2009 “FIND THE FILLY” FUN RIDE
SA Arabs Inc. once again held their annual fun ride, Find The Filly. The ride was held on Sunday 21st June at Starkeys Base, Mt Crawford, and after some very cold and miserable weather leading up to the ride, the sun came out and it was just the most beautiful day. Large numbers had booked but we were staggered to find 94 people entering on the day. There were a few on bicycles and some on foot but the vast majority were on a huge selection of horses, ranging from tiny Shetlands up to large warmbloods and thoroughbreds and everything in between. SA Arabs Inc. members turned up and quite a few from the local endurance club, SAERA and lots more trail riders and those just out for a pleasant jaunt.
Eventually they all returned safely to base. As one would expect some of the endurance riders were the first to finish, but first to finish wasn’t necessarily the winner. The riders had to collect 2 envelopes whilst out on their ride and were handed another one as they finished the ride. When all had completed everyone congregated at the camp site and opened their envelopes. The winner was the one with a playing card which had a picture of a “Filly” on it. This was Fiona Clapin and she had the choice of a $50 cash prize donated by SA Arabs Inc. or one of two beautiful oil paintings, painted and donated by SA Arabs artist and rider Ellen Steyn. Fiona chose the money and second and third highest scores were Kaylah Aistrope and Madeleine Brennan who took the paintings. After that scores were called out from the highest downwards and everyone was able to choose something from the table. Prizes had been donated by many people and included saddle cloths, halters, grooming bits and pieces, books, pictures, coffee mugs, and bags of carrots for the most important star of the day, the horse.
A sausage sizzle and coffee making facilities were available. Poor Darren Leaver who had worked so hard prior to the ride was not feeling at all well and had to go home early. Jo Trigg and her son Matt were a tremendous help at the table and with the sausage sizzle. While Carly Cocks was out enjoying the ride her dad helped by handing out envelopes on course and Sue Wiltshire and friends made sure everyone had arrived back safely and handed out the final envelopes. Our thanks go to everyone who helped out and who donated prizes for the most successful “Find The Filly” to date. We hope everyone will come again next year.
GO TO PHOTO GALLERY TO SEE PHOTOS
FEI World Endurance Championships 2008 Malaysia
Monday: The Australian media, Matt Bennet and Sharon Meyers flew into
Terengganu yesterday, Matt from Tasmania and myself from Brisbane.
Upon arrival the Australians (there were quite a few of us) were
warmly welcomed at the airport by representatives of the organising
committee. After collecting our baggage we boarded a bus and were
driven to our hotels. My hotel was the Primula Beach Resort
overlooking the South China Sea.
The drive between the airport and the hotel was interesting with a
mixture of old and new housing, from run down shanties to ultra modern
and stylish homes. Lots of hustle and bustle on the roads - motor
scooters and cars traveling in all directions, including the wrong
side of the road on the odd occasion! Throw in a few wandering cattle
and by the looks of it you can be assured of an adventurous trip
wherever you travel.
Our feet had hardly touched the elegant tiled foyer of Primula before
we were whisked away by John Simpson (Media and Crew Manager) to the
ride venue – a trip of around 45 minutes duration. As we pulled up at
the grounds, the first thing we noticed was the huge white marquee
that hogged the landscape. Apparently this was the airconditioned
dinning room!
After a delicious lunch we had the opportunity to visit the Australian
stables. Due to quarantine regulations we were unable to enter them or
the grounds they were on, so waited until the horses came out for
their exercise. They looked fantastic and apparently all are traveling
extremely well.
We then went out on track. From the areas we drove along it looked
flat and soft – sandy but not heavy sand. We viewed the crewing areas
as well. They have three large lights to illuminate each area, so
hopefully we will be able to photograph at them. We went down along a
road that paralled the beach, where there was great view out to an
island and the water certainly looked cool and inviting. A couple of
horses were swimming while we were there – not sure what country they
came from but we jumped out and took a few snaps of them. I heard a
rumour there are crocodiles around, but we never saw any sign of them.
In the evening there was a welcoming dinner with a live band. They
were pretty good too and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The trip
back to the hotel had a festive feel to it because of coloured
lighting lining many of the roads. I guess we arrived back at our
hotel around 11.30pm – it had been a long day indeed.
Tuesday: We went out to the venue mid-morning to the media room to
organize photos and this report to be sent out. Due to a few emailing
problems I have been delayed getting this to you all.
Must admit it’s wonderful seeing so many countries being represented
here. I chatted with a few of the Columbian crew at lunch today – they
were having a great time.
Later this afternoon we are going to photograph the Aussies and their
horses and then it’s off to the Aussie get-together.
For those curious about the weather – it’s hot and humid.
Until next time.
Cheers in haste,
Sharon Meyers
CAMBRAI ENDURANCE RIDE - 13/14 September 2008
What a weekend! Saturday started well with vet, Harry Ousley, vetting fourteen 80km horses and five 40km horses. Most of the thirteen horses for the 20km ride were vetted on Sunday morning. Very sensibly, I went home on Saturday night to sleep, but the poor riders and their assorted helpers had to endure unbelievable high winds, with tents blowing away and getting wrecked. Happily the horses all seemed to cope very well. Luckily it had quietened down when the 80km riders set off at 5.30am. There were two 40km legs, the first going one way around the hills and the second going in the reverse direction. The ride leaves the Oval on tarmac and after crossing the main road through Cambrai proceeds along dirt roads and then up and across the beautiful hills before dropping back down to more level ground. Apparently the views are tremendous from the top of those hills but discussing the views with your fellow rider was impossible as the wind howled with unrelenting ferocity. Down to more civilized ground and back to base. Despite some rocky going all but two vetted through safely. A couple of shoes were cast on the way round so carrying a boot with you at all times is no doubt an excellent idea. The 40km riders did the first leg of the 80km ride so they too had to brave the wild conditions at the top of the hills. Four of the five vetted through with Nicole Starkey doing her very first ride under the guidance of Jil Bourton. The weather back at base was beautiful all day with only some minor windy moments. The thirteen riders on the 20km leg had set off at 11am and included some first timers and also some who had only tried it once before, despite it looking quite hairy in the early kilometres, they all completed safely and after speaking to those who were trying it for the first time, they just can’t wait to try again, unfortunately we only have a couple of rides left on the calendar this season. We were thrilled to have 3 youngsters, Kelsey Bright is already a member and competes beautifully on her tiny Welsh Mountain Pony, we believe she even showed granddad up at the weekend who appeared to be less in control than Kelsey – sorry Ray!! We hope the other two will soon become Junior members and continue to enjoy riding with us. In the 80km ride we had 2 juniors, one from Victoria who unfortunately vetted out, and our own Tessa Wiedmann who rode Diara Little Jem and became a qualified endurance rider. Many congratulations to Tessa. There were five lightweights with Brianna Bainger riding Inman Park Nevation (Neville) and Cheryl Bullock riding Chip Chase Knight (Red) crossing the line together with Neville going on to gain the Best Conditioned Jun/Lwt award. There were 6 middleweights with Jodie Luck riding Nangana Madoukhar (Duke) and Jody Knowles riding Natassija (Pearl) finishing together and they were followed by, dare I say the older generation, of Maggi Winn riding Wompini Padimelon and Bob Gurr riding Bindii Bint Grevillea who also finished holding hands for equal 3rd place. We only had one heavyweight and it was Bronya Kennedy on Faye Gallagher’s stallion, Shangrala El Silverado, know to all as Stormy. Faye tells me that Stormy hasn’t done an 80km ride for 3 years so she was thrilled to bits with him and although he usually pretends that he is extremely tired he had a much more positive attitude, so look out Stormy you may well have a harder future mapped out for you. Best Conditioned Mwt/Hwt was awarded to Natassija and Jody Knowles also won the raffle prize of a round bale of hay donated by local hay supplier, Louis Seidel (he also provided the excellent food over the weekend, and Tessa Wiedman received a bale of lucerne hay donated by local grower, Barry Matthews, and also a cap as encouragement following her qualification as an endurance rider. It was a most successful ride and a huge vote of thanks goes to the ride organizers, Jess Shillabeer and Bob Masters and, of course, to all the helpers.
We all know how much we need rain, but nobody really wanted it to rain all day on Sunday!!! It ranged from drizzle to real rain and didn't stop until the last rider came in - what a weekend. Despite the weather forecast we had 21 riders tackling the 80km course, only 5 tried out the 40km and a promising 15 rode the 23km with one family travelling all the way from Renmark for their first ride and thoroughly enjoying themselves. We welcome them to SAERA and hope to see much more of them. The weather had reduced the 80km track to the 40km track being ridden twice as it was too dangerous to use the intended 1st leg. The Ride Organiser and the Chief Steward have to consider the fact that it could be necessary to collect a horse off the course by float, so access must be available in all weather conditions. As photographer I went out there and had to sit in my car to take the photos and was amazed to see big smiles on everyone's face as they passed by (my apologies for the clarity of the photos). After the EI problems, then Rhami retiring and Steve injuring his leg, Steve Ellis had his first ride for many months riding our young anglo Playing With Fire ("Ritz") and he rode round with Jodie Luck's daughter Alannah riding Westubry Govannon ("Sam"). Alannah had celebrated her birthday on the Saturday. Caroline Dear has done a couple of rides but her husband came along for the first time and Melissa Bright took round a couple of youngsters in Kelsey Bright and Jessica Byrne - what a baptism all these riders got. We also had a Junior rider in the 80km, Tessa Wiedmann completed successfully on Diara Little Jem. Lightweight winner and Best Conditioned was Cheryl Bullock and young at heart, Chip Chase Knight in a time of 5hrs 41mins. Anne Simmons and Undurra Zahir Shah were first home in the Middleweight Division in a time of 5hrs 50mins and Ray Heinrich and Brookman Park Wizard also completed in a time of 5hrs 41mins in the Heavyweight Division and took out Best Conditioned. With 4 vet outs in the 80km ride, 1 VO and 1 Withdrawal in the 40km and all 23km riders finishing successfully it was once again a very successful completion rate, with Andy Doube the head vet for the weekend being very complimentary about how the riders had taken care of their horses as he had expected the weather to take a much higher toll on the horses. Congratulations to all concerned.
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ENDURANCE RIDERS ASSOC. STATES CHAMPIONSHIPS
Incorporating CEI 3* 160km EVENT
TRURO ELEVATOR RIDE - 10-11 MAY 2008
It was cold, dark and foggy at 5am on Sunday 11th May when 21 riders and horses, including 2 visitors from Victoria, left Truro Oval on the first leg of the Truro Elevator. SAERA were putting on their second ride at Truro this season thanks to the efforts of Sarah Adams and Steve Ellis. The rides offered were and endurance ride of 81km elevating to 101km, a 52km training ride, a 41km training ride and a 20km introductory ride. The plus side of the early start was that there were some stunning view looking down over the low-lying mist as the sun began to rise creating the mirage of a large lake. The first leg for the endurance riders was 28km and wound around north and east of Truro through paddocks, tracks and vineyards, returning to base for vetting and it was on this leg that the riders were treated to the beautiful sunrise. Leading at this stage was Cheryl Bullock closely followed by Kimberly van Eck and Ray Heinrich and all but one of the competitors vetted through successfully and prepared to set off on their next leg. This leg went off to the east of Truro crossing farm land, some rugged tracks, and riding over a small but steep hill passing under a 40 year old eagle’s nest which is still in use. First back to base this time was Julie White and all riders vetted through. Next leg for the endurance ride was 21km travelling east again following part of the last leg and returning once more under the eagle’s nest. The final 20km went west once more, taking in more farmland and tracks. Nine competitors elected to retire at 81km with only one vetting out, and the remaining six completed the 101km course with Julie White first over the line in a total riding time of 7hrs 6mins also taking out Best Conditioned Middleweight with Khabeel. Cheryl Bullock took out Best Conditioned Lightweight with Chip Chase Knight.
The 18 entries in the 52km and 41km rides set off at 8 am with Leg 2 being used as the first leg of the 52km ride and Leg 3 being used as the first leg of the 41km ride with both rides finishing on Leg 4. The 20km introductory ride took in only Leg 4. Eight of the eleven 52km riders completed successfully as did all seven of the 41km riders and the six 20km riders. The final endurance rider came over the line with a riding time of 9hrs 48min and was just as pleased as the winner, which proves the motto of endurance riders “To Complete Is To Win”. The overall completion rate of over 85% is considered a great success.
Truro Cricket Club provided some excellent catering on Saturday night and a huge vote of thanks goes to the organisers, the two vets and the many volunteers - without these people the ride would grind to a halt and very special thanks go to the extremely generous landowners as without their land the ride would not start at all. We believe that hte 3 horses that vetted out are back iin good condition and it is hoped that Karen Alderton's little mare will make a speedy recovery after a freek accident that injured her hind leg. Karen tells me the vet took extremely good care of Catt Dancer and she is looking very well.
MONARTO: Because of appallingly hot conditions at Monarto on 8th and 9th March the schedule was rearranged and the 80km riders started at 6p.m. on Saturday thereby finishing the first leg in the dark and riding the entire second leg in the dark. Only 9 riders braved the weather and 9 riders completed! On Sunday morning 4 x㺨km riders and 4 x㺔km riders took on the Monarto course and started at 6.30 a.m. Again 100% completion, what a fantastic record and a tribute to all those riders and strappers! Best conditioned Hwt/Mwt went to Julie White and Mi-Lord Zameer and Best conditioned Lwt/Jnr went to Jess Aistrope riding Khabeel - congratulations to both.
