FEI: Leading French rider Morgane Payen claims she was offered £124,000 for her mobile phone

Telegraph.co.uk - Full Article

Extraordinary accustaions have been made by a top rider as the controversy over the fate of Eclipse continues.

By Pippa Cuckson

7:33PM GMT 03 Dec 2013

A top French rider says she was offered €150,000 (£124,000) for her phone by the handlers of a Maktoum stables-trained endurance horse, Eclipse, which later died, after they spotted they were being filmed in the vetting area.

The claim is made in leading French equestrian magazine L’Eperon by Morgane Payen, after months of speculation about the fate of Eclipse at the Young Riders World Championships at Tarbes.

He finished second under Saaed Ahmad Jaber Al Harbi but was eliminated for lameness and euthanised two days later...

Read more here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/equestrianism/10492792/Leading-French-rider-Morgane-Payen-claims-she-was-offered-12400-for-her-mobile-phone.html?fb

Australia: Endurance riders compete at Red Range

Gleninnesexaminer.com.au - full article

December 3 2013

Last weekend the Mackinder FEI Australian endurance riding championships were held at Red Range, over the weekend approximately 140 horses and riders completed in events ranging from 40 Kim's to 160km endurance races were the motto is to complete is to win.

Winner of the three star championship event was Ben Hudson from mud gee NSW riding Oso Edith an Arabian mare in 10hrs, 23mins and 39secs.

The youth event over the same distance was won by Andrew Mackinder son of our major sponsor Allan Mackinder on Sundown Park Cariad, in 10hrs, 22mins and 47 sec...

Read more here:
http://www.gleninnesexaminer.com.au/story/1947252/endurance-riders-compete-at-red-range/?cs=420

FEI: Would the Accused Stand

Endurance-belgium.com


From left to right: Mr De Vos, Mrs Haya, Mr Buchman

December 1 2013
Leonard Liesens - Endurance-belgium

Would the accused stand! That's the title of the article published in the Belgian magazine "Hippo Revue", the biggest equestrian publication in dutch in Belgium. Mark Wentein is the main actioner but also the President of the Flemish wing of the Belgian Federation.

Follow this link to display the copy of the article: Hippo-Revue-Article

In a six pages article, mark Wentein starts by listing the events that lead to the whole endurance scandal, as it has been also published in many daily newspapers in French, English, German languages: Sh Mohammed suspension in 2009, the scandals of the flat racing stables in Newmarket, doping cases in endurance, the interview of Pierre Arnould ran by Pippa Cuckson of The Telegraph, the reaction of FEI...

Arnould says to Hippo Revue : "the non-disclosure document I signed doesn't forbid me to say what I think about what's going on in endurance in the Middle East, come on". Wentein adds his comment and regrets the unilateral behaviour of the FEI (and De Vos in particular).

A Blacklist published by Hippo Revue:

- permanent conflicts of interests
- FEI representatives and FEI officials seen in the VIP tents of the Gulf countries during the course of the event
- when a VIP is suspended, private races are organized (with the help and the active working of FEI representatives and FEI officials and veterinarians), like the 'Ride with the Stars' at Euston in 2009
- the night before the race, but also during rest periods, horses are put on drip and doped. This is a systematic way of doing in the Middle East but it also took place in Europe, for example at Euston Park WEC2012(Ali Kalfan), Czech Rep 2006 (Warsan team)
- cheating about the minimum weight, even in Europe (Compi7gne, Dillingen, Assisi)
- cheating with the qualification rules for horses (systematic in Middle East)
- racing of horse on CEI while these never appeared at national level
- disrespect of the maximum speed for qualification events, disrespect of the minimum rest time between events
- frequent changes of horse names (and of labels of chipnumbers on FEI passports) to enter horses more frequently on races without respecting rest time
- disrespect of the course; VIPs can use shortcuts on the trail while officials are keeping their eyes shut; obviously the total length of the course doesn't correspond to the FEI schedule in the Middle East
- frequent use of long reins to use it as whip to push horses
- most of the sanctioned riders are from the Middle East
- little reaction from the FEI in inquire about causes and responsibles in case of horse fatalities and fractures; obviously no sanctions of the responsibles persons: 3 deaths in France in 2012 (Qatar); 2 deaths in Europe in 2013 (Dubai); 80 deaths during season 2011-2012 in Group VII (obviously not an official number-officially FEI reports 10 fatalities)
- exchange of horses on one event without any reaction from the officials or from the FEI (photos of evidences forwarded to FEI)
- use of two different saddles during event, one heavy (for weighting), one light (for racing), reporting for example at Dillingen 2013 with photos
- active corruption of officials by distributing envelopes and benefits in kind

Hippo Revue reports also the Jaume Punti episode where FEI answered: "this falls under the British juridiction so this is not the FEI business". Hippo Revue compares this case with Lance Armstrong not giving back his Tour de France Yellow Shirts while convinced of doping in USA.

Finally Hippo Revue relates the FEI GA at Montreux. The petition ran by the emerging countries and not supported by most of the major European Federations. But this was weirdly supported by Belgium, well by Jacky Buchmann the President while the rest of the Belgian delegation was furious and ashamed at the same time. Hippo Revue put this back into its context reminding the excellent relationship between the President of the Belgian Federation and Princess Haya and also the big support given by Buchmann to Ingmar de Vos for accessing at the FEI Sec Gen duties. (nftr: that's the reason finally)

John Crandell Responds to FEI's Endurance Strategic Planning Group's Proposal

www.endurance.net/international/UAE/2013FEIControversy

November 21 2013

The reports from the Endurance Strategic Planning Group (ESPG) presented at the FEI general assembly depict an earnest and hardworking effort by some to salvage FEI endurances status and reputation. This report also demonstrates the “systemic” problems, as described by Chairman Andrew Finding, that have plagued the FEI permeate the ESPG as well.

It is clear the ESPG recognizes the scope of issues is vast and must reach into many areas of the organization at once to incite real and lasting change. The very professionally developed schematic format and its “Plan on a Page” represented considerable expertise in planning. This work indicates that the ESPG wisely recognizes that we need to carefully develop consensus on schematic levels of this initiative before we can effectively develop details of a comprehensive overhaul.

I was very pleased to see some emphasis on education and reminders of the history of endurance riding as part of the program. Endurance testing could play a unique role in mankind’s relationship with animals if we define and regulate the discipline thoughtfully. It can even be an essential force in the long term health and happiness of equines as a sustainable species if we do this very well. We all need to remember both the noble and productive, as well as the cruel and destructive moments in endurance riding history and pre-history, to guide our path into the future. The modern era of equine endurance, the transformation of the practice into a socially acceptable and regulated form of equine testing, was founded on the interest of dedicated horseman. These were passionate enthusiasts looking for an academically valued way to identify great horses and horsemanship based on a natural spectrum of the species’ most definitive and historic abilities. The discipline has proven that it can be an engaging sport and economically sustainable, even in its most academic forms. The stringent preservation of this academic aspect of the discipline is essential to the nobility of the sport, its long-term net value to the equine species, and is at the core of any meaningful philosophy of respect for the horses.

Even as the schematic and gestural elements of the ESPG plan presented great promise, hints and examples of the concrete details of how this program might be implemented are very concerning.

Chairmen Andrew Finding acknowledged that there needs to be complete “rule by rule” revisiting of the FEI endurance rule book. While it’s encouraging that there is an understanding that the rule book needs to be thoroughly revisited, simple line item changes will not be enough, even if we edit almost every line. The inherent incentives and disincentives of the rules and award system are established more by the philosophies and basic constructs behind the document than by letter of the rules themselves. The fundamental errors of the rules, award philosophies and their motivations cannot be corrected by line item edits and definitely not by adding more and more regulations. We need the eloquence of wisdom, not the burden of more bureaucracy.

Concepts like extended rest periods and the growing horse qualifying hierarchies seem justifiable and necessary in the context of the current regulations. These ever expanding attempts to micro-manage training practice are only more evidence that the underlying motivations, which are established by the rules and awards structure, are misdirected. Even now, good trainer’s efforts are being compromised by the logistic wastefulness of compliance to increasingly intrusive regulation. Economic wastefulness mandated by the FEI system only amplifies the competitive advantages of wealth, and limits the number of participants that are interested in participating at the financial support level.

We cannot correct these embedded inefficiencies without going deeply into the core constructs of the system, such as the very definitions of the CEI “*” levels, and then reconstructing from there. The endurance rules and policies could be much simpler and much more effective at encouraging noble behavior we could all be proud of.

The most detailed example of the ESPG’s intentions, the proposal for a professional trainer registry, was presented by a group member from a region that has already licensed and ranked trainers within its federations for almost two decades. This is also the region that has seen the most overwhelming concentration of rule violations and subsequent animal abuse in the same time period. The entire world has seen the results of philosophies like using a professional trainer’s registry to institutionalize the limiting of accountability at the trainer level.

One of the most common quips among those that bear close witness to Dubai endurance racing is “I guess another groom will be sent back to India (Pakistan) over that one”. Fingering someone that is not only easily replaced, but is also suspected of disloyalty to the regime would be a doubled bonus, and a signal to others that might express independent thoughts. Larger scandals sometimes require more significant scapegoats, so someone of higher rank in the systems, such as a veterinarian, assistant trainer, or even a principal managing trainer must take the fall.

If the circumstances of the offense are such that even powerful media and information controls cannot deflect blame to someone haplessly innocent and powerless, then someone of loyalty or value to the regime must take the fall. These persons are likely to know too much about where the directives are really coming from, or may represent strategic political alliances, so they must be compensated to retain their loyalty. These same persons also know that overt demonstrations of extreme loyalty, taking personal risks such as throwing races, or joining in on rule violations in a “one for all and all for one” manner are seen as acts worthy of exceptional generosity in gifting.

It is in this manner that influence and incentive to cheat transcends and blurs the boundaries of stables and their ownership of record. The overt presence of cheaters driving their choice of a fleet of gifted luxury vehicles, and of banned trainers pensioned or promoted to an active role supervising assistant trainers, has been the powerful driving force of a depraved competition culture.

This environment has made the worst violators secure, wealthy, and powerful, while the honorable horsemen in their region have been ostracized. This duality of the mechanisms is the most fundamental reason the region fell to such deplorable depths so completely and so rapidly. Ethically weak and incompetent FEI stewardship simply added the credibility and cloak of that brand, sold at a relatively low political price.

Suggestion of an enforcement strategy based on the professional career sensibilities of trainers is therefore a preposterous statement that offends the intelligence of anyone with exposure to the environment that spawned the current outrage. Like so many rules and policies now embedded in the FEI system, implementation of such a program would only further institutionalize the shielding of the ultimate financial and political sources of inappropriate directives. Any measure that further inhibits tracking of these depraved incentives to their political and economic roots will only make the systemic corruption issues worse, not better.

“You can fool some of the people, some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time” – Abraham Lincoln

Trainer licensing at this time, and in the manner presented, is therefore a proposal that would be counterproductive to the purported goals of the ESPG. At best it could only result in the better concealment of the roots of moral poverty. It will eventually necessitate new cycles of rules and regulations to further address the un-remedied issues and will extend the burden of an expanding bureaucracy to the rest of the world.

The chairman of the ESPG further endorsed and applauded this proposal in the proceedings of the recent FEI general assembly. This has only raised questions about the competence of the ESPG itself, and particularly of the integrity of the selection process of its members. It’s time for us to question why the FEI needs to be so diplomatic as to publicly advance the offerings of the fox on the security of the hen house. This repeated occurrence in rule and policy development has become an open source of embarrassment and a divisive wedge in the equestrian endurance community.

The Chairman went further to suggest the future of endurance riding lies in modeling after flat racing. Traditional flat racing has been in a popular decline in much of the developed world for the last half century. The simple fact is that the new sources of wealth that might support flat racing have become wary of its marginalized record and publicity. Even those that don’t fully understand the sport have developed a visceral sense that something is fundamentally questionable about the sports economic institutions and influence on equine genetics. The obsession for genetic development toward an unnaturally narrow performance attribute is a source of inherent conflict with the principals of wholesome and sustainable well-being. At this time it is widely understood the flat racing is only supported at its present level by extreme financial commitments of an increasingly few wealthy people that are insulated from the pressures of modern morality.

It only seems apparent that endurance riding must advance in the direction of the “Sport of Kings” by the trajectory of the aforementioned rule and reward guidance. Following flat racing as a model is not a wise and sustainable long-term path. The entire world is evolving much too fast in an opposing direction. Equine endurance tests can be a leader, and not a trailing victim, of the advancing public awareness if we manage this discipline with a regard for its potential academic values. While the public has been presented with an ESPG program that is just what it wanted to hear in schematic approach and background rhetoric, the closer we look at the most detailed visions and proposals, the more utterly alarming it becomes. The devil is in the details.

It is a fact of human interaction that we most efficiently develop new concepts in relatively small groups. This however depends on the fortunate or wise assembly of the right individuals, as the contribution of each is critical to the outcome. The FEI has now put itself in a position that will eventually require it to withdraw the most detailed aspect of the ESPG proposal and restructure the personnel and visions of that group in order to retain the support of the broader endurance community worldwide. The can has only been kicked down the road. The biggest debates and conflicts still lie ahead.

Malaysia: Azizatul aims to regain top spot

NST.com.my - Full Article

December 2 2013

SHE was the top ranked youth endurance rider in the world in September.
But as of this month, Azizatul Asma Abdullah (pic), who had to miss two competitions as she had to prepare for her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination, must make way for Uruguay's Maria Pareira in the FEI Young Riders World Endurance Ranking.
"All is not lost though as I still have chance to regain top spot, and who knows, I may even end up with the Rider of the Year title as well," said the 17-year-old student with Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Datuk Razali Ismail in Kuala Terengganu.
But she must travel to Costa Azul, Uruguay and win the 120km race, scheduled for Dec 14-16, or at least finish ahead Maria in the last race of the endurance calendar year...

Read more here:
http://www.nst.com.my/sports/other/equestrian-azizatul-aims-to-regain-top-spot-1.418510

UAE Horse Eclipse euthanized after Tarbes

Endurance-belgium.com

December 1 2013

L'Eperon is the biggest and most respected French magazine. In the december edition, finally, an article relates the events leading to the euthanasia of Eclipse. What is very interesting in this article are the new facts brought forward by the French journalist. Thanks to the interview of the main witness of the horse abuse, Morgane Payen. Morgane is not just another spectator at this event; she is a well respected endurance rider who has won Florac. She said: "After the finish, the horse was lead by his armada of grooms outside the grooming area. I followed them as I had my doubts. In the rest area, they put the leg of the horse in a bucket of ice, but I saw a person with a syringe in his hand putting his wrist in the bucket. A friend of mine filmed the scene, but then I have been put under pressure to stop. Somebody even offered me to buy my phone for 150,000 euros." The journalist gives details about the person offering money, details obtained from another source: a frech broker using to work for the Al Wathba stables at Abu Dhabi and the Emaar's at Dubai. Morgane Payen had after that drafted a letter to the person responsible for the MCP control (Jacques Nardin): "I wanted that this letter serves to stop these abuses and land on the desk of the FEI director of endurance, Ian Williams". But the FEI and Williams didn't deign to react. There were no doping controls done on the horse, nor post-mortem afterwards. The reason officially given : not enough stewards at the venue (come on Messieurs, there were enough stewards and enough time to take blood samples of Eclipse; he was standing in the treatment box for hours long after the end of the competition). Also Dr Fred Barrelet, a Swiss veterinarian co-owning a clinic at Newmarket explains : "The bucket of ice was there to desensitize the leg and the syringe probably contained an analgesic". He continues : "The FEI has recently added a product on the list; it is a product based on ammonium chloride produced by an Argentinean lab".

How can we believe that things will change. The whole mentality is wrong!

Follow this link to display the article : L'Eperon.

UAE: Afra rides to endurance glory

Khaleejtimes.com - Full Article

Hisham Al Gizouli / 1 December 2013

UAE rider guides Buren Dah Orlando to victory in Shaikha Fatima Endurance Cup

UAE lady rider Afra Khalifa Al Suwaidi, astride her ten-year-old Anglo Arab gelding Buren Dah Orlando, landed the 90km HH Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies Endurance Cup — for Arab Countries only as the UAE ladies swept the top ten positions at the Emirates International Endurance Village in Al Wathba here on Saturday. Compatriot Lobna Ali Ahmed on board Cameo Zatobeck and behind them finished Nasreen Khasro aboard Vasco.

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 Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai; Shaikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor, Shaikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Advisor of the National Security and Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.

The race was held under the directives of Shaikh Mansour as part of the Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival with 71 lady riders from the UAE, Gulf and Arab countries in the fray for the Dh500,000 prizemoney. The winner has also walked away with the festival’s Rolex watch.

The winner covered the distance in three hours, eight minutes and 38 seconds at an average speed of 28.62 km/hour to cross the finish line six minutes clear of the runner-up...

Read more here:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/sport/inside_sport.asp?xfile=/data/nationsports/2013/December/nationsports_December2.xml§ion=nationsports