Ottawa, ON, Jan. 10, 2019 — Nominations have officially opened for the Equestrian Canada (EC) National Awards, and will remain open until Feb. 11, 2019 at 4p.m. ET.
It’s time to celebrate the impressive achievements of individuals, equines and organizations who have contributed to the growth and success of the equestrian community over the past year.
EC Sport Licence Holders, Registered Participants and Affiliates are encouraged to submit nominations through the new EC Awards Portal at https://licence.equestrian.ca/ecawards.
Supporting Nomadic Culture and The CHEO
Foundation: The Gobi Desert Cup is a Race That Makes a Difference
The Gobi Desert Cup is an endurance race that
makes a difference. Each rider lived with nomadic people; rode
endurance-trained Mongolian horses, and traveled 480 kilometers to test their
endurance and challenge their horsemanship through an international endurance
race all while secluded from the world. Following a marked course, riders
started every morning at 7 AM and completed the course before 7 PM. Two
FEI-qualified veterinary checks were held each day; one at 40 kilometers and
one at the end of the 80 kilometers.
For the second year in a row, all horses and
riders completed the race, and there was less than a 5% elimination on course,
well below the global average of 40% in endurance riding. Eighteen riders
competed each day over different terrain on different horses but were brought
together as a community in their passion for adventure and horsemanship.
Eighteen equestrians from seven countries
united to race for the Cup. The Australian riders were Amy Eighteen; Cecilia
Stone; Tania Orlov; Ruth Benney; Claire McManus; and Michael Shaw. The New
Zealand riders were: Kasmira Graham; Mathilde Schwarz; Stephanie Scott, and
Peter Breidahl. The European riders consisted of Jon Pieszak Heebøll from
Denmark and Sweden and Elodie Maillard from France. Finally from North America
were our experienced endurance riders: Jeffrey L. Stuart; Bob Gauthier;
Christoph Schork; Allan Horn, and Howard Kent from the United States and
horsemanship trainer Lorie Duff of Canada.
Canadian Lorie Duff of Liberty Lane Horsemanship, based in Ottawa, was inspired to race on behalf of the CHEO foundation. Lorie was driven to complete the race for the children despite suffering an injured knee and dehydration. While she was unable to ride the full six days, she pushed on determined to learn about endurance and raise money for CHEO. As a result, she finished the race in 18th place with the encouragement of her fellow riders. Lorie said, “I could not have chosen a perfect setting other than the big sky of Mongolia and the Gobi Desert Cup for my heart to be taken by the sport of endurance racing, and of course by the Mongolian horses.”
In the end, the Gobi Desert Cup and Overall
Best Managed award was earned by world-champion endurance rider, Christoph
Schork (US) with a tie for second place from Elodie Maillard (FRA) and Jeffrey
L. Stuart (US). The team award was won by Team USA consisting of Christoph
Schork, Jeffrey L. Stuart, Allan Horn, and Bob Gauthier.
About the writer: About the writer: Heather Wallace is a certified equine and canine sports massage therapist, author of Confessions of a Timid Rider, and Media Consultant for The Gobi Desert Cup. Visit her at timidrider.com or learn more about The Gobi Desert Cup at gobidesertcup.com.
Northernhorse Blog 