UAE: Al Jaber claims the Wathba Stud Cup Endurance Ride

Horsereporter.com - Full Article

November 16, 2013
By Pamela@horsereporter

November 15, 2013, Abu Dhabi ~ UAE top rider Ahmed Mohammed Al Jaber partnered Omani Quandra to glory in the opening Wathba Stud Cup for Private Owners, a CEN 100km Wathba Challenge Endurance Ride at the Emirates International Village on Friday.

The winner covered the distance in three hours, 35 minutes and 49 seconds at an average speed of 27.80km/hour to lead by seven minutes 21 seconds ahead of Al Ain Stables contender Hamad Badr Abdulla Al Hammadi astride Venica and behind them came Azam Oan Al Kathiri to claim the third place honours for Al Ain Stables in three hours fourty five minutes and 30 seconds...

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http://www.horsereporter.com/?p=8247

2014 Normandie Ticket sales open to EVERYONE on Monday 18 November

JEMFEIAlltech2014-normandie.fr - Full Article

13 November 2013

Following on from the equestrian family’s priority purchase period, in a few days’ time ticket sales will open to the general public, (both from France and abroad), individuals or companies. This second sales period is exclusively for grouped tickets in the form of Passes, which allow access to several events. In total, during this second phase some 15,000 Passes will be put on sale until 3 March 2014.

25 Passes to discover all of the Games disciplines

Tickets for all of the disciplines are available, thanks to our selection of 25 Passes: 18 Discovery Passes and 7 Sensation Passes. Discovery Passes are ideal for non specialists, enabling the spectator to witness the action in various disciplines over the course of one or two days. Sensation Passes, more suited to horse-riding enthusiasts, also enable the spectator to watch several different events, with the added bonus of at least one guaranteed final!...

Read more here:
http://www.jemfeialltech2014-normandie.fr/en/news/ticket-sales-open-to-everyone-on-monday-18-november-a260.html

Pippa Cuckson: reflections on an FEI GA gone wild

Horsesportinternational.com - Full Article

Today, dear readers, a very special treat. I am delighted to share with you the ruminations of journalist extraordinaire, Pippa Cuckson. I’m even more delighted to read her post and realize that she and I are on exactly the same page when it comes to the momentous events of last week in Switzerland. Sometimes, as a journalist toiling away in the vacuum that is a freelancer’s existence for at least 350 days a year, one begins to doubt one’s judgment. One’s confidence can be so shaken by the kinds of accusations that were tossed about on the floor of the GA last week, one may even come close to succumbing to the charming pressures of the one who rules the roost. Which is why it was critically important that there were enough of us sitting there at the GA last week, sharing glances of incredulity with one another as the events I’ve already reported on were unfolding, and realizing that we all saw the same thing, which is apparently very much not what most of the delegates around us were seeing.

Without further ado, here is Pippa’s guest post. Thank you Pippa, for sharing with us.

Pippa Cuckson: reflections on an FEI GA gone wild

I was amongst the small media presence at the FEI General Assembly in Montreux, where six of the scribblers had a total of more than 150 years experience in reporting FEI politics. The Thursday was certainly one of the most astonishing days any of us have sat through.

The strain on the faces of FEI senior personnel was evident earlier in the week, even in the jolly environment of the first night party where, prophetically, entertainment was provided by acrobats, fire-eaters and contortionists.

Yet by Thursday there was near-delirium as federations pleaded to reinstate a third term for Haya, after all.

Just days before, journalists around the world had been prodded to report that Haya would face calls to quit because of the doping and injuries crisis in endurance. Some – not lots, but some – national federations were briefing media that’s what they were going to ask for, oh yes, most definitely. Reporters didn’t need to make this stuff up – there is still enough shocking material about Middle East endurance riders and trainers, and the shameless behaviour of so-called officials who let them get away with it, to keep headlines going for months without resorting to invention.

But on the day, the federations we’d expected to pipe up changed their minds or lost their nerve. There are three main reasons why:

Read more here:
http://www.horsesportinternational.com/2013/11/pippa-cuckson-guest-blogger/

FEI: Endurance Strategic Planning Group Proposals

November 12 2013

The Endurance Strategic Planning Group (ESPG), organized by the FEI to address the crisis in endurance racing and to develop a 10-year plan to eliminate the horse dopings and deaths, presented their findings at the FEI General Assembly held in Lausanne, Switzerland last week.

The six-member industry-expert group consisted of Brian Sheahan of Australia, Jean-Louis Leclerc of France, Saeed Al Tayer of the UAE, Joe Mattingley of the USA, and Chairman Andrew Finding of Great Britain.

A number of proposals include registration of endurance trainers with the FEI, code of professional conduct for officials and competitors; education, mentoring, and leadership training for endurance officials, a "formal declaration before event" of any conflicts of interest; review of disciplinary procedures and penalties for athletes and officials; and education for officials and riders.

The findings of the committee will be presented at another endurance conference in Lausanne in February. More conferring and conclusions will be shared with the FEI in March, and final conclusions and proposals will be presented and made public at yet another special endurance session in Lausanne in April.

The complete plans and proposed solutions can be seen here:
ESPG Plan
ESPG Script
ESPG Vision

Pleas for Princess Haya to stand for third term

Horseandcountry.tv - Full Article

By Charlotte Ricca-Smith on 7th-Nov-2013

HRH Princess Haya has been begged by national equestrian federations from around the world to stand for a third term as FEI President.

Seeking her return

Representatives from Belgium, Mauritius, Sudan, Chinese Taipei, USA and Jamaica made speeches at the FEI general assembly in Switzerland, calling for the Princess to reconsider her decision to stand down when her presidency ends in November 2014.

“It’s ironic to think that, from the media perspective, we were told that we would be coming here to seek her resignation, but in reality we’re seeking her return,” said United States equestrian federation secretary general John Long...

Read more here:
http://www.horseandcountry.tv/news/2013/11/07/pleas-princess-haya-stand-third-term

Code of conduct' aims to clean up endurance

By Charlotte Ricca-Smith on 12th-Nov-2013

Horse & Country

Issues of doping and deaths in the sport of endurance are to be tackled by a newly formed group led by Andrew Finding, chief executive of the British Equestrian Federation.

The Endurance Strategic Planning Group (ESPG) comprises six industry experts, and was set up by the FEI to develop a 10-year-plan to erradicate the problems that the sport is currently facing.

Andrew, who is the ESPG chair, opened their first face-to-face meeting, held in Lausanne, Switzerland last week (6 November), stating that endurance needs a “clear vision and a strong strategy”.

“The strategic plan we propose sets out a vision and a set of values we will expect everyone to adhere to if they genuinely want to be an active part of our family,” he said. “Those who do not should be asked to leave us.”



Read More Here...

FEI vs. Reality: Let’s Break it Down

Eventingnation.com - Full Article

By Wylie on November 7, 2013 3:00 PM

The FEI posted a press release today titled “National Federations call on HRH Princess Haya to stand for third term as FEI President.” Which struck me as strange because I’d just read this other story in The Telegraph on Tuesday titled, “FEI president Princess Haya faces calls for resignation over doping and horse welfare crisis.” Hmmm. Somebody has clearly been snacking on coo-coo puffs … but is it the FEI or the free press?

Let’s break down the FEI press release paragraph by paragraph in an effort to figure out what’s really going on:

Representatives from National Federations on four continents made impassioned pleas for HRH Princess Haya to reverse her decision not to stand for a third term as FEI President during today’s FEI General Assembly in Montreux (SUI).

The calls came after 100 National Federations signed a petition requesting the convening of an extraordinary general assembly as soon as possible for the purpose of amending the Statutes in order to prolong the term of the FEI President.

A stark contrast to the first two paragraphs of the Telegraph story: “Princess Haya of Jordan, the wife of Sheikh Mohammed, is expected on Wednesday to face calls to resign as president of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) over the doping and horse welfare crisis in endurance racing.

“The FEI’s three-day general assembly began on Tuesday and will confront the global outcry over the drug abuse, horse deaths and brazen rule-breaking in the Middle East which have propelled the previously little-known equestrian discipline — in which horses compete over distances of up to 100 miles a day — into notoriety.”

Are they even talking about the same assembly?...

Read more here:
http://eventingnation.com/home/fei-vs-reality-lets-break-it-down.html