Abu Dhabi: USA Young Riders Participate in Presidents Cup

February 17 2013

While the outcome of the Abu Dhabi Presidents Cup wasn't what the girls expected, the experience was everything and more.

With 132 starters, and with the winners finishing the FEI*** 160-km race in 6:07.08 at an average speed of 26.14 km/h, Jessica DiCamillo and Devan Horn concentrated on their own ride, concentrating on their objective of 16 mph (10 mi/h). Jessica rode DJB Black Al Badi (aka Diesel) owned by Darolyn Butler, and Devan Horn rode CJS Maverick owned by Ceci Butler and Jason Stasiuk.

It wasn't to be for Devan early in the ride: "Maverick and I unfortunately retired after 40 miles for a slight front end lameness, but we did such a good job while we were riding! Jessica and I were literally in last place and maintaining our goal of 10 mph."

Ceci Butler-Stasiuk also participated in the ride on a horse owned by Shaikha Madiya al-Maktoum, but it was not to be for Ceci either. Her horse was eliminated for lameness at gate 2.

The USA contingent of grooms and friends and parents had high hopes for Jessica and Diesel finishing, but the gelding was eliminated on metabolics at the next to last gate 5.

The eliminations didn't dampen their enthusiasm for this biggest ride in Abu Dhabi, which for the first time invited Young Riders from around the world. Devan said, "[Jessica and I] and all of our crew had an amazing time and such a wonderful experience here in Abu Dhabi. I'd like to thank all of our crew and everyone who helped us get here! I am so lucky to have gotten the chance to come over and ride!"

Abu Dhabi: Orman Du Cardon triumphs

Khaleejtimes.com - Full Article

Hisham Al Gizouli / 17 February 2013

Mohammed Ali Al Shafar, aboard Orman Du Cardon, landed the 160-km FEI HH The President Endurance Cup for Al Reeh Endurance Stables to drive home a brand new car plus the precious Gold Cup and the mouth-watering prize-money at the Al Wathba International Endurance Village here on Friday.

The winner covered the distance in 6 hours, 6 minutes and 24 seconds at an average speed of 26.20 km/hr.

The race was attended by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance; and Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and a number of Shaikhs and top officials...

Read more here:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/sport/inside_sport.asp?xfile=/data/nationsports/2013/February/nationsports_February203.xml§ion=nationsports

UAE: Saudi rider aims high in ladies’ endurance ride

Gulfnews.com - Full Article

BY M. Satya Narayan, Abu Dhabi Deputy Editor
Published: 16:40 February 14, 2013

Abu Dhabi: Saudi Arabia’s Ayah Khalil Rafia is among the strong contingent of riders who will be taking part in Friday’s 100km Shaikha Fatma Bint Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Ladies Endurance Cup at the Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba.

Ayah, along with other lady riders from the UAE and other countries in the region — including some who are here for Saturday’s HH The President’s Cup — will be seen in action in Friday’s national ride.

Adnan Sultan Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, said: “The 100km ride will be run in four stages of 33km, 27km, 24km and 16km. The riders will vie for a share of the Dh350,000 on offer. The ride will get off to a mass start at 7am.”

Ayah, who can’t take part in rides in her home country, is looking to improve on her previous best finish in the UAE of 11th and also make a statement for female sportspeople in the region...

Read more here:
http://gulfnews.com/sport/horse-racing/saudi-rider-aims-high-in-ladies-endurance-ride-1.1146417

France: Interview with Franck Tchavouchian, the Sheriff of the Games

JEMFEIAlltech2014-normandie.fr

2/8/2013

Interview with Franck Tchavouchian, the Sheriff of the Games

Franck Tchavouchian joined the Normandie 2014 Organising Committee in June 2012 as event security/health and safety manager. His job? To manage all security and safety related issues for the horses, the competitors and the 500,000 expected spectators during the World Equestrian Games fortnight. With twenty-five years of experience in sports event management, this will be Franck “the Sheriff of the Games” first equestrian event. He has in fact already worked at the Parc des Princes football stadium, the Stade de France – France’s national stadium, on the Dakar Rally, the Tour de France race and not forgetting the French Open. This will be yet one more great adventure …

When we start talking about security or safety issues, what exactly does that mean for a major sporting event like the the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy?

We’re talking about guaranteeing the safety and security of both people and property.

There are three major aspects to cover when it comes to the Games: 1) Security - that includes general and property guarding services, 2) Safety - preventative measures to protect people and property (e.g. fire risks), 3) Health and safety - security services don’t usually handle this third category but we’re breaking new ground here with the Games! This is also my first equestrian competition after twenty-five years of experience in sporting events…So this will be a first in more ways than one!



Bearing in mind the exceptional nature of our event, that’s to say ten disciplines in eight different sites, does this bring any specific security challenges?

Yes, of course! First of all, we will be in the global spotlight and it’s the first time this type of competition is being held in France. Then there are the expectations and long-term benefits (15 years) for the region of Normandy to consider and the FEI and sports directorate requirements... All these particular points mean that we can’t leave anything to chance!

And don’t forget, we have to manage ten different events, each with their own specific requirement. This means ten times more constraints for us to deal with compared to an event like the French Open - each equestrian discipline has its own regulations.

There will also be eight competition sites for us to handle, some of which are outdoor whilst others are indoor: the Caen exhibition park “Parc des Exposition”, the Zénith centre, Hippodrome de la Prairie racecourse, the D’Ornano Stadium, Le Pin National Stud, Sartilly, Deauville and St Lô.

We are therefore going to work very closely with the FEI and the different departments of the Organising Committee so that we can get everything ready for big day!



What will be 2013’s major tasks for your department?

We have three main tasks for 2013: 1) to identify each department’s needs 2) to issue calls for tenders and 3) to make a pre-selection of service providers who match our requirements.

We will have to take into account the specific demands of each discipline and each department to be able to identify all their needs properly. For example, the sports department will ask us to recruit staff to ensure public safety along the endurance course. It’s our role to understand and anticipate their requirements before deciding upon the type of person we need to call in (professionals or volunteers) and how to position these people along the course. As for the call for tenders, we’re not going to reinvent what’s already been done before: we’re going to base our strategy on what already happens at other major sporting events. We will then simply adapt it to the particular needs of our event.

The selection of service providers will be divided into three key areas: environment, place and expertise of each. Seeing as all three areas need to be managed differently (security, health and safety), it’s more than likely that we will go for several different service providers to guarantee the very best service. It will also be vital to anticipate law enforcement requirements. This does of course depend on the number of people expected at the event: we’re estimating about 500,000 over the course of two weeks!



You’ve still got 559 days to go before the event, but do you already know what type of security strategy needs implementing during the games in 2014? Or how you are going to safeguard the security of an expected 500,000 visitors?

Fortunately for us and thanks to our extensive experience, we can draw parallels with existing security, health & safety organisation at other events. As we see it, it’s a mix between what happens at the Parc des Princes football stadium, the Stade de France stadium, the Tour de France cycling race, the French Open and the FIFA World Cup™. We are basing our model on these events but as each event is unique we will be adapting it to the particularities of the World Equestrian Games.

For the moment, we have a basic strategy in mind but the more meetings we have, the more we have to reconsider and fine tune certain points. It’s therefore highly likely that the resources will be upped by 20% in the coming months. One thing’s for sure: we’re looking at everything in minute detail to make sure that nothing disturbs the event!



*About Franck Tchavouchian: twenty-five years of experience in major sports event management, with ten years at the head of his own security/health & safety consultancy created in 2002. In particular, Franck has overseen the Tour de France cycling race, the French Open and the Paris-Dakar Rally.

USA Young Riders and Horses arrive in Abu Dhabi for the Presidents Cup

February 10 2013

USA Young Riders Jessica DiCamillo of New Mexico and Devan Horn of Texas arrived in Abu Dhabi on February 9th in anticipation of riding in the February 16th 160-km Presidents Cup. Jessica will be riding DJB Black Al Badi (aka Diesel), owned by Darolyn Butler, and Devan will be riding CJS Maverick, owned by Jason and Ceci Butler-Stasiuk. Ceci has been in the UAE the last couple of weeks, riding in endurance races on horses owned by Shaikha Madiya.

"Jason and the ponies arrived safely and in very good health," Ceci said this morning. "And so did the rest of the of the young U.S. team!!! They where both bright & bushytailed after such a long trip!! We are all very privileged to be here as an endurance family."

Ceci will also ride in the Presidents Cup on one of Shaikha Madiya's horses, where over 200 entries are expected.

For coverage of the Presidents Cup follow:
http://www.endurance.net/international/UAE/2013PresidentsCup/

Young British Rider invited to India International Endurance Ride

Endurancegb.co.uk

Amber Sole, 17, from Hessle, East Yorkshire, set off for India this week to take up an opportunity to compete in a 60km endurance ride in India on 2nd February, riding a borrowed horse.

The invitation to ride in the International Endurance Championship at Dibrugharh, Assam came in November from the Equestrian Federation of Assam. Amber’s mother, Allyson, herself a regular endurance rider, jokingly asked if Amber would fancy having a go. “To our surprise, Amber said yes, so it was then all systems go to get everything ready for her to travel to India. She has only been abroad once before, on a school trip to Paris, and she has never flown so we had to organise her passport and visa in quite a hurry”, explained Allyson. “Luckily her Dad has travelled extensively so I left it all to him to organise”, she added.

Amber first sat on a horse when she was just 18 months old and was learning to ride properly when she was 5. “I was competing regularly in endurance at a low level and so it was a natural progression for Amber to join in” said Allyson. Amber competed in her first endurance ride when she was 10 years old, riding a Welsh Section A pony called Tilly, and then started competing her mother’s Fiord horse, following Allyson during the rides. Amber soon moved on to the higher mileage rides organised by Endurance GB, the governing body of the sport of Endurance riding in Great Britain, and competed in her first 80km ride on a part bred arab called El Cavalier that she was given on loan. In 2010 she completed her first 2-day 160km ride at Dukeries, as well as several other 2-day rides and became National Junior Champion. She has continued to up her game, coming first in a 90km FEI 1* ride at Hayward Oakes in 2011 and completing her first 100km graded ride in 2012. “She is very determined and aims to do a 120km ride this year and try to qualify for the under 21’s team by 2014”, explained Allyson.

What better way for an aspiring young rider to start the 2013 season than a trip to India to represent GBR in their International Endurance Championship? Amber and her father will arrive in India on Thursday with a couple of days to acclimatise and find out what horse she will be riding in the competition on Saturday. “The terrain will be quite different to anything she has experienced, and it will be interesting to see what sort of horses they ride”, says Allyson, who has stayed at home to look after their own horses. “The ride takes place in the eastern Himalayas, along sandy river banks and through tea plantations, which I think will be terraced, so it is likely to be hilly. We have been told that the scenery is stunning”, she added. Getting on a strange horse will be no problem to Amber who is studying Horse Management at Bishop Burton College and regularly rides different horses.

Regular updates will be posted on the Endurance GB facebook and Twitter. www.facebook.com/EnduranceGB or @endurancegb.

FEI Continues Equine Doping Crackdown in 2013

Thehorse.com - Full Article

By Christa Lesté-Lasserre • Feb 04, 2013 • Article #31306

As the 2013 competition season approaches, it might be wise to make sure you (and your horses) are in compliance with the Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). In its ongoing crackdown on equine doping, the FEI delivered a record number of decisions during the first ten months of 2012.

The world governing body of equestrian sport presented data on doping decisions made by the FEI Tribunal last year at the 2012 FEI General Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey, held in November.

Between January and October 2012, the FEI Tribunal delivered 16 final decisions on equine cases involving 14 horses, according to Lisa Lazarus, JD, of the FEI general counsel. Six two-year final suspensions were issued to the "persons responsible" (usually the rider). The average suspension was 15.2 months, and the average fine was 1,567 Swiss francs (or $1,684).

All cases involved the administration of a prohibited substance to at least one horse...

Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/31306/fei-continues-equine-doping-crackdown-in-2013