By Duane Fonseca

Meticulous planning and absolute teamwork turned out to be the difference on the endurance scene in different parts of the UAE last week in both the 119km Al Marmoom Endurance Cup at Dubai International Endurance City and the Boudheib Endurance Ride over 122.17km at Boudheib International Endurance Village on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.

In Dubai, MRM Stables and its rider Saif Ahmed Al Mazrouei dotted their t’s and crossed their i’s in their pursuit of glory, while contesting amid strict protocols in place to ensure horse welfare at Boudheib, Anethan Kumara and Al Aasfa Stables followed an almost regimented outline to secure success.

Both rides were contested over a four loop/ phase course, with the dipping mercury heightening competition levels and offering teams no respite from the rivalry permeating the various camps. And Al Mazrouei had it comparatively tougher on the back of Magic Glenn Torque, aboard whom he posted the quickest time over the four loops of four hours 13 minutes and seven seconds (4:13.07), which was identical to that recorded by M7 Endurance Stables pair of rider Salem Hamad Al Kitbi and his partner Willowmere Encore.

But in endurance riding it can boil down to the fractions and it is by such a narrow margin that victory was accorded to Al Mazrouei, who started his day in sixth aboard his gelded 11yo partner. Ahmed Hasan Al Hammadi of Al Reef Ajban II Stables set the pace aboard SM Lord L’Ebrio, holding sway over the first two phases, with Al Mazrouei dropping five spots on the leaderboard during the course of the second loop over 32km.

MRM were going to be tactical and as the lead changed hands during the third loop spanning 27km, with Saeed Ahmad Al Shamsi of M7 Endurance Stables the new leader aboard Ducka De Luc, Al Mazrouei started picking the pieces and made his move quietly. Despite dropping his pace during the crucial third loop, he still managed to move up the rung three places as a result of the teams and riders saving up for the final push during the last loop which is contested at a far quicker pace.

Al Shamsi was a 1m8s ahead of Al Mazrouei going into the final loop with Al Kitbi sandwiched in between aboard Willowmere Encore. Al Kitbi was a mere nine seconds off the pace, but Al Mazrouei turning on the heat a few notches higher and moving up in pace from 26.35kph to 32.68kph saw him safeguard his position while taking over just in time for a well deserved victory for both himself and MRM Stables.

Al Kitbi finished second with the same time of 4:13.07, while short-term leader Al Shamsi had to be content with third place a further five seconds adrift with a time of 4:13.12. Meanwhile, at Boudheib in Abu Dhabi, Al Aasfa Endurance Stables clinched a 12- on the podium with a pair of Sri Lankan riders a second adrift of each other.

And it was Anethan Kumara who secured victory aboard Chahir El Shammar, having upstaged teammate and compatriot Niroshan Periyalagan riding Diarik El Shammar in the last phase of the 122.17km ride. Periyalagan held sway over the first three loops, but couldn’t prevent Kumara from taking over at the end as he bid to keep his horse’s vitals within parameters prescribed for the race according to the Boudheib Protocol which is strongly committed to horse welfare.

Finishing third, 29m14s in arrears, was Emirati rider Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, who rode SM Forever Bliss for Endurance 66. The Boudheib International Endurance Village was last week awarded the rights to host the postponed FEI Endurance World Championships 2022 by the Federation Equestre International (FEI). The decision to pick the state of the art BIEV facility, which is located about an hour’s drive from Abu Dhabi’s city centre, was taken during an FEI Board meeting in Cape Town, South Africa.