US Government Officials Impose Media Blackout on Arrival of World Equestrian Games Horses, FEI Also Restricted Early News Coverage

Dressage-news.com - Full Article

Sept. 3, 2018

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

TRYON, North Carolina, Sept. 3, 2018–The largest airlift of sport horses in history was well underway Monday with the first dressage mounts arriving from Europe for the World Equestrian Games as competition arenas and spectator stands were being completed with just eight days to the opening ceremony at Tryon, North Caroilina.

Although the combined world championships of eight equestrian disciplines is one of if not the biggest sports event in the Americas this year, federal officials forcefully followed up a decision by the Switzerland-based International Equestrian Federation (FEI) to restrict news coverage to itself and imposed a total news blackout of the arrival of the horses in an air amarda from Europe and at the Tryon International Equestrian Center.

The initial FEI restrictions and the U.S. Department of Agriculture ban for which no reasons were provided and was extended to ordering grooms and national federation officials to cease taking videos on their phones and to delete any images of their horses injected a sour note into what had been expected to be a festive kickoff for the WEG with photos of the finest sport horses before competition begins Sept. 11.

Local law enforcement officers were friendly and did not interfere with photographers taking pictures from public areas of the arrival airport...

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