Chaos at WEG Endurance

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

September 12, 2018 | Comments
by: Pippa Cuckson

UPDATE: Horse Sport talked to the Canadian endurance team members as they prepared to mount up for the second time. They were in good spirits and said they were all part of the group who did the full 40 km loop. Their horses were all going well but when they were relayed the news about the restart they took it easy on the way back to the first compulsory hold, as their score from the first outing would not count anyway.

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Unprecedented scenes of chaos and anger are unfolding on the opening day of the World Equestrian Games, with the ground jury’s decision to re-start the endurance race as 120km 2* event. Many horses had travelled most of the first loop’s 40kms already, but confusion reigned after some riders were misdirected at the start.

Angry scenes erupted amongst participants and their back-up teams, notably within the UAE camp. Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, is sponsoring the event through his Meydan corporation, and his son, Crown Prince HH Hamdan al Maktoum is vying to claim gold again following victory in WEG 2014.

Officials tried to stop the UAE 4* judge Ahmed AL Hammadi broadcasting his altercation with FEI officials on Facebook Live...

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https://horse-canada.com/horse-news/chaos-weg-endurance/