Suffolk, England: The UAE had an incredibly successful day, winning all the classes and the Best Condition awards at the second of the Euston Park Endurance Rides, sponsored by Emirates Airline, which took place this weekend in record high temperatures.
Organisers worked hard all day to keep riders, volunteers, stewards and staff cool and over 15 tonnes of ice was used to safeguard the welfare of the horses.
A total of 85 riders from eight nations competed in CEI 3* 160Km, CEI 2* 120Km, CEIYJ 2* 120Km, CEI 1* 80Km and an additional CEI 1* ride.
Euston Park Endurance trialled a staggered start in the CEI 1* 80km classes, they were well received, although the majority of riders still opted for the mass start.
EGB Board Member, Nicki Thorne (GBR) said: “The staggered start is a huge opportunity for riders who have not previously had experience at FEI level to start in a very safe way (away from the melting pot), gain confidence and enjoy FEI riding whilst removing a lot of the stress and worry that might prevent them trying FEI.”
Needless to say horses that have been trained in hotter conditions will have dealt best with the temperatures. The highest placed Brit was Nikki Malcolm on Oso Edith in the CEI 1*, she came fourth in a time of 04:19:58.
Despite the testing conditions over 60 per cent of horses completed the rides over the weekend.
Foreign Veterinary Delegate, Ignasi Casas Vaque said: “I’m Spanish, and today really was hot, but I am very pleased with how it all went. The veterinary panel and treating vets were good and we had very few metabolic eliminations. Those that we did have weren’t serious and recovered fast. It proved that in tough conditions like today if the work is done in a proper way and people take care like they did here we can see good results. I expected a much higher elimination rate — 60 per cent is a great stat even in normal conditions.”
Treating Veterinarian President, Tom Eaton-Evans, said: “The riders were very sensible given the conditions they faced, on what was an extremely hot day. Minimal treatments were required and it’s a credit to everyone for addressing the issues sensibly. We saw less than a handful of horses in the veterinary clinic, none required referrals and all have been declared fit to travel.”
Nick Brooks-Ward, Endurance Director at HPower Group Endurance, said: “I am thrilled that our riders and their teams dealt so brilliantly with the conditions today and I can’t thank the volunteers and wider team enough for how hard they worked. We are committed to growing the profile of endurance in a positive way and to see that the live streaming on Facebook today attracted almost 9,000 views around the world it’s clear that there’s huge interest out there.”
The next rides will take place on July 21st and 22nd.
The winners were:
CEI1* 80km (SAT) – Khaled Abdulla Ahmed Al Harmoudi (UAE) riding Magic Glenn Chisel in a total ride time of 03:26:24 (average speed of 23.26kph)
CEI1* 80km (SUN) – Ahmed Salem Ali Sultan Al Subose (UAE) riding Razorback Mechano in a total ride time of 03:48:08 (average speed of 21.04kph)
CEI2* 120km – Mohd Matar Rashed Al Mazrooei (UAE) riding Diament Du Lauragais in a total ride time of 04:56:48 (average speed 24.26kph)
CEIJYR2* 120km – Saeed Salem Atiq Khamis Almuhairi (UAE) riding Rabdan in a total ride time of 06:00:46 (average speed 19.96kph)
CEI3* 160km –Ghaith Abdul Wahid Khamis Saqer (UAE) riding 21 Nik in a total ride time of 08:07:59 (average speed 19.67kph)
