180 YEARS OF

SPORTS | Timekeeping and Sponsorship
26 | WatchTime LONGINES SPECIAL
ENDURANCE RIDING
While horse racing and jumping events are well known all
over the world and most people have a good idea of what
these sports are about, endurance riding is more of a regional
specialty. is discipline is very popular in Middle
Eastern countries – probably for the reason that Arabian
horses are considered to be best suited for long-distance
riding. ere are day-long races with hugely variable distances
as well as the more unusual longer races that extend
over several days. Both types require riders to keep up a
winning pace while nding their way over a changing
landscape and still managing to bring a sound and healthy
horse over the nish line. e condition of each horse is
veried by a veterinarian’s exam aer completion of the
race (and before the winner is named).
MILESTONES IN TIMEKEEPING
1897
Perfectly legible: This chronograph
from 1897 has on its case
back a large-format tachymeter
track to determine average
speeds. The central indicator
shows which of the rings counts.
e addition of two recent partnerships in endurance
riding adds yet another facet to Longines’s deep involvement
in equestrian sports: e company is title sponsor of
the Longines FEI World Endurance Championships and
also the primary sponsor and ocial timekeeper of the
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance
Cup in Dubai. Here, more than 100 riders from
around 20 countries have met since 2008 to run the 160km-long
cross-country race. e event is named for the
Prime Minister of Dubai and Vice-President of the United
Arab Emirates, whose son participates in the race.
Western audiences nd the long-distance race particularly
fascinating because of the dierent emphasis placed
on the best allocation of power and speed over the duration
of a lengthy race, rather than on brief top performances.
Along the way through the desert the competitors
are surrounded by vehicles to keep a constant supply of
water at the ready. Water bottles are handed over repeatedly
to the riders who empty them over the necks of their
horses to keep them cool during the race.
e rst rider to reach the nish line and can also present
a sound and healthy horse at the end of this exhausting
race receives a gold trophy cup and a Longines watch.
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance
Cup 2012: Longines donated
the official watch for this
prestigious event in Dubai,
The Longines Column-Wheel
Chronograph in gold.