Young Rider European Championship Entry Withdrawn for Charlie Chadwick and Hazelcroft Gosens Tsar

24 July 2018

Endurance GB is saddened to confirm the withdrawal of Charlie Chadwick and Hazelcroft Gosens Tsar from the 2018 European Young Rider Endurance Championships due to take place on the 25th and 26th July.
Endurance GB was made aware of a potential rule violation in relation to rest periods and a horse Charlie had competed with at the CEI Kings Forest (GBR) on the 7th July. The horse in question, Aragorn, had been ridden by Charlie’s mother, Ruth Chadwick, in a National Ride some two weeks beforehand where the horse had been judged to have an irregular gait at the finish. As Aragorn is registered with the FEI (Fédération Equestre Internationale), he is subject to FEI rest periods even whilst competing at a National Level. Under FEI rules this would entail an enforced rest period of 12 days had the horse completed successfully however, in this case, an additional 14 days must be added to the imposed rest period due to the irregular gait decision, which ends after the date of the CEI Kings Forest (GBR). This means that as per FEI Art. 815.3.3 and 815.3.6, Charlie will receive 100 penalty points and a consequential suspension of two months (to be implemented from the day of the CEI in question). Endurance GB carried out its own due diligence as quickly as possible in relation to the information, bearing in mind the timings and the seriousness and required escalations of the situation.
 
Endurance GB is very clear that this was a genuine mistake on behalf of the athlete. Charlie has, and will continue to be, an exemplary ambassador for the sport of Endurance within Great Britain and she, and her family, have the full backing of EGB at this very difficult time. At no point was there any intention to break the rules and we must make it very clear that Charlie, and her family, hold both horse welfare and the rules of Endurance with the upmost of importance.
 
Ruth Chadwick, Charlie’s mother, commented ‘This has been incredibly hard for us. Charlie, and the rest of the team, have received so much support and encouragement and we are just so sad to be in the situation we are now. Charlie has worked so hard to get herself and her horse ready for this Championship. However, we accept that we broke the rules and this should never have happened. The timing of this whole thing though has been particularly unfortunate as had we realised earlier we would never have taken the decision to travel Tsar overseas.’
 
Nicki Thorne, Chair of Endurance GB, stated “We are, of course, incredibly sad for Charlie, Tsar and her family. We are all fully aware of the amount of work and dedication it takes to get your horse to this level. We admire the maturity and attitude of both Charlie and her family in this situation and they have our full support. The Chadwick Family is held in very high regard within the Endurance GB family, but we also recognise that the rules, in this instance, were broken and we must therefore accept the consequences. We are in regular contact with all those concerned and we are ensuring that the right levels of support and safeguarding are in place not just for Charlie, but the other members of the team who will continue on their Championship journey”.
 
Kate Atkinson and Ollie Holman will now represent Great Britain as individuals at the European Young Rider Endurance Championships. Pre-Ride vetting takes place on the 25th July and the Championship itself starts at 6am on Friday 26th July. Endurance GB wishes the very best of luck to Kate and Ollie and we are extremely confident that they will do us proud and be excellent representatives for Great Britain.