The World Endurance Championships

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paulineh

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The WEC are taking place at Euston Park Thetford tomorrow Saturday August 25th

All welcome to come and see the worlds best battle for places over a 100miles of undulating Suffork country side

Nobby the reigning Double World and Double European Champion will again be contesting the individual title. Nobby is an amazing little horse at he age of 19 and standing no more than 15hh.
 
At least no-one can say he should retire if they don't know how old he is!;)

Fantastic management to keep a horse winning at the very highest level.
 
Thank you for the reminder
FEI TV have sent me a message to say the live coverage starts at 7.55am on the 25th.

Do you know if the horses will be wearing (collars) so that they can be (checked) by satellite and the live stream beamed to a computer site (sorry for the lack of technical jargon!!)

I do hope the weather will be favourable in the Uk, the pre event video was amazing at showing the route by air.

and yes, I am wishing Nobby all the very best for a safe run.
 
Will definitely be going to watch. We have had the Australian team and their horses based at our yard for the last 2 weeks, so will be going along to cheer them on. Am going to watch the start which should be amazing as apparently all the horses leave at the same time, and the ride also goes along some of the tracks adjacent to our fields, so am sure will catch a bit more of the action when I am poo picking later on !
 
I'm hoping to be there, was meant to watch the opening ceremony last night, (or should i say watch the fireworks with my ponies in the field opposite lol) but ended up in hospital with a knee injury... The set up does look amazing and there are plenty of trade stands there for some shopping...
 
We went along to the opening ceremony, but it seemed to take ages to get going and it got a bit chilly so didn't stay too long. My Yard Manager actually had a proper invite and said it was absolutely amazing !
 
Leading riders out on last 20km loop (having done 140km), 2 british riders still in, Tricia & Alice. Both passed compulsory represent at final hold so due out on last loop shortly. This puts them about 20mins behind leaders. Speed of leaders over 20kph so far, expect that pace to seriously hot up on final loop. Nobby about 4 mins behind leader.

http://www.eustonparkendurance.co.uk/

reading results from vet gate 4, horses average speed 22-24kph (depending on loop), average presentation time to vets 1min 10 secs. That is the rider has come in cantering at 24kph, crossed the line, tack removed, horse cooled to get his heart rate to under 64 beats per & presented to vet in 1 minute 10 seconds. Try at home cantering at this speed for 1 loop of 25 miles, getting home, whipping off tack & getting the hr under 64bpm in that kind of time. These horses are phenominal athletes. Then 30 mins later they're ready to go out & do it again, & again, & again for 100 miles.
 
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Shiekh Maktoum crosses line first, final vetting to be passed before he can be confirmed winner.
 
Hi, thanks for the updates, I tried to start a thread on here yesterday, but not much interest,
FEI TV ran live commentary on the vet gates yesterday from 8 am to the end, (so I got very little done in the way of jobs).
I thought FEI TV did a very good job, the commentator was joined by very knowledgeable guests who rotated during the day, and the coverage ended when the winner was interviewed.
Everything looked amazing facility wise, although I did hear that a storm spoilt the end.
Another triumph for uk organisation in 2012 at the highest end of horse sport.
Been a pleasure to see,and wished I could have been there!
 
The USA have done a pretty good job cobbling together some results: http://www.endurance.net/international/GreatBritain/2012WEC/

A shame that Maria and Nobby's gamble at the last vetgate didn't pay off (I think Maria knew her only way to get ahead of the Sheikhs was to win vital seconds in the vetgate and leave before them) but very chuffed at his 4th place - what a phenomenal horse he is!

Very pleased for Alice and Tricia too - they've both had a rocky road to get there and both thoroughly deserved their strong finishes.

I'm also pleased for the two American easybooters. The US team came 4th, which is their best result for a good few years now. I think they'll be well chuffed.
 
Pastel, it's a subscription internet channel showing horse sports. It cost about 9 euros for a pass. The commentary was really good, but the filming was very Sheikh Mo centric ;)
 
The weather throw everything at the Riders, Crews, Officials and the Crowd. One set of tough people.


It was unfortunate that the World Champion took that risk at the last vet gate that lost her the advantage . But we still do not know if even if that would have stopped Sheikh
Mo from winning. At the vet gate there were only seconds in it.

After spending the day up there (drove up at 5am and drove back at 7pm) I can only say I would not have missed it for anything. A truly amazing day.

A big well done to our two remaining riders that finished in appalling weather.
 
I popped up to have a look yesterday, and can say the atmosphere was amazing. The set up spectacular and it looked so well organised. Although must say one more day then I get my Hacking back... lol Hopefully it will have been such a success they'll bring it back next year. They already do the Europeans here every year...
 
Huge well done to the 2 Brits for finishing, and to those that helped or went along to support.
Euston park, its publicity and terrain looked brilliant but technical.

There is an CEI 2 star near to me this coming weekend, I will go along to cheer the Veteran riders, and also the 120k horses, so will get my fix of an International then.

FEI Tv, I wouldnt be without it, keeps me entertained for hours watching jumping dressage vaulting reining videos, just brilliant and fantastic value for a years sub !
 
I went up to watch the start which was so exciting and then saw them all come by our paddocks at about 11, and went back up about 3pm. Had a particular interest in the Australian team as they have been at our yard for the last 2 weeks and got to know them all really well. Sadly only 1 of them managed to complete the course and she did fantastically well as she was only about 16 and was one of the last ones to do the final loop before they cancelled the race due to the adverse weather conditions. So she was out there in all the rain and thunder. I completely take my hat off to her. Incredible guts to be out there on your own with no team mates in such horrible weather at that age.

It was incredible to see and I think the arab horses are just amazing. They look so flimsy but have incredible stamina, strength and courage. Bit of an anti climax now, it is all over and the Aussies go back tomorrow
 
Caramac, you lucky thing hosting the Aussie team!

Best result in years, well done Tricia & Alice!
 
Tricia 15th, Alice 25th.

Anglos are becoming more popular, some nations will use their native breeds (arabs aren't the only desert breed). Although at many levels any horse trained correctly can do up to 80km, those with talent (irrespective of breed) will do 160km. In reality, at the very highest levels arab blood is an advantage. They have the guts, determination & will to win. It's like you don't have to have wb to do dressage, & many other breeds can do well up to very high levels, but at the pinnacle those breeds (like wb & spanish) with a natural ability towards dressage will mainly be in evidence.
 
pip6 said:
In reality, at the very highest levels arab blood is an advantage. They have the guts, determination & will to win. It's like you don't have to have wb to do dressage, & many other breeds can do well up to very high levels, but at the pinnacle those breeds (like wb & spanish) with a natural ability towards dressage will mainly be in evidence.
Click to expand...

Although I guess I ought to point out that not all arabs are potential top level horses either - a non arab that has the right brain for the job will always beat an arab that doesn't.

Spud for example loves the low-middle distance stuff but if you ever asked him to do a long'un he'd be calling t'union ;) ;) ;)

It's horses for courses too. It's no accident that the further north you go in this country the more native crosses you see out there.

Last year's Central Asian endurance championships were won by native Kazakhstan Adai horses which trounced the arabs taking part: http://en.tengrinews.kz/environment/Adai-horses-win-the-race-1755/
 
The WEC was an absolutely fantastic day. At late notice we were invited to crew for the Qatar team. They wanted English speaking navigators to get to the crew points. This was an opportunity we jumped at, although we all agreed at the end that we were lucky to get away with our lives, as the Arabs' driving style was incredibly hair-raising! And the Qatar crew didn't have any old crew car - no - they opted for Porsche's, Mercs, Audis and BMWS! And in our team kit, we were fed and watered for the day in the Qatari hospitality marquee too. It was a fantastic opportunity, as we got to see that action at the venue, as well as out on course at the crew points. Although my loyalties are obviously with the British Team, I was pleased that one of our Qatari riders came individually 7th.

The storm at the end of the day was really something. I had stayed at the vetgate with a dedicated band of Brits (includinh PaulineH) to see Tricia Hirst through her final vetting. Got soaked to the skin, but was worth it to see Tricia's grin when Madjin passed, and for all the hugs at the end. Of course, my Driza and Muckboots were back at the tent, doing no good whatsoever. And yours truly had forgotten to put a spair pair of trousers in - so spent the rest of the evening/next day sporting baggy shorts with muckboots - not a good image!

All in all, a wonderful weekend I won't forget for a long time.
 
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