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