) in 1982, exactly when the first volume of the Purebred Arabian Stud Book was published in Italy.

The A.N.I.C.A. is the only institution in Italy responsible for the Italian Purebred Arabian stud book. It is authorized by the WAHO and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forest-

Info: www.anicahorse.org Tel. +39 (0) 521 805250 ry policies and recognized at international level. Since it was founded, the A.N.I.C.A. has published 12 volumes of the Stud Book, containing 16.000 Purebred Arabians regularly registered with A.N.I.C.A. Each horse has its personal data, a 5 generation genealogy and production in Italy.

A.N.I.C.A.’s board of Directors led by Francesco Santoro, comprises five members. Annalisa Landucci is the member responsible for flat racing.

BARCELONA SANTA SUSANNA 63rd International Raid

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s it happens every year, the endurance ride of Santa Susanna in Spain successfully ends the 2016 Sports season in Europe.

63 years have gone by since Santa Susanna

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hosted its first ride and it’s quite exciting to think back to that number 1 edition.

The great number of participants, 150 binomials, in the 3 FEI CEI rides, proves that the

150 binomials competing in 3 FEI CEI rides

event is greatly appreciated, not to mention the CEI2* with its 82 starters!

The atmosphere in Santa Susanna, is always friendly and relaxed, probably due to the sea breeze and pleasant weather too.

Photos by Juan Matas and Joan Caimel SPORT ENDURANCE EVO

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the race 12 starters out of 23 concluded the longest scheduled ride: the 2 day CEI3*.

Although this ride was a tough 2 day challenge, the riders and horses proved to be worthy of the task, facing it with the highest respect.

The winner of the long ride was Paula Muntala Sanchez on JM Buho (Tango d’Ayres x Ukraine du Losser) with an average speed of 16,48 km/h.

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1st CEI3* 2x90 km Paula Sanchez Muntala with JM Buho

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2nd and 3rd CEI3* 2x90 km Roman Lafaure with Petra Cabirat and Ludovic Saroul with Ulysse de Perigneux

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ince 2014, this 8 year old horse had never been eliminated and in July 2016 he placed 10th in his first 160 km ride in Euston Park.

Second podium position for the French rider Roman Lafaure with Petra Cabirat (Kalhan x Silver Opal) and third place for Ludovic Saroul with Ulysse de Perigneux (Walid Al Fawzan x Qenza du Mas).

Petra boasts the victory of the 2x70 km in Monpazier (Fra -2015), and the victory of the same ride in 2014.

While Ulysse boasts a 7th place in the 160 km CEI3* in Florac.

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1st CEI2* 2x70 km Silvia Yebra Altimiras with Maver Helsinki

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aster but shorter the 2 day 70+70 km CEI2* conquered by Silvia Yebra Altimiras Yebra with Maver Helsinki (Av. Speed 18,12 km/h) of unknow origins,

followed by Alex Criville Tapia with Bradi and Virginie Atger with Come’t d’Ardene (Arnelle Atomic x Zahraa de Pompadour). This 2008 horse finished Fontainebleau’s CEI3* in 2016 and placed

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second in Florac’s CEI2*.Cecile Totain with Koheilan Kincso (Koheilan Kenitra x Siglavy Bagdady XV) finished the Spanish 2 day CEI1*. This mature female horse of 2002 could look down on all the

other horses, boasting an excellent curriculum.

Worth mentioning her third place at the World Endurance Championship in Sartilly (Fra) in 2014, ridden by Abdulrahman Saad Al Sulaiteen.

SANTA SUSANNA SPORT ENDURANCE EVO

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2nd CEI2* 2x70 km Alex Criville Tapias with Bradi

The podium of the CEI3*

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3rd CEI2* 2x70 km Virginie Atger with Come’t d’Ardene

RAJAS

alias Roman de Gargassan

“

“

a Great victory is the result of a great job

Rajas recently won the H.H. Sh. Mohammed Al Maktoum Endurance Cup CEI3* ridden by Humaid Matar Rashed Al Mazrooei

T

ell us his story, starting from his birth till the day he was sold. Who bought him?

His father is Perfect de Lafon (Padrons Image x Papouchka).

My friends Bertrand, Christine Valette from Lafon stud and I bought Devitsa, the mother of Papouchka, in the Netherlands. Papouchka became world reserved champion in show

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Mademoiselle Marianne Capdeville

We spoke with Marianne Capdeville breeder of Rajas

beauty due to her powerful movements. I consider movement one of the most important elements in a horse.and good movement means good legs and body.

His mother, Muse de Gargassan is 18 years old and her 27 year old father Vladimir de Falgas, is the second stallion in Gargassan, he has Russian blood, well-known for his movement, in fact his products are strong in terms of body and movement.

Muse’s mother, Sastia, is the product of Aster (baj & ablette) and Fekra (esmet ali & zembra), old and classic tunisian lines... the idea was to give movement to the mother and to her daughter. Roman is Muse’s only baby.

I chose not to breed many horses and just few of them were sold for competion, but they are all achieving good results because they are strong.

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e didn’t sell Roman, but gave him as a gift (the only one we’ve made so far) to the organization of Lalbenque Endurance Race, our friend Jack Begaud personally chose him. Laurent Mosti, won him and this was Gargassan’s great luck. Roman was 18 months old and quite difficult too. He was sad to leave his friends, in fact that’s why I usually sell my endurance horses when they are at least 5 years old. We follow them from their birth, cuddle them in our arms, when they are 6 months old we let them go with all the other horses so that they can stay together. Once they are ready to work, they ask for it.

Do you keep following the career of the horses you sell?

Yes, I always follow my horses and even horses with Gargassan Blood like the Italian Psyche du Verdot for instance or the outstanding Azziz de Gargassan’s offspring. Last year at this time al Theeb, Tarik ar Veuzic was world number one. Worth of mention is Lemir de Gargassan (Ali Mabrouk x Emira de Gargassan), he is 17 now and belongs to Nicolas Ballarin, who never wants to sell him!

• • • • • • • • •

4058 km official races finished 36 Entries 34 finished rides 15 CEI*** rides + 12th place at the WEG in Sartilly 2014) 14 Podiums (7 on CEI***) and 4 times 4th in CEI***rides 4 times Montcuq: 13th in 2009, 4th in 2011, 2nd in 2012 and 2013 4 times Florac: 6th in 2010, 2nd in 2013, 4th in 2015 in the 160 Km ride 8th in the 130 km ride - 2009 Team silver medal in the world equestrian games 2014

This video on Lemir de Gargassan’s facebook page shows the way he rode his 4058th km, isn’t it a world record?

https://www.facebook.com/100012706962622/videos/172359799864251/

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Muse de Gargassan

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PP

P P

Pod

Vladimir de Falgas

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hat’s your opinion regarding the best bloodlines for endurance?

Is a horse an endurance athlete from the beginning or does he turn into one? Arabians that don’t succeed in flat racing often become endurance horses...is it the same with horses for beauty show?

This question is quite important.

I really don’t believe in the reconversion of race horses because they have to be precocius while, in order to have strong endurance horses, we have to wait for them.

I had the honour to breed two world reserved show champions.

Each time, movement made the big difference and those two horses gave me endurance champions...like Roman’s grandmother and grandfather Papouchka and Vladimir de Falgas, and Lemir’s grandfather Na colt.

I never thought that a horse could make a show horse or an endurance one but, what I can say is that a horse that is strong built can move easily, in my opinion, this means that he

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can move faster, longer and better than any other horse. I know too many show champions that are not good horses, a beautiful horse must be above all a good one.

I like to show my horses sometimes to keep my vision of what I consider a beautiful horse.

But I keep in mind that it’s just a breeding competition and not a show that might be important for me.

I’ve been breeding for 30 years now, the first Gargassan to be born was Azziz de Gargassan . He is a well-known father champion that I had the chance to sell to the French Haras Nationnaux. At the beginning everybody said that he had the makings of a show horse and had to prove he was a champion, more than others... He definitely had something that made the difference...that thing was movement.

Good movement is the result of strong legs, a strong back and an overall balance. Compact and vigorous appearance give strength, agility and endurance.

Well my “show horse” gave birth to great champions as Al Theeb who was first in last year’s endurance world ranking!

P

Po

Podium Podium

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THE BEGINNINGS OF

ENDURANCE

SHAGYA CUP ROMANIA

www.shagyaromania.ro SĂLCIOARA, DÂMBOVIȚA

INTERNATIONAL ENDURANCE RACE

3 JUNE

2017

Text by Margot Chazel Photos by Meydan team and Hapoop photography 28

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he Dubai Endurance Village hosted the Sheikh Mohammed Festival on the 4th and 5th of January 2017. The event included 3 different category rides.

Cup The H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

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he ladies opened the Festival over a 100 km distance with almost 200 horses.

The podium was a melting pot dominated by the Spanish young rider, Naroa Calvo Ibanez and Shagaf for M7 (29.67km/h), who won in a final sprint against the talented lady rider Elisabeth Hardy from Belgium on Dudley Dick TE, winning second podium position for Emaar Stables (29.65km/h). Nad Al Sheba Stables conquered third place with the local lady Afra Khalifa Al Suwaidi and MU de

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Montfluq (29.67km/h).

The private race over a 100 km distance took place on Thursday, January 5th.

These races were restricted to private owners only. 300 horses ran the race and 125 finished it. Al Kamda stables won first and second place: Layla Mohamed Obaid Al Marzooqi with Momentum WR conquered the top of the podium and Ahmad Saleh Mohamed Ali Al Shehhi with Jubanee Tiger Lily won second place. Third place for Zabeel stables with one of the most talented rider in the World, Abdul-

la Ghanim Al Marri on Razam.

But the race that everyone was expecting, one of the strongest and hardest meeting of the year was definitely the Cei3* 160 km HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup that took place on Saturday, January 14th.

The opening ceremony was on Wednesday evening, the incredible venue was in the middle of an atrium in the desert.

Dancers, lasers and a light show made the atmosphere absolutely gorgeous and fireworks concluded the magical evening.

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his event serves as a fitting reminder of the lasting legacy of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai in the sport of endurance riding.

“His impact on this sport is felt globally and at every level. Sheikh Mohammed, himself a former world champion, supports the development of endurance riding from the grass roots stages right up to elite performance. The expansion of the HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup this year has allowed us to include horse and rider partnerships that may otherwise not have been able to participate in such a high-calibre event.

“We have been delighted with the numbers of participants in the two additional supporting rides this week and send our thanks to Emirates Equestrian Federation, the FEI and the international endurance community for the support we have received. This event is held under the banner of “Excellence in Unity” and we are proud to put this sentiment into practice.”

Mohammed Essa Al Adhab, General Manager Dubai Equestrian Club

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ne of the most touching moments was probably represented by Sheikh Mohammed’s Poem about horses, an expression of honesty and emotions surrounded by photos of the past editions.

The race began at 7am on Saturday. 350 horses were ready to face the long and definitely tough day. The challenge was over a 5 loop circuit: a first loop of 42 km instead of 40 km and then 40 km, 32 km, 28 km and 20 km.

We could say that from the very first loop the race was divided in 3 big groups: a front group with 30 horses running for victory, a second group of 70 horses racing and the last big group trying to achieve the horses’ and riders’ experience and qualification. Compared to the old editions, the track has been changed and improved for the safety of the horses.

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The Dubai Equestrian Club worked hard and achieved excellent results in just a few days.

The winners of the day M7, MRM and M7 arrived hand in hand followed by their proud owner, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed.

Their average speed was of 23.79km/h (Sheikh Hamdan and Ajayeb won the 2016 edition at 24.4km/h), F3 and Abdulla Ghanim Al Marri conquered fourth place, 5 minutes after the trio. 50 horses and riders were invited from all over the world to attend this mythical race.

On social networking sites people asked themselves what purpose hid behind the acceptance of the invitation to run in the UAE. Well, the HH Sheikh Mohammed Cup is a very old race known as one of the most prestigious races in the world.

Racing in the desert is indeed very different from racing in the rest of the world.

Laetitia Goncalves with Sahess Lotois

Vets and Judges in Dubai

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SARDEGNA ENDURANCE FESTIVAL

30 June 02 July Arborea | Sardinia | Italy

endurance.horsesharing.it 34

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he track, the sand, the weather and the trip make things even more difficult but... what a beautiful journey!

Completing or just running such a race is definitely a challenge!

160 km to be run in the deep sand most of the time and on the dunes, especially in the third loop, after a 90 km distance, horses have to climb sand dunes for about 25 km. A totally new and difficult experience for foreign horses! They need time to understand how to deal with the sand and get used to a very humid weather (this year the weather was particularly hot!).

The 2016 and 2017 French Champion Laétitia Goncalves explained us why it is such a beautiful experience and why she is so grateful for this invitation, the third one this year: “riding the Sheikh Mohammed Cup allowed me to achieve a different vision of the races.

It is a race I had the pleasure to ride and complete three times with horses prepared in

France, a great satisfaction. Each experience brings you something new. Riding in the desert teaches you to be more focused and to listen carefully to our horses”.

Not many people have the privilege to declare “I finished the Sheikh Mohammed Cup” and just a few can say “I finished the Sheikh Mohammed Cup with my horse” declared Margot Chazel.

This year 80 binomials finished the race, 15 were overseas horses. It is a brilliant result, an experience that makes you grow up.

By inviting people, His Highness also gives them the opportunity to see by themselves what is really happening in the UAE, distinguishing the truth from the gossips.

The Sheikh Mohammed Cup and the President Cup can be compared to the ride in Florac, the Tevis Cup & the Tom Quilty.

It is a hard journey for both riders and horses.

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Costanza LALISCIA Thanks to Sistemaeventi.it for the cooperation

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looks at the world from above

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load of pressure having to compete against heikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al the best riders ever, showing up with horses Maktoum’s favourite won the 2016 at their best.

Endurance World Ranking. She’s But it is actually when the going gets tough only 17 years old and boasts prestithat the tough get going, this really made the gious victories in Italy and abroad, smiting 555 big difference”. riders.

The world is the dimension where this 17 year She has just turned 17 but she already stands old girl from on the world’s Umbria lives highest step. and where she She is the main successfully character of an spends part of exciting story, a her time at the real sports feat, Liceo Scientifico her name is CosAlessi in Perutanza Laliscia.

The young ridgia, and the rest of her day trainer from Perugia won the under ing her horses.

21 FEI Young Sheikh MohamRiders World med bin Rashid Endurance Al Maktoum, Ranking.

Vice President, Costanza prePrime Minister of the UAE and vailed over Emir of Dubai Uruguayan is definitely her Belen and Valgreatest fan, a entina Mendez Gianluca and Costanza Laliscia great passionand over 555 riders from all over ate and patron the world. “It is a dream come true – declares of world endurance. He chose her as one of the leading athlete of the Fuxiateam – and rehis favourite athletes, sharing with her one success after the other and personally supwards the whole staff for its great job.

It is quite demanding to carry on a season’s porting her career, just like it happened in July work, having to handle the organization of last year in San Rossore (Pisa), when she contrips around the entire world, and it is quite a quered the Italian Championship.

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Al Baraka Breeding Marion Wasilewski

marionwasilewski@yahoo.fr | +33 (0) 650715324

Stéphane Chazel

s.chazel@wanadoo.fr | +33 (0) 607692884

ARABIAN RACING MARES Mare in pasture

- FLY AL BARAKA - CADJANIA HIPOLYTE - MAIS SI AL MAURY - RHALIA DE MONLAU - SCARLETTE DES SABLES - DAMERA - BOUM HIPOLYTE

(MUNJIZ x ANNA / TIDJANI) (MADJANI x USHKAYA HIPOLYTE dam line DIDIDA) (ZIPPY AL MAURY x MALIKA DE PIBOUL dam line MONA LISA) (MADJANI x MANZANA dam line NEVADOUR) (CALIN DU LOUP x DJIDA DES SABLES dam line TIDJIDA D ALBRET) (DAHESS x AMERA / AMER dam line NEVADOUR) (AL NASR x MANTALLO / AL SAKBE dam line MANDORE)

FROM BREEDING TO COMPETITION…. A SHARED PASSION Boum Hipolyte

Couleur Al Baraka

- KSAHMET - INDIAN ESKA - TAIGA D ARGANE - SUNSET FENWICK GIRL - SHAGYA - PISSIDE HIPOLYTE - COOKIE HIPOLYTE - DANAT AL MONTASIR - FAHIMA DE MONTANEL - EVORA HIPOLYTE - ETIFAH HIPOLYTE

(PERSIK x BABUSH / NIEL) (PERSIK x ESCALONIA) sister of INDIAN ESCALONIK multi winner in UAE 120km (PERSICKO x NADJILA BIN KEBIR winner cei** 120km barre des Cevennes (FENWICK RENDEVOUS x SUNSET FIELD) full sister of RAMAAH multi winner (PERSICKO x NEDJME ) 2nd 120km Evora, 3 times top 10 on CEI*** 160km.

(ARQUES PERSPEX x BAYEHA) sister of UBAYA 2nd 120km Vic (BEKAM DE PIBOUL x TEVIS HIPOLYTE / DJIN LOTOIS 3rd on 120km YR) (BEDOUIN DE PIBOUL x KORA/FLAME DAVRIL) (KERBELLA x MONIA DE FONTANEL / TIDJANI winner CEI*** 200km Montcuq) (ULM DE DOMENJOI x AL DENTE Hipolyte / BEKAM DE PIBOUL) (PERFECT DE LAFON x LATIFAH EL FAYSSET / PERSIK) Shagya and Marion

Our philosophy is to use only TOP breeding mares! (top 3 mares in 120km, or direct sister of the winner)

ENDURANCE BREEDING MARES

Taiga by Persicko

Poulains et Charlotte

Jean-Marc Valerio with the stallion Aïnhoa Enfin

Haras d’Aïnhoa JM Valerio launched the Arabissimo concept

By Sophie Robert-Taymont 40

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he story started back in the late 60’s when Jean-Marc Valerio, French jumping rider, fell in love with a stallion noticed on L’EPERON magazine: Alhabac.

Two years later, he finally managed to find that horse in Spain, near Malaga.

The horses were already promised to Dr Laredo but Jean-Marc Valerio managed to bring Ispahan back to France, a mare by Alhabac and foal of Galero.

When asked why he chose Ispahan, he explained that she had no outstanding qualities but definitely no defect.

JM Valerio’s first successful sale was in Jerez during a show where he sold Malik (Galero x Ispahan x Alhabac) to the WAHO President who took him to the USA where his colt became a famous stallion.

On one hand he kept buying Thoroughbred mares for flat racing and on the other Arabian mares for show: the purest breeds of the world, the only breeds with a worldwide studbook.

Located near the Spanish border, JM Valerio worked on his bloodlines with Dr Laredo, experiencing successful inbreeding on Spanish bloodlines.

Silver medalist at the YR European Championship 2014 Verona (Ita) Nina Lissarague with Aïnhoa Catharissime

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he choice fell on Arabian breeding with the objective to create show champions in fact, one of Alhabac’s colts, Alha Edin, won the European Championship in 1979.

JM Valerio knew what made the Arabian horse so special: Its versatility.

He was sure that producing operational horses led to producing beautiful ones too. Sol d’Oa, who was born in 1981 (Alha Edin x Radiada x Cranleigh Karim), represents the perfect ambassador of this theory: winner of flat races, Show champion, Cross country winner and a real star of the equestrian theater Zingaro!

Once, a breeder asked JM Valerio if Sol d’Oa could cover his mare. He was not interested in his beauty or speed nor in his jumping abilities, but he knew he was a very smart horse.

In 1987, Valerio’s foals were named Aïnhoa and all their names initially ended in «OA ».

To prove the Arabian horse’s versatility, JM Valerio launched the Arabissimo concept.

Scoring depends on: show, heart recovery, cross country, jumping, dressage, speed and mind (a precious quality that makes the Arabian horse so similar to men).

The first endurance experiences of Aïnhoa horses occured in the mid-90’s when marathon was added to the Arabissimo program.

The first serious results were achieved by Aïnhoa El Rih (Arbikd’Oa x Riffien) finisher of the 1999 Montcuq 2x100 km ride and the 2000 160km ride in Florac and Aïnhoa Shoureya (Kil d’Aïnhoa x Ourinhoa), finisher of the 1999 Santa Susanna 2x100 km ride and 2000 Florac 160 km ride. Both horses were trained and ridden by Christele Derosch.

Future breeding choices were made to achieve fast horses or show horses and Aïnhoa endurance performers weren’t originally meant for that discipline.

Amongst Aïnhoa performers, two are memorable and worth mentioning: Aïnhoa Le Fol AA (Sol d’Oa x Hiloa) exported to the UAE in 2011, winner of Bou Thib 120 km and 3 months later,

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Almanac with Fanny Jaureguiberry

winner of the Dubai 160 km. The other one is Aïnhoa Catharissime (Padrons Immage x Rebelle Doa) Silver medal at the 2014 Young Riders European Championship, ridden by Nina Lissarrague.

When JM Valerio worked on endurance bloodlines, he outcrossed his beloved Spanish bloodline mares with French bloodlines for speed (especially Tidjani and Manganate).

He never denied his first love and always preserved his Spanish dam bloodlines and horses as they originally were.

Currently, Valerio is wondering if outcrossing with Persik bloodlines could be interesting in order to achieve a quiet mind… What makes a good endurance horse? Isn’t it also its ability to enter the vets gate with no emotion ?

Haras d’Aïnhoa also provides several stallions for different disciplines: Speed (Aïnhoa Kesberoy, Aïnhoa Eclipse and Aïnhoa Flash), Show (Aïnhoa Le Flutiste who already shows very interesting recovery abilities) and versatility (Aïnhoa Sapristi). Other Aïnhoa stallions are available in private stables as breeders consider Valerio’s selection as a qualitative basic bloodline (for endurance : Aïnhoa Enfin, two CEI3* completed including the 160km ride in Florac). Speed or show Arabian horses of any age are available at Haras d’Aïnhoa… and who knows…the best Aïnhoa endurance horse might be there waiting for you !?

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N

ordic-Baltic Championship 2017 will be held in Kurtuvenai, Lithuania on 15-17 of September. Kurtuvenai Regional Park (KRP) is located in the South-Western part of Siauliai District and the Northern part of Kelme District covering a 17,266 ha area. The park was established in 1992 with the aim to protect hilly landscape of Kurtuvenai with forested and laky surroundings, its natural ecosystem and cultural heritage, to create good conditions for tourism and recreation as well as for endurance events. Nordic-Baltic Championship rides: CEI2*120 km and CEIYJ2*120 km, the organizer provides individual and team awards.

This year the Championship held in Lithuania finishes the round of the six involved countries. The first Nordic-Baltic Championship was held in 2012 in Finland. In 2013 the hosting country was Estonia, in 2014 Norway, 2015 Sweden, 2016 Denmark and finally this year it is being held in Lithuania. Riders from all over the world are welcome to compete for this title.

Text by Ugne Zalieckiene Photos by: Organizer, Heidi Laurinen, Aiste Narbutaite

KUrTUvENAI

Nordic-Baltic Championship of Endurance, Kurtuvenai (LTU) September 15-17, 2017 CEI1* 80, CEIYJ1* 80, CEI2* 120, CEIYJ2* 120, CEI3* 160

M

r. Rimvydas Tamulaitis is worth to be named one of the beginners of Endurance sport in Lithuania. In 2000 he organized the first 30 km ride in Kurtuvenai, later he began organizing National Championships and in 2009 he accepted the challenge to organize the first International Endurance event in Lithuania. This year he invites riders from all over the world to compete for the Nordic-Baltic Champion name. “Because I am really in love with this sport, I always try to do my best for all participants - riders, grooms, judges and other team members. So I kindly invite everybody not only to compete, but also to experience beautiful Lithuanian nature, delicious food and unique traditions.�

Kurtuvenai

More info on www.kurtuva.lt

Proudly hosted under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance

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A great day out for horse lovers, families and equestrian professionals CHAMPIONSHIP Experience the excitement of the Arabian Horse Championship

CONFERENCE

PERFORMANCES Witness the beauty of the Spanish Equestrian Performances

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HORSE AUCTION Be a part of the million dollar Arabian Horse Auction

Take home luxury art from local and global artists

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the

President Cup 2017

Once again... a French touch!

By Muriel Judic Photos by Michele Ardu and Barbara Miller 50

SPORT ENDURANCE EVO

F

rench blood does rule supreme in long distance rides.

Despite the increased number of Australian and South American competing horses, the winner of February’s President Cup of the UAE was, once again, a horse born in France. Merci Shaddad...

With its 160 km, the President of the United Arab Emirates Endurance Cup is one of the highlights of the UAE endurance season.

This year, over 205 starters and 30 invited foreign riders participated. Most of the athletes mainly wished to end this legendary ride, attracted by the fabulous rewards too.

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Saeed Mohd Khalifa Al Mehairi

T

he Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club promised big cars to the top ten finishers and a prize money of 25.000 â‚Ź to all riders completing the race.

The real struggle between the two major teams from Abu Dhabi (Al Wathba stables) and Dubai (MRM) took place during the 6th loop.

The 49 second gap between first-place Khalifa Al Jahoori (8 mn) and second-place Saeed Al Mehairi (Shaddad), gave birth to an amazing challenge in the last 20 km.

Speed gradually increased in the second part of the loop. Saeed surpassed Khalifa and never looked back, winning the race with a three minute lead.

Adnan Sultan, Director General Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, Director of the Organizing committee, with Sport EVO

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The winner Saeed Mohd Khalifa Al Mehairi with Shaddad

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2nd place Khalifa Ali Khalfan Al Jahoori with 8 Minute

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3rd place Suhail Ali Rashed Ali Al Ghailani with Kalifa

T

he final podium position was decided after a sprint, coming out in favour of Suhail Al Ghailani (Kalifa). Al Wathba Stables, who has already won this major race in Al Wathba six times, may have lost the day’s victory but proved to be successful with a second and third podium position.

Since the inaugural race in the year 2000, every ride has been won by an Emirati rider, although the best horses have always proved to be French Arabians or part Arabians.

2017 is no exception to the rule: among 77 qualified horses, 22 were from France. That’s about 28,57%, almost the same percentage as 2016 (28,75%), due to a very well structured sector: breeders, trainers and a good French qualification system.

Since early morning, the winner Quersick Niellans, appeared among the audience’s favorites (Ramaah, Waterlea, Napoli del Ma, Tiswan Fageole, Al Theeb).

This 13 year old gelding had already won last year’s ride and was 5th in 2015.

The horse, known as Shaddad, was born in a small breeding farm, L’elevage de Niellans, owned by François Shaffter.

His father Persiko is also Perplex de Vere’s (6th) and Al Thahab’s (55th) father.

Thi first rider in the ranking that is not from Gulf countries, was Sabrina Magali Mendiz on Sapucay.

Curiosity: Sapukai completed the President Cup one month before the Sh. Mohammed Cup that he finished in the same position, 10th place.

The first European rider is a French girl on a French horse, exported to Dubai in 2012.

Laetitia Goncalves had been offered the opportunity to compete with Rekkem de Minuit (Al Aasfa Endurance stables) on a very short notice. An effective alliance for the young French champion...14th position at 22.578 km/h.

cult to ride... nervous», says François Shaffter.

Her son Quersick Niellans had a temper too.

This 1.59 m gelding accidentally broke his tail when he was a colt.

«During the rides he was very brave but also nervous and always afraid of many things!».

The breeder still works with horses and crosses his mares with flat race stallions like Amer, Dormane, Burning Sand in order to increase height and speed».

«Made in France»

Just like his own brother Fadasir, Persiko produced winners and horses with a long sportive life span. Apart from genetics, why is it so?

«They have all been well built», underlines Stéphane Chazel, «inheriting the several benefits of thorough work and hikes for the young horses. In France, we take our time. Regular work between the age of 4 and 6 toughens them up».

From Uruguay Sabrina Magali Mendiz with Sapucay

«A horse with a temper»

Quersick Niellans’s rank within the French championship for young horses in 2010, is of the highest distinction and continues to increase with Juma’s team. His THE EVENT mother was a «Selle française» with a strong temper according to the owner.

«Balsane de Boron had a big nerve impulse, she was diffi-

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Podium

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French horse performers at The President of the UAE Cup 160 km Al Wathba 2017, February 11th

- 1st Quersick Niellans (x Persicko) 25,2 kmh - 5th Thiyya du Mortier (x Melfik d’Alauze) 24,68 kmh - 6th Perplex de Vere (x Persicko) 24,21 kmh - 11th Tariq ar Veuzic (x Azziz de Gargassan) 23 kmh - 12th pour Dahour (x Darike) 22,87 kmh - 14th Rekkem de Minuit (x Milora Park Blue Fire) 22,57 kmh - 23rd Urax Folie (x Majestic de l’Orne) 20,48 kmh - 25th Novisaad d’Aqui (x Sadepers) 20,33 kmh - 28th Qualia (x Indian Eskalonik) 20,12 kmh - 29th Selidol de Lap (x Bajou) 20,07 kmh - 31st Qhashmyr d’Hazel (x Azziz de Gargassan) 20,07 kmh - 36th Ludik Des Blayes (x Jormane du Volday) 19,35 kmh - 39th Chams El Azziz (x Azziz de Gargassan) 18,64 kmh - 40th Sable de Kerdavid (x Jasmer Kerdavid) 18,22 kmh - 43rd Quilion du Bourg (x Aziz El Maklouf) 17,66 kmh - 44th Sobek de Riolat (x Tornado de Syrah) 17,61 kmh - 49th Thorr d’Alauze (x Granit d’Outlaw) 17,61 kmh - 52nd Ulema de Taliergues (x Der Khan de l’Hom) 16,86 kmh - 55th Al Thahab (x Persicko) 16,69 kmh - 58th Tess du Melay (x Ismaël d’Aubanel) 16,56 kmh - 70th Sabah du Courtisot (x Kheersik El Asrit) 15,53 kmh - 75th Ubosphore Lescouley (x Bosphore) 14,37 kmh

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T

he term “Grand Slam” is often used in tennis; this word actually originates in the game of bridge to indicate the greatest win possible and requires the player to successfully contract for all 13 tricks, a seven-level contract.

In Tennis the Grand Slam is the victory of the four famous tournaments mentioned below that take place over a year:

• • • •

Australian Open Open de France (Roland Garros) Wimbledon U.S. Open (Flushing Meadows)

“Margot Chazel, a step from the sky” 60

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The “Grand Slam” exists in endurance riding too, although it is not officially known, it consists of five races:

• • • •

Tevis Cup (U.S.A.) Tom Quilty (Aus) Florac (Fra) President of the U.A.E. Cup Abu Dhabi (U.A.E.) • H.H. Sh. Mohammed Cup Dubai (U.A.E.)

Endurance Grand Slam

Photos by Lynne Glazier and Latifa Al-Redha - Hapoop photography SPORT ENDURANCE EVO

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Microphone to Margot Chazel

W

e decided to have a little chat with Margot whose dream is to finish the five of them… to succeed she has to run the

Tevis Cup!

Margot how does it feel to complete the Grand Slam of Endurance…?

I have already completed Florac in 2010, The Sh. Mohammed Cup in 2016 & 2017, The Tom Quilty in 2016. I just finished the President Cup. My first feelings are definitely pride and honour. Proud to have these wonderful races on my CV and honour, because I had the privilege to race with some wonderful horses that gave me so much until the last kilometre of each race.

I ran Florac when I was 16 years old. Florac is a family story… My grand mother organized the race in 1983, 1984 and 1985.

I remember my father running it since I was very young.

To finish my first 160km there represented a memorable moment and great challenge. It was very hard, I cried under the strain but my tears were not comparable to those I shed after the final vet check. As far as the Tom Quilty is concerned, everything was so unexpected; I always thought it would be the last of the five but my lucky star turned up… the Tom Quilty is really something else!!

During the entire ride I couldn’t really realize I was running IT (except maybe when it took us 5h25 to make the first 45 km loop). These races are so different from any other race, the confidence and empathy you develop with your horse is very strong.

At one point there is no other choice than to completely entrust one other.

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Margot during the Sh. Mohammed Cup

T

he atmosphere in those races is also very different. We are all there with the aim to PRESIDENT CUP finish, bringing back home lifetime memories and the famous buckle.

Contrary to many beliefs the President Cup & Sheikh Mohammed Cup are very hard and very different. I have found the President Cup even harder than the Sheikh Mohammed Cup and very challenging! Horses run 160 km in the deep sand, not even one single km to relax.

The Tora Bora wasn’t the legendary one this year but it was still very hard and we really had to manage to keep power for the last 100 km. I had the chance to race both races with the same horse (and what a horse!!!). It SHEIKH was interesting to be MOHAMMED able to compare how CUP the same horse reacted on these two different tracks.

The Tom Quilty, was difficult because of the time you spend on the saddle (19h38) and that you have to keep the motivation to both rider and horse but the Sheikh Mohammed & President Cup are technical in the sense that you have to listen to your horses even more than usual, you also have to manage the pace, speed and track.

I really would like to thank from the bottom of my heart the Rushoz Team for giving me the chance to make this dream come true and for the amazing preparation of ESME TE. I also want to thank my team DUBAWI STABLES for trusting me throughout the year with these amazing horses and helping me to get closer to the “Grand Slam”!

How did you come up with the idea of giving it a go?

It is a childhood dream. It wasn’t really a challenge until I got a phone call, after I finished

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the Quilty, saying that if I had finished the Tevis Cup I would have been the FIRST lady and the second rider after the UAE trainer and rider, Ali Al Jahouri to complete the five races.

Since then I got very focused and this became my goal, I am a competitor after all.

Let’s hope to meet TEVIS CUP you again after the Tevis Cup… 2017!!

I just would like to express a few words about Torgnon, the 100+100 km race I completed in 2015.

This race is also something else! It could have its place on the challenge but the Grand Slam is about 160km in ONE day… It is very hard and technical but extremely beautiful. I would recommend it to all the riders!

To finish, I wish my words could motivate some people, especially young riders to get interested by this adventure and dream about these races. You come out grown up as a rider but also as a person. It is a human adventure.

To run just to finish and not necessarily tiring the horse out… could this be the future of endurance riding?

Well, I believe there are two different types of endurance, they can’t be compared but I love them both. There are races where you compete against other riders. The challenge is to get into the best position by respecting the limits of your horse. And there are races where you compete against the difficulty of the track...us against ourselves.

When organizing races on very technical tracks (although speed increases every year) and dealing with experienced horses, we can’t expect riders to compete “just to finish”.

From my point of view, we have to keep in mind the basis of our sport: - Compete respecting our horses’ capacities.

- Educate and sensitize our riders to the consequences of their actions (bad and good ones of course).

- Race against each other and not against the clock.

Winning isn’t always about finishing in first place. It isn’t about beating the others. It is about overcoming yourself. Overcoming your body, your limitations and your fears.

“Winning means surpassing yourself and turning your dreams into reality” (Kilian Jornet, Run or Die).

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Margot Chazel

Comune di

Roccaraso

Roccaraso Endurance Master

JUNE 25, 2017

CEI 1* and regional rides Roccaraso L’Aquila - Italy

Jacopo Di Matteo +39 389 4504088 Giannicola Trilli +39 344 1719648 Massimo Verna +39 339 2748523 sportendurance@gmail.com

Incisione a puntasecca del Maestro Roberto di JULLO pittore in Roma e Pescocostanzo www.dijullo.it SPORT ENDURANCE EVO

65

The Royal Cavalry of the Sultanate of Oman and Sport EVO for the development of endurance riding

A

t the beginning of March, Catalonia hosted a very technical high level endurance ride, especially in terms of horse quality.

This was Tordera’s 7th edition, mastered by Juan Rodriguez, the deus ex machina of the event and patron of HG Sport. To begin with, Juan wished to thank all the 123 binomials that showed up at the starting-line and brands like Meydan, AML sport and Coca Cola for their precious contribution in the organization of such a high profile event.

The VENUE Tordera is a small commune of around 10.000 inhabitants in the province of Barcelona.

Located on the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Mediterranean Sea, it boasts a mild climate all year round, that attracts many riders and visitors.

It is definitely an ideal temperature for an endurance ride that takes place in a charming, peaceful atmosphere.

Club Hipic de Garbi (Esp)

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The start of the “Raid de Tordera”

Raid de Tordera 7th edition

Photos by Oreste Testa and Chiara Gobbetti https://sportphoto.smugmug.com/ SPORT ENDURANCE EVO

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Maria Alvarez Ponton with T’Aime de Coeur

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1st, 2nd and 3rd place CEI3* Maria Alvarez Ponton with T’Aime de Coeur, Soldevila Altarriba Guillem with Lludriga de Masferrer and Omar Blanco Rodrigo with Treogan

A

The RIDE

ll eyes were on the 12 starters of the 160 km ride. A very important qualifying race that will help the technical coach of the Spanish team make his decisions in view of the European Championships that will be held next August in Brussels.

The expert rider Maria Alvarez Ponton with T’Aime de Coeur reached the finish line first, followed by Jaoume Punti Dachs, her husband and reigning world champion. This purebred Arabian born in 2007, is the son of Ulm de Domenjoi e Tmira HH. He seems to be very fond of Tordera’s race circuit and he dominated 120 and 160 km rides several times before.

Second podium position for Soldevila Altarriba Guillem with Lludriga de Masferrer, unknown female of 2008, property of Juma’s team.

She won bronze medal at the European Championship J/YR 2016 in Rio Frio, ridden by Bruna Pujols Aumatell.

Third podium position for Omar Blanco Rodrigo with Treogan (Orman de Cardonne x Fleura). This important horse with precious blood (Dormane and Manganate) concluded last year’s CEI3* in Rio Frio (Por) in fifth position.

The CEI2* was definitely the most crowded ride with its 42 starters.

Angel Soy Coll and Saadi des Vabres (Olympe du Colombier x Saida de Fontenoire) won the tough challenge ahead of Omar Blanco Rodrigo with Sayyepers (Sadepers HN x Sayyeda) and Silvia Yebra Altimiras with Furius (Kabor x Always). Double podium for the Spanish rider... an unforgettable day!

Saadi des Vabres was able to win his first CEI2*; we are going to hear a lot more about this horse belonging to Juma’s Team.

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1st CEI2* Angel Soy Coll with Saadi des Vebres

T

he YR ran by only 9 starters was won by Rocio Esperanza Herrera Carmona with Cashin In (Sam Tiki x Cashay). Second and third podium position for Lucia Superkova Jun with Shagya Margareta (Shagya Szarcsa x Gazal-Molly) and Elisabet Casademunt Caballero with JM Cinnamon (Persicko x Canelle Rio).

The two CEI1* rides were won respectively by Carlos Pacheco Perez with Anteo (Unk) and Jordi Arboix Santacreu with Latanga D’Arsol.

Tordera represents an excellent test bench for the Spanish Championship 2017, a safe and adequately fast track.

3rd place CEI2* Silvia Yebra Altimiras with Furius

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2nd place CEI2* Omar Blanco Rodrigo with Sayyepers

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1st place CEI2*JYR Rocio Esperanza Herrera Carmona with Cashin In

2nd place CEI2*JYR Lucia Superkova Jun with Shagya Margareta

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3rd place CEI2*JYR Elisabet Casademunt Caballero with JM Cinnamon

The organizer Juan Rodriguez with Joume Punti Dachs

Raid de

RESULTS

Tordera SPORT ENDURANCE EVO

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Endurance Horse Breeding

Breeding • Training center • Horse rental for races • Endurance team

Allevamento • Centro di allenamento • Noleggio cavalli per gare • Squadra Endurance

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International Conference

BOUDHEIB Worldwide Initiative D R I V I N G T H E F U T U R E

O F

E N D U R A N C E

8th March 2017 – Boudheib Endurance Village

Photos by Leigh Young and Sport EVO

T

he Boudheib International Endurance Conference that was held at the beginning of March this year, represents the clear expression of the Boudheib and the H.H. Sh. Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan developing perspective of endurance riding.

27 Endurance experts from 11 countries gath-

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ered at the Boudheib International Endurance Village (BIEV) to discuss this interesting and innovative initiative.

One of the guests, Mr. Luca Giannangeli, publisher of Sport Endurance Evo, was pleasantly surprised by the passion that drove the Promoting Committee of the Endurance Protocol for the welfare of the horse.

The Boudheib Initiative in brief

http://www.boudheib.ae/en/ The Boudheib Initiative has been developed to ensure the welfare of the endurance horse, it is also an attempt to bring endurance riding back to its traditional roots.

His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan is deeply involved with the ‘Welfare of the Horse’ and has achieved global acclaim for his tireless work to improve conditions for the endurance horse.

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T

his international recognition has become known as the ‘Boudheib Initiative’, it implements stringent rules and local speed restrictions to protect horses that have become widely appreciated and endorsed around the world.

Our idea about BECA

(Boudheib Endurance Challenge Award) The publisher of Sport Endurance EVO declared: «For the very first time, since I’ve published the magazine, I really felt free to think and express what came up to mind, without having to limit myself or my work.

I have to admit that, at first, I was a bit skeptical regarding Boudheib’s protocol but just like most endurance passionates, I definitely agree that a horse must be respected because he is the real athlete of the whole performance.

Obviously, if he could choose between grazing on green grass or running over a 160 km distance in the desert, we all know what his choice would fall on.

Many horses, just like men, enjoy running, but it is the man who chooses for himself, a horse cannot. For this reason it is important to respect him... because he has no choice.

Boudheib’s track is totally different from others in the U.A.E. The Natural Park is not a legend but a supervised and protected reality.

Trees, dunes, natural oasis and just one car per horse.

This enchanting scenary is the frame of the Festival’s 11th edition sponsored by H.H. Sh. Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The track is demanding, the ground is made up of high sand to prevent accidents and speed is limited to 20 km/h, everything is conceived for the welfare of the horse.

The race ends with two rankings, a regular FEI one and a special one foreseen by Boudheib’s Protocol.

What stands out is that the first binomial in the FEI ranking is 8th in Boudheib’s, while the second binomial in FEI matches to the one in Boudheib’s. This means that who wins is not necessarily the best but the fastest.

I believe that it is not strictly necessary to revolutionize the rules and endurance, but Boudheib’s Protocol definitely represents a first step towards horse welfare, preventing the number of deaths in the desert and in the rest of the world».

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The Boudheib Endurance Challenge Award (BECA) must be considered a reflection of Endurance as a test of skill rather than a race.

CONFERENCE

Introductions to the panel and thanks to His Highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahy-

an for his unwavering support for the ‘Welfare of the Horse’ were made by H.E. Senan Al Muheiri - EHC CEO for Activities and Events.

Followed by introductions of the international guest speakers by Dr. Dwight Hooton, veterinarian, horse welfare provocateur and member of the FEI Veterinary Committee.

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H

onoured guest HRH Princess Alia Bint Hussein of Jordan gave an inspiring address to the packed audience, firstly honouring women around the world celebrating International Ladies Day and leading onto an in depth report on ‘our fellow companions in all equestrian sports, the horse, which often is forgotten in the endeavour to win at all costs.

Our horses deserve our respect as we are not able to achieve any results without them’.

HRH Princess Alia made it clear that to win

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when afterwards the horse is spending the night in the hospital is no achievement!

Boudheib Organising Committee member, Ms Deirdre Hyde, discussed statistics which included a staggering 12,000 endurance horses registered with the Federation here in the UAE. Ms. Hyde went on to recognise the many firsts credited to Boudhieb: Computer Timing, GPS tracking, Presentation Time of 56 bpm, introduction of natural trails and other measures to make fair competition and objective assessment.

I

n her frequent discussions with H.H. Sheikh Sultan, His Highness was so distressed by the continuing lack of respect for the endurance horse, he declared ‘Fix it or we stop, no compromise’!

Out of this the Boudheib Initiative was born and we have been overwhelmed by the global response.

Ms. Hyde is ‘grateful and proud to be part of His Highness Sheikh Sultan’s Initiative taking a step in what we consider to be the right direction’.

USA 3 time winner of the Endurance Triple Crown of North America and award winner for best condition at each of his three wins, John Crandell is proud that his horse is still sound and going strong at 19 years of age. John has been in endurance for 40 years and states that Endurance could be the only sport in which we truly give back to the horse. The test for the animal, what is he prepared for? Adapted to many types of terrain and their genetics are forged for this.

The horse is a great gift and we need to take care of them for generations to come.

Ahmed Samarraie’ s presentation on the current German situation in endurance sport was agreeing in general with views from other countries that the sport has a loss of clean image, young riders are less interested in the sport, sponsorship issues exist, there is a damaged market for endurance horses and public opinion views that there are many ‘bad’ international riders coming from this region.

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oach Johannes Versleijen of the Abu Dhabi Al Jazira Sports Football Club gave an address offering a link between training and injury in football and horses. Football is an interval and contact sport with specific rules to consider when training.

Forward planning is paramount, always having to consider what will happen next, where are your team mates, technical skills need to be used in 90 minutes and his physical training is adapted to that time frame.

No game is the same, you need stamina,

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strength, coordination and endurance, there can be extra time and penalties, so one needs ability to recover quickly.

The number of high intensity runs has increased markedly in the last 10 years, now there is little time on the ball but the field of play hasn’t changed nor the number of players.

‘This is how I prepare my complex training sessions on knowledge of the facts & data as well as the mental, technical and physical aspects. Overtraining is a major concern as this causes stress injuries that are avoidable with full understanding of training physiology; this year

there has been a decrease in injuries - training has significantly changed in the last few years and careful planning is always at the forefront .

There are many recoveries to address, from the millisecond recoveries within the muscle cells to the daylong rest following the game. Sleep, food and rest are the best way for complete recovery and the 2nd day complete rest is essential when your muscles are at their most tired.’ Dr Hooton surmised later, the same principles apply in horse sport of endurance especially when training for natural trails.

Charles Watts, Rolling Stones drummer

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S

ara Burnett, specialist sport horse nutritionist from UK based horse feed supplier Dodson & Horrell told us of techniques for feeding and supporting the endurance horse.

Twenty years of feeding sport horses in the Middle East has demonstrated that extreme temperatures, lack of natural grass, and overcoming hydration issues are prime priorities to support muscle function and recovery. Dodson & Horrell has a distributor, Horse & Coarse here in the UAE and are pleased to assist in any nutritional benefit issues you may wish to discuss.

Florac’s world famous Jean-Paul Boudon, has been organising Florac trails for the last 18 years and an endurance rider for more than 40. At that time J.P. Boudon began riding 160km and was part of the world group creating the rules of endurance at the outset. He discovered all the qualities and capacities of the pure Arabian horse, and is now a breeder, trainer and trail designer.

He noted ‘There have been two stages in endurance, first, game & pleasure and now in the second period with business and money at its core enables breeding to continue. The tracks have become flatter and faster, evolution of horses and equipment, without generalisation, riders, trainers, breeders nowadays do not valuerise their horses, they do it for profit in sales of horses so the horse is no longer a riding partner. It has become a means to make money resulting in doping, cheating and lack of welfare.

Thanks to the encouragement of initiatives from Boudheib, M. Boudon is very proud to announce new innovations for 2017 Florac which will now be returning to more traditional tracks, longer phases and steep hills with 10 minutes holding time for horses to drink, rest and eat in between these long loops, all new innovations returning Florac endurance back to its true origins and valued time honoured traditions, To win is to Finish!

With an eye to one of Sheikh Sultan’s keen interests encouraging good horsmanship to young people coming into the sport of endurance, Sybille Merkhart, well known international endurance rider from Southern Germany, is very involved in teaching young riders new to endurance and is very keen to promote the word of Boudheib in her homeland, installing the importance of the welfare of the horse to young riders.

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Belgium’s Leonard Liesens, recounted that he was on the verge of giving up and became ashamed to say he was an endurance rider due to the cheating, doping, death of horses and increasing lack of horsemanship. ‘Horse & rider should be in full harmony.

Crewing is becoming paramount in the minds of many and they don’t listen to the horse any more, reading the trail and giving the horse the opportunity to slow down and recover after a steep hill, thus allowing your horse to use less energy and is thereby better able to continue.’ Leonard believes one can see the light vanishing in the horses eyes - they are subjected to having water poured over them instead of being able to drink, and in the middle east riding has become a jockey endeavor promoted by the trainer.

Leonard has an idea, ‘the Boudheib Protocol is something fantastic’, and thanks to Sheikh Sultan the solution can probably be adapted to all rides in Europe.

Having ridden the Tevis from start to finish, it is only the horse and rider alone; Liesens suggests new regulations to slow speed and reduce abusers of the horses. Snacks & water for both horse & rider at various rest areas, no crew allowed to touch the horse, same discipline at the vet gates with riders only able to take care of his horse (if the rider is not able to do the trot up, then he is not a fit sportsman so cannot continue). Once again, as has been discussed many times throughout the Boudhieb conference, good horsemanship is key.

John Crandell concurred, having taken part and won in the USA Cavalry rides of 160km these are exactly the principles, horse & rider are one, there are NO crews!

Dr. Dwight Hooton’s summary of the day reminds us all that the horse should be fit to continue at all stages including the finish, and that fit to finish is not an acceptable criteria. Horses “dead in eyes” and unable to prick their ears due to exhaustion may continue to trot until they collapse but this does not represent “fit to continue”.

The Boudheib Protocol is still in a developmental phase and the intention is to create an app to follow progress throughout the race.

Dr Hooton also asked that we specifically define ‘what is horsemanship?’ as this vital concept is key to the future success of horse sports.

During Women’s Day 2017 with the HRH Princess Alia bint Hussein of Jordan

Vet and judjes

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Invited guests: - - - - - - - - - -

HRH Princess Alia bint Hussein of Jordan Roly Owers, UK (World Horse Welfare) Melanie Scott, AUSTRALIA (AERA President) Jean-Paul Boudon, FRANCE (Organiser FLORAC) Christele Derosch, FRANCE (Organiser PERSIK TRAIL) Ahmed Samarraie, GERMANY (Holds National Champs) Leonard Liessens, BELGIUM (Head of Endurance) John Crandell, USA (Endurance Promotion) Susan Koekemoer RSA (Organizer RSA largest Endurance Club) Sybille Merkhart, Southern GERMANY (Endurance Organiser)

- Kevin Croke IRELAND (FEI 4* Judge) - Luca Giannangeli (publisher of Sport Endurance EVO) - Kseniia Horbunova, Ukraine - Francois Kerboul FRANCE (FEI 4* Judge & Boudheib Official Timekeeper) - Christian Lozano FRANCE (Head of Boudheib Vet Delegation) - Franz Arts, NEDERLANDS (Senior Endurance Vet) - Sarah Coombs,UK - Foreign Vet delegate (Vet Panel) - Antonia Mota, PORTUGAL (Vet Panel) (President Vet Commission)

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ZSAA—Marbach-Distanz 21st—23rd July 2017 CEI*-CEI***

ZSAA - Zuchtverband für Sportpferde Arabischer Abstammung German breeding association for arabian sporthorses ZSAA organised over hundred CEN and CEI - competitions (1998-2011 in Kreuth-Bavaria) 3 CEIO´s, 4 CEIOJYR´s, 4 national Senior-Championships , 5 national Junior-Championships, 2010 FEI - CEIJYR**** EU-CH ZSAA organised since 2014 in Germany oldest national stud „Haupt- und Landgestüt Marbach“ located in the south of Stuttgart in the beautyful mountained landscape of the Schwäbische Alb Home of the 200 year old Purebred Arabian breed

ZSAA organised in 2016 the first Endurance event in Europe with the BECA

BEST ENDURANCE CHALLENGE AWARD 2017 The Boudheib Initiative of HH Sheik Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan

For further information please contact us:

ZSAA-Germany - buero@zsaa.de

www.zsaa.de

- Tel.: + 49 5664 7771 or + 49 171 6221500

HORSES, PETS AND ALL KIND OF ANIMALS REQUIRED Shipping Everywhere Transport in Europe by Trasporti del Belvedere di Alessio Modena O. +39 331 254130 M. +39 335 5219207 trasportidelbelvedere@gmail.com

We are IATA agents since 1975 representing all major Airlines worldwide; we handle all kind of animals from Italy to the 5 continents according to the IATA regulations. We manufacture all kind of IATA containers according to LAR (Live Animals Regualtions) manual in use. We supply our customer with all the information concerning sanitary documentation required at origin and at destination Pianeta Cavallo S.r.l. by Mario Sivieri info@pianetacavallo.it Tel. +39 02 33490249 San Rossore (Pisa) and Valeggio sul Mincio (Verona) official shipping agent ESSEEMME by Marina Marzani www.esseemmeint.it info.sm@esseemmeint.it Tel. +39 02 5537941 FIND US ON FACEBOOK

o i l o f t r o p

Latifa Al-Redha

Hapoop photography Latifa Al-Redha Hapoop photography @hapoop_photography hapoopphotography@gmail.com

7-9 July 2017 - Torgnon (Ita) CEI3* 2 days

CEI2* 2 days

CEI2*

CEIYJ2*

20th Trophy

CEI1*

“Les Grandes Montagnes”

Info: torgnonendurance@gmail.com www.sportendurance.it

RACE WITH THE BEST IN x-bionic® sphere SAMORIN, SLOVAKIA

x-bionic® sphere

An unforgettable event at an unbeatable venue – that was Challenge Samorin 2016. This year, x-bionic® sphere is hosting The Championship, a new standard in international triathlon. The qualify-only event is looking forward to a high attendance of the top-notch professional triathletes from all over the world, including the winner of Challenge Samorin, Helle Frederiksen.

1. Last year was your first time in Samorin and x-bionic® sphere, attending Challenge Samorin. How did you like the venue?

I really loved racing and training at x-bionic® sphere. I spent a whole week there before the race so I really got an insight into the training possibilities there. It has everything you wish for as a Triathlete. Doing training camps there would be perfect. The hospitality was also amazing and I really felt welcomed and taken care of.

2. What about the race itself - how did you find the course and the atmosphere of Challenge Samorin?

The course is very challenging. There are elements in all three disciplines that makes it challenging. The current in the Danube, the wind on the bike and the different running surfaces and twist and turns in the run. The swim and run is great for spectators. Especially the run, you are able to see your supporters many times on each lap.

3. What does your training look like these days? What events are you currently preparing for?

I have been in a building phase towards season start for the last 6 weeks. But I am slowly starting to train a little less and rest more as my first race of the season is in 1.5 week. I’ll race IRONMAN 70.3 Puerto Rico the 19th March and 2 weeks later IRONMAN 70.3 Texas. I’m course record holder on both courses so I’m excited to go back there. After that I’ll build towards my two big races in June, with the first The Challenge Championship in Samorin and two weeks after that IRONMAN 70.3 European Championship in my home country, Denmark.

4. Do you have any special routines during race day?

A special breakfast perhaps, or something that you do for good luck…

I always eat porridge with cinnamon and raisins. Bread with almond butter and banana and 2 cups of coffee for breakfast

on race morning. I don’t have any special routines other than I like to be at transition relatively early so I have time to go through the flow of the transition and the swim exit as well as the run from swim exit to transition. To be able to visualize it all keeps me calm.

5. What is your favorite part of racing?

I really like the experience racing provides, both to myself and to others. It is just very special to race with thousands of other individuals who have committed to the same task. Competing for me at the highest level in the sport is very much about being able to get all the preparation and training out on the race course.

This is what I strive for and this is my favorite part of racing.

6. Every athlete has a different way of dealing with the pain that eventually sets in during racing… How do you do it?

I remind myself how much pain I have tolerated in training and that I’m familiar with suffering. I remind myself this is a good pain and it needs to hurt for me to be pushing hard enough.

I also often think of technical elements i.e. High stroke rate, good catch, stay aero, strong core and so on. Also focusing on the next aid station or next time you are planning to intake energy/gels/drink.

7. What are your expectations for The Championship?

I want to challenge for the top spot. This is my goal and I will be doing my very best in the weeks and months leading up to The Championship to ensure I have the best opportunity on race day. I expect the competition to be fierce and I expect my competitors to be in very good physical condition. I will very much focus on my race and how I need to race over the course to take the top spot.

If you did not manage to qualify for The Championship, you can still become a part of this incredible event and race on the same course during the side events – Sprint, Olympic and Olympic relay distances are open for everyone at www.challenge-samorin.sk Kristina Czuczova x-bionic® sphere Dubová 33/A, Šamorín Slovakia www.x-bionicsphere.com www.facebook.com/challengesamorin

x-bionic® sphere Dubová 33/A, Šamorín Slovakia www.x-bionicsphere.com www.facebook.com/challengesamorin

Camilla Malta with Deporto (Porto x Dunka)

FINISHER H.H. Sh. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup 2017

for the development of italian endurance riding

www.maltafratelli.com

www.mapei.com

www.sgcavalli.it

X-BIONIC® HOTEL X-BIONIC® HOTEL offers premium accommodation for up to 1 150 guests. At x-bionic® private sphere, all 282 hotel rooms are spacious, able to accommodate up to 4 guests, tastefully decorated and tailor-made to satisfy even the most demanding customers. x-bionic® strato sphere introduces the new era of luxury accommodation with pure design, noble materials and a new level of hospitality. Designated grand checkin area, luxury lounges, private elevator, exclusive living area with fireplace, all with 24/7 host service. Concept of 12 exclusive units – from studio to double junior suite with private terrace and built-in jacuzzi – are located on the top floor of 3 hotel buildings and offer beautiful view of the river Danube. x-bionic® sphere Dubová 33, Šamorín Slovakia www.x-bionicsphere.com www.facebook.com/xbionicsphere

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