The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games begin Saturday

Huliq.com - Full Article

Submitted by Patrick Rall on 2010-09-21
The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games logo

This Saturday brings opening ceremonies of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Serving as the Olympics of the equestrian world, this event has been held every four years since its start 20 years ago in Stockholm, Sweden. Having made stops in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and Germany since then, the Games come to the US in 2010 for the first time.

NBC will offer a look at the non-racing side of the equine world

The World Equestrian Games cover a huge variety of different subcultures within the equine world with eight disciplines having their own competitions at the 2010 Games. Jumping, Dressage, Eventing, Driving, Endurance, Vaulting, Reining, and Para Dressage are featured at the 2010 World Equestrian Games, with Para Dressage making its WEG debut at the Kentucky Horse Park.

When the World Equestrian Games began in 1990 in Sweden, there were just six disciplines offered. Jumping, Dressage, Eventing, Driving, Endurance, and Vaulting were the first six types of competition that first year and when Hague, Netherlands hosted the 1994 games, the lineup was the same...

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http://www.huliq.com/10281/2010-alltech-fei-world-equestrian-games-begin-saturday

A flurry of activity as city, horse park prepare for WEG

Kentucky.com - Full Article

September 21 2010

By Linda B. Blackford, Beverly Fortune and Cheryl Truman - lblackford@herald-leader.com

The welcome-bienvenue-willkommen banners are up, the Horse Park has turned into a vista of white tents, and downtown streets are, well, nearly clear of construction as Lexington prepares to welcome thousands of visitors starting Saturday for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

In the Kentucky Horse Park's main stadium, a troupe of black Friesian stallions pranced together in perfect synchronicity Monday as they practiced for the opening ceremony on Saturday night. They appeared calm despite the roar of tractors delivering bushes around the rings as technicians plugged in sound systems high above their heads.

"We're getting it all together," said Everett McCorvey, the University of Kentucky opera director who is producing the opening ceremony. "The horses practice during the day, and the humans practice every evening."

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http://www.kentucky.com/2010/09/21/1443609/a-flurry-of-activity-as-city-horse.html

WEG: Going for Gold

Bloodhorse.com Blog - Full Article

By Jacqueline Duke
21 Sep 2010

(Originally published in the Sept 25, 2010 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)

The largest, deepest pool of equine talent ever assembled has arrived in Kentucky. And, no, it’s not the contenders for the 2010 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Some 800 horses from all corners of the globe are converging on the Kentucky Horse Park for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, making Lexington inarguably the Equine Capital of the World from Sept. 25-Oct. 10.

During the 16-day run, horse-and-rider combinations from 58 nations will participate in eight internationally recognized disciplines: dressage, three-day eventing, show jumping, reining, driving, vaulting, endurance, and paraequestrian. For equine sport aficionados, it’s like having the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, World Cup soccer finals, and PGA Championship back to back in one location.

The United States made the successful bid four years ago to host the 2010 event, the first World Games ever staged on American soil. Securing, organizing, and producing the Games has been no easy task, particularly in the wake of a worldwide recession. Ticket sales have fallen well below the projected 600,000-plus, causing organizers to abandon free shuttle service and other amenities and to charge high prices for parking. The high cost of attending the Games has drawn much criticism. Other worries abound, from potential traffic nightmares to the impression downtown Lexington will make on worldly visitors.

Whatever trepidations might exist about its staging, the 2010 Games promise an unsurpassed level of competition in a venue whose scope and horse-friendly features far exceed those ever envisioned by Horse Park founders. The Games also will let the Bluegrass show off its finest product—the Thoroughbred—on course, at breeding farms, and, toward the end of the Games, at the Keeneland fall race meet...

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http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/finalturn/archive/2010/09/21/going-for-gold-by-jacqueline-duke.aspx

New Zealand: Testing race ahead for NZ endurance riders at world games

http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/news/article/-/7994361/testing-race-ahead-nz-endurance-riders-world-games
NZPA - September 22, 2010, 4:35 pm

New Zealand's three endurance riders are ramping up preparations ahead of the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, United States, which start at the weekend.

Jenny Chandler, Alison Higgins and Debby Worsfold will be the first New Zealanders in action when they line up for the vet check with their horses on Sunday (NZT), followed by their 160km race on Monday.

The team have been based on a farm not far from the Kentucky Equestrian Park in Lexington, but will move in to their official stables on Saturday.

Endurance chef d'equipe Madonna Harris said she had confidence in her trio of riders, who had prepared well.

"Of all the disciplines, this really is the toughest," she said. "Throughout the race we present to the vets seven times."

At any stage in the race, if a horse's heartbeat does not come down fast enough or there is a niggle of any sort, a combination can be pulled.

And with just three in the New Zealand team, there is no room for error. All three combinations must finish the race to have a chance in the team category. About 130 combinations are expected to make the start line.

"Everyone is wired," Harris said.

"There are flags, banners and general mayhem going on - our riders just need to find an area and remain calm. As good as these riders are, they are completely inexperienced at this level, so it is a big ask for all."

New Zealand's eventing horses arrived from Europe today and riders Mark Todd, Andrew Nicholson, Caroline Powell and Jonathan Paget have all flown in to join teammate Clarke Johnstone, who arrived with the Australian team earlier this week.

The eventing starts on October 1 (NZT).

Katie McVean is the only showjumper already settled in Lexington, with the rest due to arrive next week.

The showjumping starts on October 5, with the Games finishing on October 11.
It is the first time they have been held outside of Europe and more than 800 riders from about 60 countries are competing.

World Equestrian Games Events - Endurance

Courier-journal.com - Full Article

September 19 2010

Endurance competition tests the speed and endurance of the horse and the management skills of the rider, who must have a knowledge of pace and efficient and safe use of the horse over considerable distances.

The ride is 100 miles, held on one day in six stages with a compulsory stop after every phase for veterinarians to check the horses' fitness to continue. A horse's heart rate must return to 64 beats per minute within a certain period before it can advance to the next loop.

There also are mandatory “hold times” or rest periods, varying from 30 to 50 minutes depending on the phase, before competitors can go to the next stage.
Related

* Endurance racing in Indiana
* Endurance rider prepares for games

The competitor who finishes the race in the shortest time — and whose horse passes a final veterinary exam and post-race drug testing — wins. A competitor is timed not only while on the course but until the horse's heart rate returns to normal and it goes to the vet gate.

Countries designate four members whose times can count toward the team competition and a fifth can compete as an individual. Team medals are determined by adding the times of the top three finishers on a team...

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http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100919/WEG01/309190040/-1/weg01/

UAE hot favourite in World Equestrian Games

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

Mohammad likely to lead seven -member national team in the multi-discipline competition in Kentucky

* By M. Satya Narayan, Senior Reporter
* Published: 00:00 September 19, 2010



Abu Dhabi : The UAE endurance team, likely to be led by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is to start as one of the favourites in the multi-discipline Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) which will start on September 25 in Lexington, Kentucky.

Shaikh Mohammad, along with Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture, are part of the seven-member team which has qualified for the 160km endurance championship scheduled on September 27.

The UAE has also qualified for the showjumping event, which will be held in October at the Kentucky Horse Park which will stage all eight equestrian disciplines.

National federations for 58 countries have submitted entries for the 2010 Games with Australia, Canada, Germany and the United States taking part in all eight disciplines which include dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, jumping, para dressage, reining and vaulting.

The UAE endurance team has qualified nearly 12 horses, but only four riders and horses for the team championship and one rider for the individual championship will be permitted to represent the country.

Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum won the endurance individual gold at the 2002 WEG held in Jerez, Spain.

The World Equestrian Games (WEG) are comprised of the world championships for eight equestrian sports and are held every four years, two years before the Olympic Games.

Largest airlift

An FEI press release says the largest commercial airlift of horses ever undertaken for a single event began from Belgium this week — heading to the United States for the first time in the event's 20-year history.

Almost 450 horses will be departing Europe in the coming days until September 29, in 10 charter flights equipped for the task, leaving from Belgium's Liege airport and the Amsterdam airport.

These European charter flights form part of an even larger worldwide airlift of horses competing in the September 25 and October 10 Games, organisers said.

In addition to the 445 horses departing from Europe, 19 horses from Australasia and 35 from South America are to fly to the United States in the coming week.

Horses grab their passports and jet

Skynews.com.au - Full Article

Sunday September 19, 2010
Horses grab their passports and jet

The largest commercial airlift of horses ever undertaken for a single event has begun in Belgium.

Almost 450 horses will depart from Europe in the second half of September bound for the US to take part in the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

Each horse must travel on its own passport, although unlike human passports with photographic identification, horse passports contain a markings diagram or in some cases microchip data.

Each horse must also have an export health certificate.

'You don't have a photo they have a marking diagram a diagram of a horse and all horses have white sox or different coloured mains or whatever and a branding on them perhaps and thats all marked on there so they can look at it and see which horse it is,' Henry Bullen, Director, Peden Bloodstock, said.

The European charter forms part of an even larger worldwide airlift of horses which will compete in eight different disciplines at the Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky.

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http://www.skynews.com.au/offbeat/article.aspx?id=515087&articleID=