Australia: Endurance rider ready for another big year

Bellingencourier.com.au - Full Article

May 1 2013

Bellingen rider Sharon Foster is all trained up for another year of endurance horse riding.

Foster has three horses on a fitness program ready for the endurance season ahead.

The Coffs Clarence Endurance Riding Club will be running its annual endurance ride on August 17 and 18.

There will be two 20km social rides, a 40km training ride and an 80km competition ride. All horse lovers are welcome. Last year, Foster covered a total of 1500km in training around the state forests in Bellingen.

And riding her trusted Arabian mare Maleka rode a total of 720km of competition, with a 100 per cent success rate...

Read more here:
http://www.bellingencourier.com.au/story/1470346/endurance-rider-ready-for-another-big-year/?cs=12

Australia: Tom Quilty Gold Cup closing date extended

Gympietimes.com.au - Full Article

1 May 2013

THE closing date to nominate for Australia's international endurance horse ride, the Tom Quilty Gold Cup, has been extended to May 15.

The 48th Tom Quilty Gold Cup will be held at Kilkivan from June 7-9, hosted by the Kilkivan Endurance Riders Club (KERC).

To qualify for the "Quilty", riders must successfully complete a 160km ride prior to the event.

Several lead-up endurance rides were cancelled due to unprecedented weather events including repeated heavy rains and flooding in south-east Queensland since January.

The most recent cancellation was the Far-A-Way endurance carnival, due to have been held at Imbil over Easter.

KERC president, Vern Berry said nominations to date for the Quilty were down on expectations because many key qualifying rides had been washed out...

Read more here:
http://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/tom-quilty-gold-cup-closing-date-extended/1849797/

Great Britain: Team Omar strike gold

Brechinadvertiser.co.uk - Full Article

04/05/2013

Despite the inclement weather and poor ground conditions over the early months of this year being responsible for delays in training programmes and competitive rides, Brechin based rider John Thomson and his pure bred Arabian endurance horse Prince Omar headed south for their first competitive ride of the season.

John and Omar joined 130 other combinations at the Endurance Great Britain National ride at Durham Valleys in early April with Team Omar taking on the 82 kilometres class.

The route, broken into a series of loops, followed sections of bridleways and disused railway lines making the going ideal for Omar’s flat speed conditioning.

Despite a temperature of minus two degrees Celsius in the early morning start, by the time Team Omar came into Vet Gate one the sun was up and the temperature had reached what seemed like a “tropical” 14 degrees Celsius.

By this stage Team Omar had covered the first 40 kilometres loop in under two and a half hours.

With the crew working flat out Omar was quickly vetted and the second loop covered in a time of two hours and 17 minutes to gain a National 2 award and gold standard.

“With the weather playing havoc with training plans and our first planned National ride in Cumbria cancelled there was always a slight worry about being fully prepared for a big distance early in the season,” explained John...

Read more here:
http://www.brechinadvertiser.co.uk/sport/local-sport/team-omar-strike-gold-1-2915443

Great Britain: Godolphin Trainer's Steroid Use Called 'Deliberate Flouting'

Thehorse.com - Full Article

By The Blood-Horse Staff • May 01, 2013 • Article #31788

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA), in a recap of a hearing into trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni's admitted use of anabolic steroids in some of his racehorses, called it a "deliberate flouting" of the rules of racing.

The BHA published the document April 30, just days after Al Zarooni, who trained for Godolphin, was suspended for eight years for 11 positive tests for ethylestranol and stanozolol. Blood samples were taken from the horses April 9, and the hearing before the BHA Disciplinary Panel was held April 25.

"The panel takes a very dim view of the sheer volume of horses who were subjected to these unlawful medication regimes," the BHA said. "This was a widespread systematic misuse of illegal substances which are absolutely prohibited under the rules..."

Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/31788/godolphin-trainers-steroid-use-called-deliberate-flouting?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=welfare-industry&utm_campaign=05-02-2013

Jairo Rodriquez and Lyrical Breeze are 2013 Spanish Champions

El Raid Blog

May 2 2013

Jairo Rodriquez and Lyrical Breeze won the Spanish Championships held on May 2 in Sant Feliu Sasserra (Barcelona), Spain. The pair covered the 160 km in 9:28.15, averaging 17.11 km/h. Lyrical Breeze also received the Best Condition award.

Laia Muixi riding Flying Tornade finished second, and Bernat Casals riding Dzsamila-P finished 3rd.

10 of 34 starters completed the ride.

Full results can be seen here:
http://www.ecuestreonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/resultados_raid_ctoespana.pdf

Australia: Mudgee Endurance Ride celebrates 40th birthday

Mudgeeguardian.com.au - Full Article

April 29 2013

Mudgee Endurance Riders Club will dedicate its 40th anniversary ride on May 25 and 26 to its veterinarian of 36 years, the late Ray Gooley.

Planning is well underway for the 40th ride which will start from the Cooyal Progress Association Hall on Wollar Road.

The main event of 83 kilometres will head out at 6am on Sunday, May 26, and a 40-kilometre training ride will begin at 7am.

There will also be a 20-kilometre social ride on Saturday afternoon starting at 1pm. Vetting pre-ride takes place from 11am on Saturday.

Mudgee Endurance Riders Club member Pat Dickinson said the course is not difficult and travels along quiet lanes, private properties, fire trails and bush tracks...

Read more here:
http://www.mudgeeguardian.com.au/story/1463873/mudgee-endurance-ride-celebrates-40th-birthday/?cs=1233

Swiss Protest "Negative Evolution of the FEI discipline Endurance"

4/26/2013

In a March 26, 2013, letter from the Swiss Federation, sent to the FEI and distributed to the National Equestrian Federations and European Equestrian Federation, the "negative evolution of the FEI discipline Endurance in the last few years" and the well being of the equestrian sport of endurance and its horses has been addressed.

The letter was written "on behalf of many worried riders, trainers and officials, but also observers in the public, media and animal protection circles." The letter stated, the "actual situation of FEI Endurance is taking forms that the Swiss Equestrian Federation cannot accept any longer."

The letter addresses the "multitude of witnessed and documented cruelties to horses… tremendous fracture frequencies… dangerous treatment protocols… as well as cheating actions before and during the Endurance races… in parallel with the non-taking of responsibility and function of certain officials…"

A "dramatic incidence of positive medication and doping cases" has been observed, along with inequity in competition.

The Swiss have petitioned the FEI to take immediate and efficient measures against the doping of endurance horses and the documented non-equity of competition.

The Swiss letter precedes letters of concern from the French Equestrian Federation, and the Belgian Equestrian Federation to the FEI in October of 2012.

The Belgian letter dated October 2, 2012, addressed (google translate) "the number of dead from exhaustion or horses euthanized due to spontaneous fractures has reached unimaginable proportions…" and requests the FEI take the (google translate) "necessary measures to ensure that perpetrators are actually banned from equestrian sport and that such actions quit permanently."

The French letter, dated October 12, 2012, addressed "a welfare issue concerning endurance discipline," pointing to 3 horse deaths during international endurance competition: "Concerned Horses dead after having passed vet gate inspections either during the track either after the end of the track… These cases are preoccupant for all endurance stakeholders. Here is a risk to tarnish the public perception of endurance discipline…"

No public comment so far from the FEI.

The Federation letters can be seen here:

Belgian Federation letter to FEI

French Federation letter to FEI

Swiss Federation letter to FEI