"Through my continuous observation on the preparational procedures, I am quite satisfied with what has been accomplished here at the village specially in terms of providing safety for the riders as well as providing them with all important equipment for the horses," said Williams ahead of yesterday's inaugural ceremony. Williams asserted the FEI's satisfaction with what the Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation has accomplished during their preparations for this event in terms of transporting the horses to the stables at the village.

"In a very short period, Bahrain showed major developments in endurance sport and their riders displayed competitive performance on the international level," he said.

"All that Bahrain has accomplished is because of the huge support of the Bahrain federation and of course the leadership for the prosperity and progress of this sport in the Kingdom," said Williams. He said the registration of the riders will be made just before the race and in accordance with the FEI rules being implemented in all championships. Williams asserted that all the riders should obey rules and regulations in terms of registration to avoid any confusion and wished them best of luck.

Meanwhile, course designer Fahad Al Rumaihi confirmed that the race route is compatible with FEI specifications. The race will cover a total distance of 120 kms divided into five stages. "There will be water stops and some marks around the course to help the riders stay on the right track," said Al Rumaihi. He confirmed that there were no obstacles for the course officials but there were some observations by the Breef technical committee and the FEI. Asked whether he designed other courses outside Bahrain, Al Rumaihi said it is his first time to design a course but he saw several courses in the region after attending the World Championship in Dubai in January and the GCC championship in February in Doha. He said the Sakhir course was designed last year after a warm up race held in December. He praised the condition of the Sakhir course which does not have any obstacles and is very comfortable and safe to ride on.

Shaikh Nasser arrives for challenge
Bahrain's national endurance team captain Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa will arrive today ahead of the Gulf Energy World Junior Endurance Championship being held in Sakhir.

Shaikh Nasser, the Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation president, has been studying abroad and is now ready to lead the team in this prestigious event which will be over 120 kms with 140 riders, representing 30 countries, in the fray tomorrow.

The first two stages will be over 30 kms while the third stage will be over 25 kms. The fourth stage will be over 20 kms and the fifth and final stage will consist of 15 kms. "I have been following our team's preparation for this championship during my stay abroad and we are very excited to go head to head with top class riders from across the world," said Shaikh Nasser. Hosting such an event is a big challenge for Bahrain where endurance sport started just five years ago, he said. Shaikh Nasser, who will be leading the 12-member Bahrain national team in the championship, thanked the International Equestrian Federation for giving Bahrain the honour of hosting the race to be held on Saturday and divided into five stages.

"This championship will draw the attention of millions around the world having 30 countries taking part, which has never happened in any event in the past," said Shaikh Nasser. He tipped the UAE, France, Australia, Belgium, Australia and Bahrain to clinch podium positions and said these teams have a vast experience in endurance races. The Breef chief praised the efforts of the organising committee, headed by General Organisation for Youth and Sports president Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, which made the arrangements in preparing the endurance village which will be the venue of the race.

Shaikh Nasser welcomed the teams in Bahrain and the remaining delegations to arrive, including the Qatari squad which is expected to reach the Kingdom today. The delegation will be headed by Qatar Equestrian Federation's endurance committee chairman Shaikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani who will also take part in tomorrow's race. The remaining Qatari riders are Shaikh Mohammed bin Nawaf Al Thani, Abdulla Al Marri, Khalid Al Atiyah, Saad Al Kuwari and Hamad Al Marri. It will be Shaikh Mohammed's second race in Bahrain having taken part in a qualifying race for this championship earlier this years.

Meanwhile, Breef first vice-president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa received yesterday the UAE's Shaikh Khalid bin Sultan Al Nahyan on arrival at the Bahrain airport. Shaikh Khalid Al Nahyan will be taking part in the race along with five other riders - Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Shaikh Majid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Shaikh Juma Dalmook Al Maktoum and Shaikh Abdulla bin Faisal Al Qassimi. The veterinary examination for the horses will be held today, starting at 9am at the village premises. The examination which is supervised by recognised veterinarians assigned by the FEI, will be made according to the alphabetical order and will continue until late in the night.

The championship has drawn the attention of the media in many countries in the region and world-wide. Delegations from Sky TV and BBC Prime arrived in Bahrain yesterday to cover the championship. Other TV stations, including Al Jazeera Sports Channel and Qatar Satellite TV also reached Bahrain.

She said the committee had taken a number of decision at their meetings which will help various countries around the world to improve their equestrian sports. Borbon congratulated the US delegation for winning the bid to hosting the World Equestrian Games to be held in 2010 in Lexington, Kentucky.

She also appreciated the efforts of the French delegation which also vied to host the games and wished their country better luck in the future. The FEI chief presented commemorative gifts to Shaikh Fawaz and Shaikh Khalid in appreciation to their efforts in organising the World Championship. On his part, Breef second vice-president Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa welcomed the FEI chief and members to Bahrain and thanked FeI for giving Bahrain a chance to host this prestigious World Championship. The event will be held over 120 kms divided over five stages. The first two stages will be over 30 kms each while the third will be over 25 kms. The fourth will be over 20 kms and the fifth and final over 15 kms.

"We have a great trust in the organising committee's ability to excel and do an impeccable job that meets the satisfaction of the world equestrian federation," said Shaikh Khalid who is also captain of Al Khaldiya Stable.

"The Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation has provided top class facilities to the visiting delegations to gain their admiration and make sure everything is going on as planned," he said.

Shaikh Khalid praised the continuous support of His Majesty King Hamad to the equestrian sports in general and specifically endurance races which has contributed to development of this sport in the region". I am very pleased to be representing Bahrain in this world championship," said Bahraini rider Abdulaziz. "For me, this event will be a completely different experience. The whole world will have their eyes on us and riding with some of the best riders in the world is quite a dream for any rider," he young rider said. "We have been training very hard in recent weeks and my teammates are keen to accomplish a good result in the championship," added Abdulaziz. Shaikha Najla also said she was proud to be in the Bahraini team.

"We all know how tough this championship will be, but on the other hand we also have reached the top of our form as we have been training so hard for weeks together here at the endurance village," she said. She said that hosting this event will be a major boost for Bahrain which has become one of the leading countries in hosting world championships. "I am so excited about this event. It is my first international appearance and it's going to be a new challenge for me," said Fahad. "The team will definitely gain more experience from this championship," he said.
Ahmed was also delighted to have been selected. "It is an honour for me to represent the Kingdom at such an event. That only adds more responsibilities on us to give off our best performance," he said.
"The world championships are already tough as the best riders from around the globe are taking part, but we have prepared well too," said Ahmed.

Top endurance chief in Bahrain
International Equestrian Federation (FEI) president Infanta Dona Pillarde of Spain arrived in Bahrain last night to chair the FEI bureau meetings to be held on the sidelines of the World Junior Endurance Championship. This prestigious event will be held at the Endurance Village in Sakhir from December 15 to 18.

Pillarde was received by General Organisation for Youth and Sports president and organising committee chairman Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa.

Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef) second vice-president Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, championship director Shaikh Daij bin Salman Al Khalifa were also present to welcome Pillarde. Pillarde said she was delighted to be in Bahrain and confident of Bahrain's ability to host such a big event. Pillarde added that Bahrain was one of the leading nations in hosting international endurance sevents and thanked the organisers for their efforts. The FEI will hold its first meeting tomorrow to discuss the final preparations being made for hosting the event.

The FEI panel includes members from South Korea, Austria, UK, Sweden, South Africa, the US, Argentina, Venezuela, Norway, Dominican Republic, Australia, Brazil, Holland, Greece, Belgium, Switzerland, Ireland, France and New Zealand. Meanwhile, officials and riders from Brazil and Botswana arrived yesterday and were welcomed on arrival by a special public relations team, headed by Yousef Bubsheit. The technical committee members held a training course for security guards at the Endurance Village in Sakhir. The guards, representing the National Guard, were given directives by the committee to follow the FEI rules and regulations. A total of 140 riders, representing 30 countries from across the world, will be competing at this championship which will be over 120 kms divided into five stages. The first two stages will be over 30 kms while the third stage will be over 25 kms. The fourth stage will be over 20 kms and the fifth and final stage will consist of 15 kms.

The team is captained by Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef) president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and includes Breef first vice-president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Shaikha Najla bint Salman Al Khalifa, Mohammed Abdulsamad, Abdulaziz Adam, Salem Al Otaibi, Ahmed Hassan, Shaikh Saqer bin Khalid Al Khalifa, Maytham Ahmed, Ebrahim Al Jebouri, Mohammed Abdulaziz and Fahad Sulaiman. They were selected from among 24 riders according to their performance and results in previous races. Shaikh Nasser praised the efforts of the organising committee, headed by General Organisation for Youth and Sports president Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa to ensure the success of this event which coincides with the Kingdom's National Day celebrations and His Majesty King Hamad's accession to the throne. Shaikh Nasser also welcomed the teams which arrived for the championship and said the event will be very competitive having the top junior riders from around the globe in the fray. He said in Bahrain the sport has become popular and many young enthusiasts are taking part in the national championships which is a good sign as it will bring new talents to represent the Kingdom in regional and international events. Shaikh Nasser extended his appreciation to His Majesty for his continuous support to all Bahraini team members as well as to other sports.
Meanwhile, a total of 140 riders, representing 30 countries, will be competing at this championship which will be over 120 kms and divided into five stages. The first two stages will be over 30km, 25km for the third, 20km for the fourth and 15km for the fifth. Each country is allowed a maximum of six riders for the race to be held on December 17. Among regional delegations which arrived yesterday included Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The Jordanian delegation consists of Tareq Rabea, Yara Aslan, Shakeeb Qabbani, Hanna Bhouti and Ali Abu Rabea while the Qatari team includes Sa'ad Al Kuwari, Hamad Al Mirri, Shaikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Shaikh Mohammed bin Nawaf Al Thani, Abdulla Al Mirri and Khalid Al Attiya. Mohammed Al Dekheel, Abdulaziz bin Amer, Abdulaziz Ebrahim, Ali Al Hashim, Bander bin Mahfood and Humood Al Shimmiri will be riding for Saudi Arabia while Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Maktoum will be leading the UAE team which is one of the favourites for the championship.
Other team members are Shaikh Majid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Shaikh Khalid bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Shaikh Juma'a bin Dalmook Al Maktoum, Shaikh Abdulla bin Faisal Al Qassimi and Rashid Saeed. The horses also arrived in Bahrain via Holland on private jets. On arrival, the horses were moved to the quarantines section after special procedures arranged by the technical committee. Most of the teams have fielded six riders for the championship while the US and Malaysia will be represented by only one rider each.

Bahrain coaches step up training
Bahrain's riders stepped up their preparations for the 120-km World Endurance Junior Championship scheduled to be held at the Endurance Village in Sakhir from December 15 to 18.

Bahrain will be among 48 countries taking part in this prestigious event which consists of five stages with the first two stages to be held over 30 kms. The third stage will be over 25 kms, the fourth over 20 and the fifth and final over 15 kms.The 24-member team, led by Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef) president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, will be reduced to 12 next week depending on the riders fitness and results in previous races.Seven coaches are managing the Bahraini riders who are practicing on a daily basis ahead of the championship."Our preparations started in August, but we did not have extensive training due to the hot weather conditions," said coach Khalid Flamirzi who is in charge of Bahraini riders Ahmed Abdulaziz and Maytham Ahmed, both representing Al Salam Equestrian School."Everything is going according to our training scheduled and the riders are expected to reach peak fitness by December 15," said Flamirzi.Compete."We have our own horses but it was decided that both riders will have to compete on special horses from the Royal Endurance Team since they will be representing the Kingdom," he said.
"Maytham is different from the other riders when it comes to his weight. The significant thing about him is that he only weights 30 kgs which is an advantage for him. Maytham is also a very courageous person and energetic. I believe he can give a good performance in the championship," said Flamirzi.
"Ahmed he is more quite, but is more experienced than Maytham and I wish them both good luck," he said. Salem Al Otaibi and Mohammed Abdulaziz are coached by veteran Yousef Taher."Salem and Mohammed are training hard and are excited. Personally, I believe they can do well in the championship although most of the teams taking part have experienced riders," said Taher.Taher thanked the organisers for their efforts to make this event a success, particularly His Majesty King Hamad and Shaikh Nasser for their continuous support. Abdulhaq Qadori, who is coaching Mohammed Abdulsamad, said he is satisfied with the training programme and praised the abilities of his rider. "Mohammed has show great discipline. He is a wonderful young rider who gained some experience after competing in a number of local and GCC races," said Qadori. Qadori said he is proud of coaching someone like Mohammed who has a very competitive spirit. "The competition is going to be very tough for Mohammed as well as the other Bahraini riders. But they are capable of doing well in a world class field," he said.

A 14-member Australian delegation consists of five riders and nine crew members.
Namibia's delegation also arrived yesterday with a total of 10 members, including six riders. Hungary landed on Tuesday and will be represented by two riders.

Technical committee co-ordinator Dr Abbas Al Haiki said participating horses had also started to arrive yesterday. The last batch of horses are expected to arrive by tomorrow.
Al Haiki is co-ordinating between the Bahrain Royal Equestrian Federation (Breef) and the Bahrain International Airport for the smooth transport of the horses to the Endurance Village."On arrival in Bahrain all horses will be loaded into specially designed boxes before beginning a 50-minute drive to Sakhir," said Al Haiki.
Al Haiki said the organising committee will also be providing shuttle bus service between the hotel and the venue of the championship and vice versa for all participating riders and officials. "The committee will also provide one four-wheel drive vehicle to each delegation on the day of the event," he said.

Dr Canabo Milo of the Royal Court and International Equestrian Federation's representative Dr Marcello Cante are the doctors in charge of the championship.Meanwhile, a delegation of top specialists arrived in Bahrain to follow up the arrangements being made at the stables in Sakhir."

The stables are now ready to receive the horses arriving from across the world," said Al Zo'bi."This tournament is a big challenge for us and other committees. We are working hard and giving off our best to gain the respect of overseas participants and officials."

The 2005 Championship promises to be the largest competition of its kind to date, and will play host to more than 150 expected entries from a record 33 participating countries.

Van Raalte will compete on the 75-mile course with either “Saif Al Arab” or “Aliya,” both owned by Sheikha Madiya Al Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates.

Bahrain Team riders at the Recent Trans Tasman Challenge (l to r) Sasha Laws-King , Brooke Warner , Amily Daw , Kristie McGaffin.
© Mal Caldwell AES Media 2005

FEI world Endurance Championships for Juniors and Young Riders. Bahrain , 17 December 2005.
Australian team announcement :

Officials: Chef D'Equipe : Robin van der Wegen Team Veterinarian : Narelle Bull
Crew Manager John Simpson
Horses and Riders : Short List:
Kristie Mc.Gaffin / Kurrajong Sequel (owned by Castlebar Endurance, Meg wade and Chris Gates)
Amily Daw / Castlebar Kadeen (owned by Castlebar Endurance, Meg wade and Chris Gates)
Sasha Laws-King / Castlebar Khalifa (owned by Castlebar Endurance , Meg wade and Chris Gates)
Brooke Warner / Piabun Ellalong (Owned by Toft Endurance, Peter Toft)
Luke Annetts / Tallawarra Quality (Owned by Tallawarra Endurance, Terry Wood)
Jenny Annetts / Schuska (Owned by Castlebar, Meg wade and Chris Gates)
Reserve Horses:
Bramall Jazzmin (Toft Endurance, Peter Toft), Churinga Witezan's Dream (Lady Denise Trollope)

FOR MORE INFO PLEASE VISIT: http://www.bahrainendurance.com/world/index.asp

The FEI has learned, from the Organising Committee of the 2005 FEI World Endurance Championships for Juniors and Young Riders, that a total of 33 countries have indicated their intention to compete at the event in December.

Nominated Entries for the Championship are due in by the 7th November 2005 and the Organisers comment that every indication so far is for a record number of entries to be confirmed.

The Organisers have arranged, through their shipping agents Peden Bloodstock, to fly in excess of 100 horses including an estimated 26 from South America from Maastricht over two days on the 1st and 2nd December thereby allowing the horses some two weeks to settle into their new, purpose built, stables at the venue in Bahrain.

Horses from Europe and South America will be flown via the Netherlands whilst horses from Australia will transit the UAE to Bahrain and those from the GCC and Middle East countries will arrive closer to the date of the event which is being held on the 16th and 17th December.

The total entries are likely to exceed 150 horses. With a rider, two crew members, a team Chef and a team Vet the OC will play host to some 500 people not to mention the 35 or more Event officials who will be officiating at the Championships.

The FEI Chairman of the Endurance Committee commented that the generosity of the Organisers meant that the 2005 Championship will be the biggest Junior/Young Rider event so far.

He went on to say that all of those attending will have the opportunity to compete over a challenging course and to enjoy the facilities of the new, purpose built, venue which has been constructed especially for this event.

The opening ceremony will take place on the 15th December and the closing ceremony on the 18th December.

Peden Bloodstock will then start flying the horses back into Europe on the 19th December well ahead of the upcoming holidays.

The Australian team is as follows :

Officials :

Chef D’Equipe Robin Van Der Wegen

Team Veterinarian Leanne Le Clair

Horses and Riders Short List

Kristie Mc.Gaffin / Wybalena Lodge Shushka

Amily Daw / Castlebar Kadeen

Sasha Laws-King / Tubbarubba Cheval

Brooke Warner / Bramall Jazzmin

Luke Annetts / Tallawarra Quality

Jenny Annetts / Churinga Witezan’s Dream

Reserve Horses Kurrajong Sequel and Castlebar Khalifa

http://www.aera.asn.au/users/aerahome/

The 20-year-old from Meifod has been chosen for the British team due to compete at the Bahrain staged championships this December after a tough selection process that climaxed at the Sherwood Ride this autumn.

The selection process went very well and this year we had nine strong horses ready to go to Bahrain, compared to only six last year, said Philip.

I spent three weeks in Dubai training last winter where the conditions were quite decent and I expect them to be the same out in Bahrain.

Philip also flew over to Bahrain last year to take part in a ?dry run? for the Championships, so has some idea of what to expect.

Philip will ride the 15.1hh pure bred Arab Vlacq Khamul, who came from the Vlacq Stud in North Wales and has been with the Hirst family for five years.

The pair won The Dukeries 160km Ride at the beginning of the season to bring them to the selector?s attention and also finished fifth at a 120km International ride in France.
http://www.endurance.net/channels/news.html

Horse Flights

Peden Bloodstock, acting on behalf of the Higher Committee & Organising Committee of the World Endurance Championships is coordinating the flights and transport arrangements of all horses to and from Bahrain.

In order to ensure that there is enough capacity available on the OC chartered aircraft for your horses to and from Bahrain please advise by the 1st November 2005 how many horses you intend to fly to these championships.

All European based horses will travel to Bahrain on charter flights departing from Maastricht, Holland. The provisional schedules are as follows:-