Yesterday’s Longines FEI World Endurance Championship held at Euston Park near Thetford, Suffolk, UK (25th August 2012) was described as a “showcase” for the sport. The race was won by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum riding Madji Du Pont, in a ride time of 7hr00min45sec at an average speed of 22.82km/hr. The first three riders home were all from the United Arab Emirates which also won the team competition taking gold ahead of France with Oman emerging as a new force in the sport to take bronze.
Speaking after the closing ceremony held at Euston Hall on Sunday 26th August, John McEwen, First Vice President of the FEI said: “I have been involved with endurance riding for nearly 30 years and have watched it grow almost from its infancy - yesterday was a showcase for the discipline and a wonderful sporting occasion. I had the privilege of being out on course for two of the loops and seeing the riders and crews at work and the atmosphere was incredible.
“I also watched the finish and I thought that the horses came in after 160km in superb condition. The level of this sport particularly the standard in managing the horses is extremely high. Watching the best condition award the morning after the event is something more people should see. The way in which the horses came out is simply amazing – some of the grooms even had difficulty holding them. They all look as though they could comfortably go out and do it again which is how it should be.”
Ian Williams, FEI Director of Non-Olympic Sport said that from a technical point of view the championship had been faultless.
“We had a venue in Euston Park that was outstanding and a track that challenged the best in the world and produced competitive performances of the highest level.
“What we have here [at Euston Park] is a wonderful legacy with a venue that has been developed over the years to an exceptional level on a greenfield site and that can be used for events of this kind in the future.”
Towards the closing stages of the ride when the majority of the field were still yet to start out on the final loop, rapidly deteriorating weather and a prolonged lightning storm forced organisers to take the tough decision to halt the event.
John Robertson, Technical Advisor to the Championships said that this had been after consultation with the police and Met Office and due to poor visibility and the risk to competitors and stewards out on the course.
“The weather conditions provided us with major challenges towards the end of the ride but we had the systems in place to cope and react quickly. That aside the route and the fantastic going in this area had held up well.”
James MacEwan, MD of Janah Management, organisers of the ride paid tribute to his organising team: “Every single person involved has made their own individual contribution to the success of this event. When you consider that the Janah team has organised the Championships while still continuing to operate our main activity of transporting hundreds of horses a week around the world, it is a huge achievement. I also want to add my thanks to the host the Duke of Grafton and Euston Estate, all the local landowners whose land we crossed, to the sponsors, Longines, Meydan and Emaar and to the volunteers without whom none of this would have been possible.”