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Europe’s Elite Riders Ready for Endurance Championship
FEI.org - Full Article
16 June 2025
Words by Stacey Stearns
Reigning champion Sabrina Arnold looks ahead to Castiglione del Lago...
When the Zigulì FEI Endurance European Championship 2025 takes place on 21 June, the historic Castiglione del Lago (ITA) will transform into a global stage for equestrian grit, heart and horsepower.
With top combinations from across the continent converging on central Italy’s challenging terrain, anticipation is building for what promises to be a high-calibre contest testing strategy, stamina, and the ultimate partnership between horse and rider.
“Every championship is special,” said Germany’s Sabrina Arnold, who won Individual gold at the Europeans in 2023 with Easy El Boheira. “I like competing with my international friends. I don’t know the competition course, but it seems to be hilly with varying terrain.”
Endurance is about how the horse and athlete work together, the support from their crew, and how riders read the trail. That is what makes the discipline so special.
A challenging venue steeped in history
Castiglione del Lago, in the heart of the Apennines, on the shores of Lake Trasimeno, offers a technical and tactical test for even the most experienced riders. The trail winds through pine forests and grassy expanses, combining natural beauty with varied footing that demands careful pace management.
Read more here:
https://www.fei.org/stories/sport/endurance/european-championship-2025-sabrina-arnold-preview
Zigulì FEI Endurance European Championship 2025 set for June 21
June 16 2025
From 18 to 22 June 2025, Castiglione del Lago will become the centre of the international equestrian world, hosting the Zigulì FEI Endurance European Championship 2025, one of the most significant events in the endurance calendar. The competition will bring athletes, professionals and enthusiasts from across Europe to Umbria, transforming the area of the former Eleuteri Airport into an open and welcoming sports village.
The highlight will be the European Championship on Saturday 21 June, featuring around 100 riders from 22 countries. Participants will face a 160-kilometre course designed to enhance the unique features of the Umbrian landscape: a route crossing hills, medieval villages and lake areas, offering an immersive experience of sport, nature and culture.
The main venue, within the former Eleuteri airfield, will host both the start and finish of the race and serve as a hub for welcoming the public. Beyond the sporting competition, the event will foster encounters between professionals and audiences, with activities designed for families, children and horse lovers, all in an accessible and vibrant setting.
Stay tuned for more info!
http://www.endurance.net/international/Italy/2025EuropeanEnduranceChampionship/
2025 Old Dominion photos by Becky Pearman
2025 Old Dominion Endurance ride photos in Virginia by Becky
Pearman:
https://beckypearman.smugmug.com/Other/Endurance-2025/Old-Dominion
5 Lessons I Learned from a Major Riding Injury
TheSweatyEquestrian.com - Full Article
by Tamara Baysinger
It wasn’t even my injury.
The wreck happened to Layne, my dear friend who was just back on the endurance trail after her second spinal surgery in two years.
She hadn’t gone a mile from the start when it happened: Her horse, in a moment of impatient head-tossing, fell down. He got up unscathed, but she stayed on the ground with a tib-fib compound fracture.
After the weight of the horse himself, no more weight went on Layne’s leg for over three months. And even that was only the beginning.
The whole ordeal began thirteen months ago. Thirteen months of pain and celebration, of discouragement and adjustment, of discovery, of two steps forward and one step back. Thirteen months during which I’ve had the privilege of campaigning the horse in question – our frustrating and funny and powerful and fragile and astonishing and beloved Atlas. Thirteen months that have amounted to a masterclass in recovering from a major riding injury...
Read the rest here:
https://thesweatyequestrian.com/5-lessons-i-learned-from-a-major-riding-injury/
US Equestrian Announces U.S. Endurance Team and Young Riders for the 2025 FEI Endurance Pan American Championships
USEF.org
by US Equestrian Communications Dept. | Jun 12, 2025, 8:35 AM
Lexington, Ky. - US Equestrian is pleased to announce the athletes and horse combinations selected to compete on the U.S. Endurance Team and individually at the 2025 FEI Pan American Endurance Championships. Both Pan Am Championships will take place July 18, 2025, at Haras Albar, in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
The following athletes and horse combinations have been selected to compete on the Senior U.S. Endurance Team are listed in alphabetical order:
• Heather Davis (The Plains, Va.) and HM Kaiser Tesla, a 2016 Anglo-Arabian gelding owned by Haras Paso Manzanero
• Alternate: Ring of Fire CA, her own 2010 Arabian gelding
• Thomas Rajala (Hillsborough, N.C.) and Valente Heb, a 2009 Arabian gelding owned by Fernando De Mello Mattos Haaland
• Meg Sleeper (Frenchtown, N.J.) and RG Kares, a 2015 Arabian mare owned by Marcelo Ulsenheimer
• Cheryl van Deusen (New Smyrna Beach, Fla.) and Alcazar Richarson, a 2013 Anglo-Arabian gelding owned by Yvette Vinton
• Alternate: Madjule, a 2015 Arabian mare owned by Jose Ortega
• Nicole Wertz (Auburn, Calif.) and Little Sammy SV, her own 2015 Arabian gelding
The following athletes and horse combinations have been selected to compete as individuals in the FEI Endurance Pan American Young Riders & Juniors Championship and are listed in alphabetical order:
• Avery Betz-Conway (Kingsland, Ga.) and Zendaya Rach, a 2017 Arabian mare owned by Rach Stud Agropecuaria LTDA
• Uma Kraskin (Deland, Fla.) and Maggies Nchanted Pipi, a 2011 Arabian mare owned Evelyn Baig
Competition Information:
The 2025 FEI Endurance Pan American Championships at Haras Albar begins with the opening ceremony taking place at 4:30 pm/GMT-3 on July 16. Competition for both Senior and Young Riders will begin with pre-ride horse inspections at 10:00 am/GMT-3 on July 17 and conclude with Prize Giving and Closing Ceremony at 8:00 pm/GMT-3 on July 18.
More at:
https://www.usef.org/media/press-releases/us-equestrian-announces-us-endurance-team-and
City of Rocks: Year 9 on the way to Decade Team - Merri Melde
The Equestrian Vagabond Blog - Full Story
June 10 2025
by Merri Melde
Planning a ride season nowadays is pretty much a crap shoot, with work and other commitments and the West now always prone to exploding in fire and changing your plans for you.
My main Endurance goals for Hillbillie Willie and me are to have fun and maybe, just maybe achieve Decade Team, which is equine and rider teams who completed at least one 50-mile+ endurance ride each year for 10 years. This is year nine for Team Hillbillie Willie and Me.
We rode and finished a 25-miler at Eagle Canyon in April, but that is one hard hilly ride, and Willie is not a hill horse, so I wasn’t about to attempt a 50 there for his first ride of the season. It was a good hard training ride for him.
So along came the 3-day City of Rocks in Almo, Idaho, a ride we have put on, or helped put on, the last 15 years. This year I’d shoot days 1 and 2, and Cat would shoot day 3 so Willie and I could attempt a 50.
Heat, heat, heat, was in the forecast, though Day 3 was the kindest of them all. A small chance of thunderstorms were in the forecast, which I either prayed wouldn’t happen or just pretended they weren’t going to happen. City of Rocks can have some doozy storms on those hot summer days (oh, wait, it’s not even summer yet.) and boy am I scared of lightning.
I was hoping we’d find someone to ride with. While Willie can go alone or in company, and he appears to enjoy the 25 milers solo, I didn’t think he’d much like blazing 50 miles of the hot trails alone. We ended up starting out with Danielle and Huey, and companionably rode with them the entire day. Willie pretty much instantly makes best friends anybody he rides with and he of course thought Huey the Quarter horse was the Bomb...
Read more here:
https://theequestrianvagabond.blogspot.com/2025/06/city-of-rocks-year-9-on-way-to-decade.html
Equestrian adventurer Chloe Phillips-Harris never met a horse she couldn’t tame
ThePost.co.nz - Full Article
Bess Manson
June 6, 2025
Horse trainer, expedition leader and all-round adventurer. That’s some title to put on your business card, but Chloe Phillips-Harris is all this and more.
When she’s not taming horses and running equine events in the Bay of Islands, she’s traversing the Mongolian Steppe with a bunch of intrepid travellers on her Great Nomad Expeditions.
“I feel very lucky that I get to see parts of the world that not everyone gets to see,” she says.
“I do pinch myself sometimes.”
Ahead of her next expedition, Phillips-Harris talks to Bess Manson about being chased by wild dogs, getting detained in Kazakhstan and the kick she gets from being pushed to her absolute limits...
Read more here:
https://www.thepost.co.nz/culture/360713774/equestrian-adventurer-chloe-phillips-harris-never-met-horse-she-couldnt-tame
2025 City of Rocks photos by Merri Melde and Cat Cook
https://www.theequestrianvagabond.com/Clients-Endurance
Pre-ride the Tevis Trail – June 13-15
Is Tevis on your list for this year – or in the near future? Join the opportunity to pre-ride the hardest 50 miles of the Tevis trail with your horse.
In 2025, instead of the Tevis Educational Ride, the Western States Trail Foundation will host a two-day training ride on the actual Tevis trail on June 13-15. This training ride will cover the 50-mile stretch from Robinson Flat to the Lower Drivers Flat trailhead, located two miles before the Tevis Francisco’s vet check.
We require that all training ride entrants meet the same eligibility requirements as Tevis riders need to enter the ride (have previously completed The Tevis Cup 100 Mile Ride OR accumulated at least 300 miles on sanctioned rides of at least 35 miles/day in length).
This veterinary-monitored and fully supported training ride will offer you the opportunity to ride two technical sections of the trail close to the pace you hope to ride during the actual Tevis ride. This is an effective way to learn if you and your horse are ready to take on the ultimate endurance challenge – 2025 Tevis.
You will camp at the beautiful Chicken Hawk Staging Area/Campground. Horse water is plentiful. Plus, we will have a camp kitchen with delicious food. There will be plenty of time to visit in the evenings to share ideas and to get your questions answered...
More at http://www.endurance.net/international/USA/2025TevisCup/#TevisEdRide
HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad commends Royal Endurance Team’s win in France’s Florac Endurance Ride
BNA.bh - Full Article
31 May 2025
Manama, May 31 (BNA): His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Humanitarian Work and Youth Affairs and Captain of the Royal Endurance Team, commended the team’s victory, represented by Victorious Team, in taking first place at the Florac Endurance Ride in France.
Rider Salman Isa secured first place in the 120km open race, outperforming many European and Gulf riders. Rider Jaber Bader also took first place in the youth and juniors category, ahead of his European competitors...
Read more here:
https://www.bna.bh/en/National/HHShaikhNasserbinHamadcommendsRoyalEnduranceTeamswininFrancesFloracEnduranceRide.aspx?cms=q8FmFJgiscL2fwIzON1%2BDhZmLMOcfio%2BhDpNHIickTU%3D
China's longest, most challenging equestrian event kicks off in Xinjiang
ChinaDaily.com.cn - Full Article
By MAO WEIHUA and ZHENG CAIXIONG | chinadaily.com.cn |
The Super Derby International Equestrian TREC Endurance on Silk Road kicked off in Zhaosu county, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on Friday.
As the longest and most challenging equestrian event in China, the event has attracted a total of 71 riders from eight countries and regions, including the United States, Italy and France, to challenge their sporting limits, organizers said.
The youngest is only 14 years old while the oldest is 64.
The event's innovative fusion of equestrian endurance and orienteering features, adopting a multi-day segmented race format, presents unprecedented challenges to the physical fitness, intelligence, and collaborative abilities of riders and horses, said organizers.
The event, which will last until June 5, involves a professional category for a distance of 500 kilometers over seven days, and an amateur race spanning 220 km over three days...
Read more here:
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202505/31/WS683abbd8a310a04af22c2a1c.html
Managing Gastric Ulcers: What the Research Says
HorseSport.com - Full Article
By: Shannon Pratt-Phillips, PhD. | August 21, 2024
Research into drugs, therapies and nutritional management of equine ulcers is ongoing, and new information is being published monthly. One of the biggest changes to the area of ulcer management is the distinction of Equine Squamous Gastric ulcers (ESGD) that occur in the upper, less protected region of the stomach, and Equine Glandular Gastric ulcers (EGGD), those that occur in the glandular region. By recognizing the types, and causative factors, we can be more accurate in management.
Squamous ulcers occur in the squamous area, that is above the margo plicatus, where there is little to no mucous or protection against stomach acids. Ulcers occur here generally when there is a “splashing” of acid from the lower part of the stomach, which can happen with exercise (when the abdominal muscles constrict on the stomach) or when there is less of a physical barrier between the acidic liquid and the squamous mucosa, both of which can be made worse by an exaggerated acidic environment.
Glandular ulcers occur in the areas of the lower stomach, where glands secrete acids, but where there is normally extensive mucous protection. With these ulcers, both increased acidity and reduced mucous production may contribute to ulcer development...
Read more here:
https://horsesport.com/magazine/health/managing-gastric-ulcers-what-the-research-says/?vgo_ee=5tWN3Fk7Udbdf%2FbNvIXS%2BLMFg4h818Fl%2F2xH5vSdcUz0UtYHM5qu%3AqY%2FVz0IfydQXoQ6Ii%2Bk3YNqty8lLf7xQ
2025 Caja del Río photos by Linda Sherrill
2025 Caja del Río Endurance ride photos in New Mexico by Linda
Sherrill, Justus Photography:
https://www.lindasherrill.com/proofing/caja-del-rio-endurance-ride-2025
2025 Mary and Anna Memorial photos by Jala Neufeld and Andrea Hurn
2025 Mary and Anna Memorial Endurance ride photos in Oregon by Jala
Neufeld, DKTAJAY Photography:
https://dktajay.smugmug.com/event/MAMR-2025/8wMQJ2
And Andrea Hurn
https://amhphotography.instaproofs.com/gallery/#events
2025 Broxton Bridge Let’s Have Fun Riding photos by Becky Pearman
2025 Broxton Bridge Let’s Have Fun Riding Endurance ride photos in
Florida by Becky Pearman:
https://beckypearman.smugmug.com/Other/Endurance-2025/Broxton-Lets-Have-Fun-May
Australia: Keeping it (the Quilty) in the family
NoosaTodeay.com.au - Full Article
25/05/2025 by Erle Levey
It was a gallop finish for the coveted Tom Quilty 2025 Gold Cup with Queensland’s Sample family repeating history.
Imbil’s Matthew Sample and brother Brook, from Kenilworth, were equal winners of the 160km endurance ride in 2009 at Tonimbuk, near Pakenham in Victoria.
Now Nikki Sample, wife of Matthew, and Matty Sample, 21-year-old son of Brook, have tied in 2025 for what is regarded as Australia’s premier horse riding endurance event.
They crossed the line at Sassafras, in northern Tasmania, with raised arms. They were just a couple of minutes ahead of the fast-finishing Ben Hudson – a two-times winner of the Tom Quilty...
Read more here:
https://noosatoday.com.au/news/25-05-2025/keeping-it-in-the-family/
UAE Team puts on stunning overall show at Royal Windsor Endurance
Windsor, Great Britain: Colours of the United Arab Emirates flag fluttered
gloriously in British sunshine on Friday after Team UAE put on a dominant show to
reclaim the CEI3* 160 km ride at Royal Windsor Endurance.
The ride was the feature among three international events that made up the 2025
Royal Windsor Endurance programme and the UAE team performed splendidly as
MRM Stables’ Saif Al Mazrouei clinched a second victory at the event, nine years
after his first in 2016, with a commanding performance in the saddle of Bullio
Quasillo, trained by Bhanwar Singh. The pair held top spot on the leaderboard over
the five loops to win in seven hours, 19 minutes and 34 seconds having raced at an
average speed of 21.84 kph.
Al Mazrouei finished 16 seconds ahead of UAE counterpart Saeed Hamoud Al
Khayari, the 2017 winner, who partnered M7 Endurance Stables’ Dragon Feuillee,
trained by Saeed Ahmad Al Shamsi. While Al Khayari remained rooted to second
throughout, Bahrain’s Fahad Helal Al Khatri held on to third place all the way
aboard Fizz Fageole...
Goldstreamgazette.com - Full Article
Langley backs off of bylaws requiring riders to clean up after their mounts on Township streets and trails
Matthew Claxton
May 12, 2025 7:47 AM
Local equestrian riders won a second change in Langley Township's bylaw governing public spaces, after council voted to soften requirements that riders clean up horse manure off public streets and trails.
The Township has been considering an updated public spaces regulation bylaw. Broad bylaws like these are updated every few years to keep them current.
However, the version that was put forward this spring drew the ire of Langley's horse riding community, who turned up in significant numbers in March after local rider Gloria Stelting noticed the provision in the changed regulations. As written, the bylaw would have banned horses from public streets.
At a March 24 meeting, council voted to quash that section of the bylaw, allowing horses to travel on public roads, as equestrians have done for decades across rural areas of Langley...
Read more here:
https://www.goldstreamgazette.com/news/poop-scooping-will-be-optional-for-horseback-riders-in-this-bc-town-8001327
Horse-canada.com - Full Article
A recent tragic bee attack that killed three horses in Texas brings the possibility of bee stings to light; here's what you can do to treat and prevent them.
By: Kim Izzo | May 14, 2025
As summer unfurls across Canada, there is an increased likelihood that your horse or pony may encounter stinging insects such as bees, hornets and wasps. And while a single sting is unlikely to cause injury or illness to your animal, multiple stings can be deadly.
Last week in Comanche County, Texas, three horses died after an attack by a huge swarm of aggressive Africanized bees. An undetected beehive was to blame, as the owners didn’t know it was there when they moved the horses to the new paddock. First responders arrived on scene and pulled the people into an ambulance. According to the news report, one of the owners and a firefighter donned beekeeping gear and attempted to save the horses. Soapy water was hosed onto the animals to try and stop the attack. Unfortunately, all three horses later died at an equine hospital due to organ failure from the venom...
Read more here:
https://horse-canada.com/magazine/health/ouch-my-horse-got-stung-by-bee/?vgo_ee=yicAogLqnD774JjsZ%2B4MuqBr3%2Fed%2B%2BzcB9hok4HlVU6RPX%2BQdc%2Bn%3AMD5yItgAEw1VMp81oIRJtOmEiHwRgimI
Read more here:
http://news.endurance.net/2025/05/uae-team-puts-on-stunning-overall-show.html
Poop-scooping will be optional for horseback riders in this B.C. town
Goldstreamgazette.com - Full Article
Langley backs off of bylaws requiring riders to clean up after their mounts on Township streets and trails
Matthew Claxton
May 12, 2025 7:47 AM
Local equestrian riders won a second change in Langley Township's bylaw governing public spaces, after council voted to soften requirements that riders clean up horse manure off public streets and trails.
The Township has been considering an updated public spaces regulation bylaw. Broad bylaws like these are updated every few years to keep them current.
However, the version that was put forward this spring drew the ire of Langley's horse riding community, who turned up in significant numbers in March after local rider Gloria Stelting noticed the provision in the changed regulations. As written, the bylaw would have banned horses from public streets.
At a March 24 meeting, council voted to quash that section of the bylaw, allowing horses to travel on public roads, as equestrians have done for decades across rural areas of Langley...
Read more here:
https://www.goldstreamgazette.com/news/poop-scooping-will-be-optional-for-horseback-riders-in-this-bc-town-8001327
Ouch! My Horse Got Stung by a Bee
Horse-canada.com - Full Article
A recent tragic bee attack that killed three horses in Texas brings the possibility of bee stings to light; here's what you can do to treat and prevent them.
By: Kim Izzo | May 14, 2025
As summer unfurls across Canada, there is an increased likelihood that your horse or pony may encounter stinging insects such as bees, hornets and wasps. And while a single sting is unlikely to cause injury or illness to your animal, multiple stings can be deadly.
Last week in Comanche County, Texas, three horses died after an attack by a huge swarm of aggressive Africanized bees. An undetected beehive was to blame, as the owners didn’t know it was there when they moved the horses to the new paddock. First responders arrived on scene and pulled the people into an ambulance. According to the news report, one of the owners and a firefighter donned beekeeping gear and attempted to save the horses. Soapy water was hosed onto the animals to try and stop the attack. Unfortunately, all three horses later died at an equine hospital due to organ failure from the venom...
Read more here:
https://horse-canada.com/magazine/health/ouch-my-horse-got-stung-by-bee/?vgo_ee=yicAogLqnD774JjsZ%2B4MuqBr3%2Fed%2B%2BzcB9hok4HlVU6RPX%2BQdc%2Bn%3AMD5yItgAEw1VMp81oIRJtOmEiHwRgimI