The Mayan Ride 2008 proved that Guatemala can stage an event that is up to the highest international standards, classifying international riders for their participation in world wide events of Endurance. This event places Guatemala at the vanguard of the whole region with the capacity to develop this equestrian discipline with the participation of excellent riders, FEI approved judges, veterinarians and officials.
Several months ago, Jinetes de Aventura Endurance - Endurance Adventure Riders, decided to organize a qualifying event for the Malaysia Endurance World Championship 2008. The decision to hold the event was based on several factors. The Guatemalan Endurance Riders had performed very well at many international events and they had a good chance to qualify. Guatemala has geographical regions and climatological conditions that are very similar to Malaysia. If the riders could successfully finish the race in theses conditions they would have a good chance to perform in Malaysia.
The location selected for the event, because of optimum conditions was "Tierra Dulce" of Sugar Mill Magdalena, in La Gomera, Esquintla. The Sugar Mill Magdalena with their generous support made this big and logistically highly complicated event possible. They where the Platinum Sponsors of the event.
Other important Sponsors where: The National Federation of Equestrian Sport Guatemala (ANEG), The Olympic Committee of Guatemala, Supermarket of Woods Rio Blanco, Travel Agency Máxima Travel, Bayer Animal Health, Sanucasa, VistaVet, VetCentro, NutriFert, Friends Horses, Genética, Purina, Lama S.A, Ecoleños and The Guatemala Times with special news coverage.
Months long efforts, cooperation, coordination with other participating countries like Costa Rica and Honduras, and very hard work of many talented people made this event a success. Scarlet Schieber de Rodas, the only FEI 3 Star International Judge for Endurance in Mesoamerica, was the driving motor behind and in front of the scenes. Her dedication, love for this sport and technical knowledge, make her an invaluable asset for quality of the Endurance initiative in Guatemala (FEI stands for International Equestrian Federation).
Silvia Aldana de Wit made the invaluable contact with Sugar Mill Magdalena happen and put her reputation on the line for this important Sponsor.
Ignacio de Wit, the official photographer of the event has produced pictures of breathtaking beauty of the scenery and captured the exiting moments of the race. It's a shame we don't have space to publish more of them. But for the information of photo enthusiasts, Ignacio has his own website now where you can see his art.
Fernando Paiz, the President of the Organizing Committee has always been a very important figure, especially for getting the horses from Costa Rica through the Customs in Guatemala. Not an easy task, and his energy, skills and good contacts in dealing with government bureaucracy make him a unique talent in this Committee.
Uber Rodas, Janio Johnston, Primo Gonzalez, Jaime Mansilla and Harry Hesse, among many others, worked long and interminable hours to complete the list of tasks for this complex event.
The decision to organize the event was a good one. The high quality standards set by the Organizers combined with the participating good riders and horses resulted in the achievement of the goal to accomplish an international race up to any International standards. The percentage of participants that finalized the race (70%), is considered very high, and riders where classified to participate in other endurance events at regional, continental and world level.
Because of the climate, the race was scheduled to proceed during the night time. It is - as far as we know- only the third time worldwide that this kind of race is done at night. This added more logistical challenges to the organization of the race in order to be able to comply with the unusual requirements. The category of the largest distance, 160 kilometers started at 16:00 hours on Saturday. The shortest distance category of 40 kilometers was the last group to start, at 4:00 am on Sunday.
There are several categories of races in this event. From National 1* level (43 km) to the most difficult of 160 Kilometers in on day, at International 3* level.
In the National 1* level the winner is José Rodrigo Paiz with Lambrusco, second place Carlos Bonessa, with Chavo and 3th place Frank Hesse with Persik.
Lambrusco also obtained prize for Best Condition of the horse in the category.
The results of the riders of the International level 2* of 82 kilometers are: First Place Marvin Martínez with Zayan, he also won the prize for Best Condition of the horse for this category. Second Place Uber Rodas with Magnolia and third place Byron Lopez with Tahiti, who is already classified to participate in the World Endurance Championship in Malaysia November 2008.
Heidi Viteri with Fada obtained first place in the category of Young & Junior Riders 2* in the 82 kilometer category. Fada also obtained the prize for Best Condition of the horse in that category.
The category of 121 kilometers International 3* level started the race at 22:30 hours on Saturday night, they where finishing before dawn on Sunday. The winner of the adult category was Jaime Mancilla, former Champion of the Central American Games, with Alabama. Alabama also won the prize for best condition. In second place is Janio Johnston with Paisano, and in the category of Young & Junior Riders the winner is Andrés Primo González with Duzkal, this horse also won the prize for Best Condition.
The category for classification for the WEC (World Endurance Championship) covers a total distance of 160 kilometers and is the International FEI -Fédération Equestre Internationale-, CEI 3* -Concourse Endurance Internationale-, Category for Adult Riders.
This distance is covered in several stages, it includes obligatory resting times for the horses, just like all the other categories. In these resting stages the horses are evaluated by veterinarians to check obligatory parameters of the physical condition of the horse. The parameters include among others: heart beat rate per minute, hydration condition, general health of the horse including injuries. The endurance sport main goal is to ensure the wellbeing and health of the horse in the races.
At dawn of the next day, Sunday, the riders of 160 kilometer category reached the finishing line at the base camp. At the end of the race the horses are again evaluated to verify if their conditions are acceptable for classification. If the horses heart beat, hydrations status and other parameters do not reach the standards set for this events, they are disqualified. The evaluation of the horses is carried out by certified FEI Veterinarians, national judges and the international FEI judges and officials are the ones that certify the conditions of the horses.
Like in any sport, it is a heartbreaking situation to be disqualified, for the rider, his fans and family, after having endured a race of 160 kilometers or any distance in between start and finish. Tears are shed, utter exhaustion, frustration and disappointment take their toll. Some riders and their families get very upset at the judges decisions.
It is not easy to be a judge at these events where the stakes are very high.
For the Mayan Adventure Ride 2008, the official FEI judges where: 
All of them are highly experienced and technically qualified officials who have participated in official capacity in many international endurance events of all levels.
The results of the category for classification for the WEC (World Endurance Championship) of 160 kilometers, FEI - Fédération Equestre Internationale, CEI 3* - Concourse Endurance Internationale, Category for Adult Riders are:
First Place: Diego Zamora, Costa Rica, with his horse Samurai, also winner of Best Condition of the horse.
Second Place: Laura Paiz, Guatemala, Pan American Champion of Endurance in 2007, with her horse Ganador.
Both riders obtained with their performance in this event their classification to the World Endurance Championship, Malaysia November 2008.
Laura Paiz, with her classification is joining the Guatemalan team for Malaysia 2008. Riders who have already classified are Fernando Paiz Larrave and Byron López. So far the Guatemalan team has three riders classified for the World Endurance Championship in Malaysia.
The third place was obtained by Roberto Hernández, of Guatemala, with his horse Mr. Ha, and the fourth place went to Guillermo Sandoval of Honduras, riding Halisha.
Another Guatemalan rider, who has shown tremendous potential in previous classifying events, Clarissa de Wit, could not finish the ride this time. She will be participating in the Uruguay endurance ride of this category in the coming weeks to try to complete the classification process.
A few other participants did not manage to finish the race for different reasons. Some of the horses went lame -the conditions at night are very difficult for both rider and horse- and others could not reach the levels of physical conditions required for these FEI events.
The Mayan Adventure Ride 2008 proved that Guatemala can stage an event that is up to the highest international standards, classifying international riders for their participation in world wide events of Endurance. This event places Guatemala at the vanguard of the whole region with the capacity to develop this equestrian discipline with the participation of excellent riders, FEI approved judges, veterinarians and officials.
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