Conditions take their toll in WEG endurance

The endurance competition at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games concluded yesterday evening, with only 38 out of 165 starters completing the course.

Accident

The mass of riders set off at 7am local time, as dawn slowly broke in Sartilly. They were embarking on a 160k long course which included five loops, each coming back to the veterinary check point.

The early stages of the competition were marred by an equine fatality. Costa Rican rider Claudia Romero Chacon’s horse Dorada fell just 400m ahead of the first check point and hit a tree. The gelding sustained a head injury and was killed instantly.

The rider was taken to hospital where she underwent surgery for fractures and internal injuries. She is said to be in a serious but stable condition.

Two other unrelated incidents left Isha Judd with a fractured right femur, while Alberto Morales Morales was taken to hospital for observation after complaining of neck pain.

Challenging

Wet weather, difficult going and stringent veterinary checks were the reasons so few riders finished. Riders had to cope with ever-changing terrain, including wet sand on the second 35.8km loop in the bay of Mont St Michel.

“This was a World Equestrian Games and the course was extremely technical and extremely challenging,” said Brian Sheehan, chair of the FEI Endurance Committee,. “The weather made it even tougher and the vets were extremely careful to ensure that the horses were protected at all times, meaning that the number of finishers was unexpectedly low for a championship.”

Last year’s world number one in Endurance, Sabrina Arnold, withdrew her horse during the first loop, while defending World Equestrian Games champion Maria Alvarez Ponton, had a fall with Qualif du Poncelet on the third loop.

Winner

It was Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum who took individual honours in the competition that his father, Sheikh Mohammed, won four years earlier.

Riding his mare Yamamah, Sheikh Hamdan led from the start to win gold. The Netherlands’ Marijke Visser (Laiza de Jalima) won silver ahead of Qatar’s Abdulrahman Saad AS Al Sulaiteen and Koheilan Kincso.

Spain won the team title, ahead of France in silver, and Switzerland in bronze.

Only one Brit completed the race, with Beth Langley finishing 28th.