Fall 2016

The fall has been very hot but now it has been turning much cooler which is good for the horses. Still days over 15C degrees but much less than the 35C degrees we got about two months ago.

Lauri and Jiicee Superstar was racing in St Ismier at 20.08.2016 where they did complete 40km inter-regional race for 5yo horses. Race was quite hard but Jiicee managed everything really well. Recoveries was really good and Jiicee was the fastest horse in the race! Really well done! Jiicee also got her qualification for the endurance finals that takes place in Uzes at 09.10.2016. There is total over 700 horses racing during 4 days. In the race for 5yo there is over 350 horses! It will be incredible hard test for the horses, riders, crew and organization in the Uzes. We will be trying our best!

Next weekend (27.08.2016) Lauri / Super Pearl and Marja / Farid Ibn Shadwan was racing together in Monpazier CEI* 80km.  Monpazier course included over 1400m of climb which made this race really hard. It took over 8 hours of travel from stables to the Monpazier. Thus we travelled to Monpazier two days before the race. However during the two nights at Monpazier Super Pearl didn't sleep at all as she was only focused to dig as big hole as she could during the night. Traveling with other horse from the same herd made her furious when she couldn't see the other horse during the night. Thus Super Pearl didn't get almost any rest during the time in Monpazier. In the start of the race Marja had problems with Farid as the horse was not familiar with so many horses (over 70) in small compact area of the trotting course from where the start was conducted. After few minutes of struggle Lauri and Marja was able to start together. After all that, it was merely matter of finishing the first FEI race for Farid without any more incidents. Also Super Pearl showed signs of fatigue during the race but by slowing down she recovered nicely. By playing it safe both was able to finish without problems!

We decided to give horses total rest for few weeks after previous races and rest from racing during September. At the end of September we trained hard to get horses ready for the upcoming finals. Jiicee Superstar was getting ready really well for the endurance finals for young horses in Uzes at 09.10.2016. Also Farid Ibn Shadwan was getting ready for the finals of the grand regional cup in Salin de Giraud at 16.10.2016.

Lauri / Jiicee Superstar in Usez at 09.10.2016. This race included over 350 5yo horses in one day! Incredible race with superior organizers. Categories was really hard to get. First 60km race with young horse and you should get speed over 14km/h, pulse under 54 after 5min and all but perfect from veterinary tests. Every part added for one category. To complete the race you would get "qualified" and for each part you would get "very good", "excellent" and up to "elite". Jiicee Superstar felt really good during the race and the speed was really good all the time. Only few side jumps that are quite common with young horses. With speed of 14.6km/h we got one category. Sadly pulse was 55 (!) after 5min so we lost one category. Also veterinary tests didn't give all perfect so we lost also one category from that. Total category was "very good". Little bit of bad luck with the tests but overall we are really proud of Jiicee Superstar. Such great effort from this young horse! After the race Jiicee will get some rest and then we start training for the next year. Lot of races planned for Jiicee and hopefully we can get to 6yo finals and make great results there.

Marja / Farid Ibn Shadwan in Salin de Giraud at 16.10.2016. This race was final for grand regional cup with length over 80km. All was open before the finals and from top 5 anyone could take the win. Marja / Farid Ibn Shadwan was at 5th place before the finals. As usual Farid was working great and was able to finish with speed over 15.7km/h. Last heart rate was 46! However the competition was really hard and this resulted only 5th place. Nevertheless this should ensure 5th place in the grand regional cup! Because of mixed results it might be possible to rise up to 3rd place after the final count is finished. No matter what the final placement is, it was great result again and overall extraordinary season against really hard competition! Farid will get some well earned rest and we will be aiming for CEI2* race at December in Spain which is the last race of the year!

UPDATE

The final results are in and Marja / Farid Ibn Shadwan was 3rd in total results of Grand Regional PACA Endurance Challenge Cup! Well done!

Summer 2016

During the hottest time of summer we gave each horse small vacation from races and training. We had plenty of days with over 35C degrees and our horses are not yet fully used to these kind of temperatures. Thus we gave more time for recovery between racing and training and we didn't push our horses as much as usually.

After small vacation for Farid Ibn Shadwan, Marja started with him at Ollieres at 29.5.2016 where they completed successfully 80 km grand regional cup race. The competition was though and weather was unusually cold and rainy. We didn't want to risk with stiffness and therefore we played everything safe. Not the best race but still result and points for the grand regional. Horse was quite good after the vacation and we have high hopes for the future.

Jiicee Superstar and Lauri returned to racing at Revest-du-Bion at 16.7.2016 where they did complete 40 km for 5yo. Everything went well without any major problems, if we don't count one grounded rider after spooky shadow that resulted sudden full stop. Nevertheless again this young horse worked really well and was surprisingly calm during the vet control and in the competition area. Nice race riding between lavender fields but somewhat hard and rocky.

Next day 17.7.2016 Farid Ibn Shadwan and Marja started also at Revest-du-Bion where they finished 80 km grand regional cup race! Hot temperatures during the day and really hard track but still the horse and the rider was able to work really well without any major problems. Only small technical problem with broken equipments that cost around 5 minutes. Regardless Farid Ibn Shadwan and Marja took the 1st place!

So really good weekend for both riders and both horses!

Super Pearl returned racing at 31.7.2016 at Camprieu with Marja. There they completed CEI1* 80km in high altitude (1,4 km). Really special race whit truly extraordinary views while riding around the mountain inside the clouds.  We had some transport issues and the horse didn't get as much recovery time after transport as we would like her to have. However Super Pearl was able to finish without any major problems with decent speed. Again nice result for the horse and for the rider!

As the summer is turning to fall we continue to train our horses as usually and we have lot of races we hope to participate. We have high hopes for Jiicee Superstar and Farid Ibn Shadwan and we hope to start quite many races with them before the end of the year. Also Super Pearl will continue racing as usually. Overall everything looks quite promising for the end of the year. Of course anything can happen at any time but meanwhile we enjoy and continue training and racing as planned!

Spring of 2016

We have had great and also somewhat bad start for 2016.

We have done lot of fitness training for all our horses during the spring. Great weather has been helpful and we have been able to train every single day!

Marja / Farid Ibn Shadwan raced 80km at 13.03.2016 in La Crau. The race went great and the horse felt really good. With speed of 13,8km/h and last pulse of 41bpm it was really easy for the horse. It also gave second place in this speed limited race! Horse was really good and everything went without any problems!

Lauri / Super Pearl raced also 80km at 02.04.2016 in Les Mees. The race was really hard with lot of rocks and total climb of 1200m! However Super Pearl was able to finish the race with speed of 13,5km/h. Even though in the last leg she was not as eager to go (too) fast as she normally is. Next day it was clear that she had small flu coming that took its toll. Nevertheless with good last pulse the day was rewarded with second place!

Marja / Farid Ibn Shadwan started 60km at 10.04.2016 in Vezenobres. The route was really hard and rocky. However the horse felt really good and metabolically everything was perfect. Sadly during the last leg of the race the horse was ripped from his right front shoe by some unlucky rocks. That caused light deviation in trotting during veterinary inspection which resulted disqualification by lameness. However the horse completed the full 60km with good speed, regardless lot of time was spend while replacing the lost shoe. With excellent last pulse it would have resulted with clear win! But sadly no luck this time.

Lauri / Jiicee Superstar raced 20km at 22.04.2016 in Uzes. This was the second race for the Jiicee Superstar which is still officially only 4 years old. She races in 5 year olds as she will be 5 year old during this year. Everything is completely new for this young horse but still she was acting really well in every part of the race. Literally hundreds of other horses, unfamiliar people and cars (!!!) was surprisingly well tolerated by Jiicee. Race went really well and she finished 7th of 25! Last pulse was also surprisingly good! We are really proud of Jiicee and we are looking forward for next races with this young horse!

Lauri / Super Pearl raced FEI1* 80km at 24.04.2016 also in Uzes. The race included many of the best riders and horses total of 65 participants! The race went really well even though Super Pearl was really hot during the first leg of the race due to the vast number of horses. This took some toll and we had to slow down for the last leg of the race, but still we were able to finish without any major problems. This resulted 46th place with speed of 14,3km/h for which we were really happy!


For now we are making sure that Farid Ibn Shadwan will recover fully before we start with him again but we hope to get him to the next race quite soon. Super Pearl has had many races within very limited time so we are giving her also time to recover. We have some great plans for Super Pearl which will be revealed later! We are looking for next race for Jiicee Superstar and if everything goes well, we will start again really soon!

So, not everything did go as planned but still really great start for the year 2016!

Winter 2015 and early 2016

Eyes to the year 2016!

As you know or may know from our Twitter / Facebook updates that we are now stationed in France! During the 2015 we made the decision to move to southern France to be more able to train and compete during all seasons of the year.

Equine

For now it has been great success and we have been able to train hard during the winter. If everything goes well then we are even able to start our first race at next sunday (21.2.2016)! This will be more or less just test race where we get to know how competing works here and to see the fitness of the Super Pearl. We will update this post after the race!

Update! 21.2.2016 race went really well with Lauri / Super Pearl. Horse felt good after winter break and speed 13,4km/h was decent for the year's first test race. We are looking forward for future races!

We are already planning our race calendar for the year. We are aiming to get FEI license for Lauri, start FEI competitions with Farid Ibn Shadwan and get Jiicee Superstar's career to good start with multiple small races. Of course we include as much races as possible with all our horses and lot of training hours for the future.

Motocross

As all things involving our move has taken lot of effort we have not been able to get our motocross season to start. However we are still planing to get motocross season going during the year but for now it seems to happen not earlier than end of the year. Though our own season hasn't started in anyway yet, we are again sponsoring Sidecarcross team Kunnas as they plan to participate all the world championship races during the year 2016! We hope them the very best! So even our team isn't doing as much motocross this season we still are participating and promoting SunRacing in the field of motocross! We will keep you updated.

Autumn 2015 report (updated 12.10.2015)

Equine

We have been working hard with the horses in last few months. There has not been many races but lot of training has been done. Sadly with Super Pearl we had small setback as the horse was startled by a dog that came from nowhere and she fell to tarmac. No major injuries but few small bruises and cuts. Next day the horse was lame and we was forced to cancel our test race and FEI race in Lithuania.

However normal training continued with other horses and soon also with Super Pearl. Super Pearl and Lauri completed second level one (59 km) qualification for Lauri and for now Super Pearl feels really good. In few weeks Super Pearl and Lauri are going to first last level (80+ km) qualification race for FEI level. In same race we will also see Farid Ibn Shadwan with Marja. We will update this post after that race!

Update 12.10.2015

Lauri / Super Pearl and Marja / Farid Ibn Shadwan completed 81 km in Kõrvemaa! Well done! Team SunRacing got total 162 km in one day! Now Lauri needs only one 80+ km more for FEI level. We will aim Lauri to FEI level and to FEI competition(s) at 2016. That would give us two FEI level riders for year 2016!


Motocross

Last race for Korvikunnid Cup in Põlva was great success for Jarmo / Lauri! In both heats Jarmo / Lauri was first from the start to the finish. Thus gaining enough points to get past Stephan / Jukka and ensuring total victory in Korvikunnid Cup in the class of 50+. Well done Jarmo / Lauri and really good finish for the season 2015!

The season for motocross is over for us. We are making arrangements for the future of motocross in Team SunRacing. For now we are focusing more to the equine part and the motocross will be more in background. However we are going to return in season 2016 with solo races and we hope to participate to sidecar races again in 2016 or 2017!


Upcoming, stay tuned!

There is upcoming major news from Team SunRacing. We will give more information in the last update for 2015.

Mid 2015 report and reporting

Hello again! For now we will be committed to make quarterly reports here. Twitter and Facebook gives weekly short reports and our blog will give longer more detailed reports at least four times per year.

Motocross

Due to the slow recovery of the injuries from the ice road racing from early this year there has not been so much of motocross races as usually. However the sidecar team has been very active and Team SunRacing has been visible very often in the events. Team Jarmo / Artur has been very successful during the year and currently they are second in the class of 50+. Last two races in Kose Lauri was the passenger instead of Artur. Artur was the replacement for Lauri during Lauri's recovery. Next weekend there will be decisive race in Põlva where points are doubled and team Jarmo / Lauri is trying to go past team Stephan / Jukka.

For now there has been total 12 sidecar races this year in which team SunRacing has attended. Also team SunRacing is sponsoring Sidecarcross team Kunnas which has been very successful in many races this year. Specially in the very hard world championship races in Stelpe (11th), Kiviõli (10th) and Kegums (18th).

Equine

Where motocross has been somewhat disappointing in this season the equine team has been however very successful! Team SunRacing's Marja / Super Pearl completed FEI 2* 120km in Haanjamaa! This was the first 2* 120km for team SunRacing. Soon after that Marja / Farid Ibn Shadwan completed the first level 1 qualification for the FEI level.

Marja / Super Pearl was in the team Finland in the Nordic Baltic Championship but sadly was not able to finish due injury to the front leg of the Super Pearl. This injury is now behind but we are still going slowly with Super Pear to make sure she has been fully recovered. During that time Marja / Farid Ibn Shadwan completed the second level 1 qualification and first level 2 qualification for the FEI level! Also Lauri / Super Pearl finished starter qualification for Lauri! This was first test race for Super Pearl which ended well and the past injury did not show any sings.

Team SunRacing was crewing Ines Beilmann / Vandah El Aryes who became the Finnish Champion 2015! Soon after that Marja / Farid Ibn Shadwan completed the second level 2 qualification for FEI level. Now Farid Ibn Shadwan is qualified for FEI level after the compulsory time has elapsed. Farid Ibn Shadwan can start at FEI level at mid 2016. Also Lauri / Super Pearl completed first level 1 qualification for Lauri. Our youngest horse Jiicee Superstar also completed starter qualification with Marja!

For equine team lot has been happened and there has been great success during the year! We only hope that rest of the year can be as good as it has been now. Soon there will be second level 1 qualification for Lauri / Super Pearl and FEI 2* 120km for Marja / Super Pearl. If everything goes well then also first level 1 qualification for Jiicee Superstar.

Soon we will also add race log where you can see our races and kilometer totals!

See you in races!

Start of 2015 not so good but still good

Hello again for long time.

We had great hopes to make year 2015 first blog post early after the first ice road racing race but sadly it didn't go well. Our team member was injured during the first training session in the season's first ice road race. His acromioclavicular joint was badly dislocated and all the acromioclavicular ligaments was ruptured. It was operated in Finland but the recuperation takes lot of time. That left us without ice road races at season 2015. Also the first half of the year will be with less races that we aimed for. However first two sidecar races in the Korvikunnid cup the Team SunRacing is attending with another sidecar passenger. So even with the injury the Team SunRacing is still represented in different events. We also try to add some solo races as much as we can. It is anticipated that we can return to follow the racing calendar normally at June. Sadly that leaves us only about half to the races we wanted for the year 2015.

That left us with the hard choice, we will not be participating to any quad races during year 2015 as there is not enough time to train for the season events. However that means that we are going to focus more to solo motocross and equine events during the year.

The happy news come from our equine racing. The seasons first so called testing race went really well for team SunRacing. Our team was racing in though crowd in 81 km endurance event in Kiviloo Estonia. The race was supposed to be only the first test of the current fitness of the horse but everything went really well from the first leg to the finish. To our surprise we got really good time and finished first! Now we have really high hopes for next international FEI event in Kurgjärve Estonia at May 25th.