Australia: Hendra virus vaccine for horses shouldn't be compulsory in Queensland, parliamentary committee finds

ABC.net.au - Full Article

October 21 2016
By Chris O'Brien and Alexandra Blucher

Vaccinating horses against Hendra virus should not be made compulsory, despite the deaths of 77 horses and four people since 1994, a Queensland parliamentary committee has found.

The agriculture committee was asked to look into the Hendra vaccine and its use by vets.

It recommended that vaccination not be mandatory, but that vets should also be free not to treat horses that had not been vaccinated.

However, the committee also warned there would be more deaths if horses were not vaccinated.

The report also detailed the complex debate about the use of the vaccine and the decision about whether to make it mandatory for horse owners.

It recommended new workplace safety laws to limit the liability of vets and clear requirements for protective clothing.

Committee chair and Gladstone MP, Glenn Butcher, said the inquiry's 11 recommendations were about saving lives.

"Hendra virus remains a risk for horses wherever there are flying foxes — horses that get infected generally die," he said.

"If people get the virus from infected horses they will likely die too and there is no cure.

"Vaccinating against the Hendra virus remains the most effective option for preventing horse and human deaths from the virus, according to biosecurity, workplace safety and health experts.

"If people stop vaccinating their horses, we will see deaths from Hendra virus in Queensland again..."

Read more here:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-21/hendra-virus-vaccine-horses-should-not-be-compulsory-qld/7956166

Australia: Victoria Bonham finishes 33rd in Tom Quilty Gold Cup

Westernadvocated.com.au - Full Article

Victoria Bonham finishes 33rd in Tom Quilty Gold Cup in Lexton, Victoria. Bradley Jurd
@BradleyJurd

21 Oct 2016

The Tom Quilty Gold Cup is a gruelling 160 kilometre horse endurance race, and is one of the toughest rides in the country, where only half of the entered riders managed to finish this year.

Yet Victoria Bonham rode her 13 year-old gelding Bridle Track Bogart to a 33rd place finish in the ride, on the course at Lexton, Victoria on October 7.

Bonham was more satisfied to have finished, completing the ride in a time of 18 hours, 37 minutes and 22 seconds.

“It is more than finishing the race, it is to complete it,” she said.

“We finished mid field and only fifty per cent finished.”

Bonham credited Bridle Track Bogart, who she said went beautifully throughout the ride, with ease, considering the course was wet and boggy...

Read more here:
http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/4241625/bathurst-rider-is-pleased-to-finish/

Two endurance horses put down and one rider injured during 90km FEI ride

Pippa Cuckson 20:20 - 16 October, 2016

Two horses have been put down and a rider is in hospital with reported serious injuries following the international 90km endurance ride in Fontainebleau, France, on Saturday 15 October.

The fatal injuries were confirmed in a brief statement issued by the ride organisers, and the notation CI – which stands for catastrophic injury – promptly appeared against the horses’ names in the live results.

Experienced French rider Andre Coriou, 55, was taken to hospital after the six-year-old Ariane d’Oudaires fell during loop three. It is not yet clear whether the horse’s fatal fracture was the cause or result of the fall. At the time of publication, no update on Coriou’s condition has been issued.

The second fracture was sustained by Castlebar Contraband, ridden by Sheikh Abdul Al Qasimi, 28, a member of one of the ruling families in the UAE. The Qasimis’ long-term trainer Anzac Mehmood posted on Facebook that he did not see the accident in person, but visited the site later and thought Contraband had probably tripped on a stone.

[More ...]

FEI/UAE: And The Hits Just Keep on Coming…

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

Cuckson Report | October 11, 2016

It may have been staged three weeks ago, but unsavoury matter is still rising out of the effluence of the world endurance championships at Samorin.

There seems to have been so much anarchy and/or incompetence at the replacement venue in Slovakia on September 16th you have to wonder how much worse the championship could actually have been if still staged in Dubai.

The UAE contingent – all riding for the Maktoums’ premier stables, no rider or owner from any of the other Emirates got a look-in – set out defiantly, having been stripped of the right to stage this event themselves. But they are not the only ones to blame for the shambles at Samorin. Too much of what is widely reported to have occurred behind the scenes suggests that for all their brave word, elements of FEI officialdom are still at pains not to offend the ruling family of Dubai.

So many endurance scandals should have provided the “tipping point” for serious reform: the media focus on doping offences in the royal barns of Dubai, the Marmoog swap and other horse identity frauds, Splitters Creek Bundy, the phantom rides. But numerous official wrist-slappings of the UAE have not resulted in any discernible improvement in their respect for horses, other riders, officials or for FEI rules.

Following Samorin, many more senior figures have felt moved to speak out on social media and in mainstream equestrian publications. Maybe now the tide will start to turn…but I am not holding my breath.

Read this salutary account, for instance, from a very experienced organiser and four-star judge, Francois Kerboul. If you are involved with other horse sports you will find just one of his many bullet points shocking and unbelievable, and you may not make it to the end without a stiff drink. Here is the original French on www.ceermp.org (scroll to the heading “WEC Samorin (SVK) 17-09-2016: Quand les rumeurs se font confidences et inquiètent passablement”). There is an English translation at the foot of this blog.

I will not take up your time with extra commentary on Francois’s text, other than to note that a) none of it to date has been denied in any other reputable media; b) regarding the alleged “sale” of the Italian grooming area to the UAE, bear in mind that the foreign judge who could have reversed it was a Mr Al Hammadi who is, ahem, from the UAE; and c) the intervention of the French team manager relates to a widely-expressed view that Ajayeb should never have been passed to set off on what was to prove her fatal phase...

Read more here:
http://www.horse-canada.com/cuckson-report/and-the-hits-just-keep-on-coming/

South Africa: Sandymount Express 1000 : The final day, and the day after - Devan Horn

http://www.endurance.net/international/SouthAfrica/2016SandymountExpress1000

October 9 2016

All 9 riders complete the Sandymount Express 1000

I woke up the morning of the final day secure in the knowledge that I would have an easy finish. My legs felt awesome, I was full of energy, and very confident. Starting out on the first loop, we were all full of cheer and high spirits.

And then the storm came.

The cloud cover gave a respite from the Fauresmith Sun (like the Tevis Moon, just less charming), but the wind was something primal. So hard and fast I couldn't breathe, a relentless headwind that made Every. Single. Stride. A fight. Every inch of forward progress was a victory. Rain. Lightning. Dust twisters. Definitely qualifies as the hardest day.

But my horses and I were harder. Fairlane, fresh and strong, Aviatrix, completing her 240th kilometer, ears pinned to her neck and nose snarled shut, and especially Brio who handled the worst of it with his striking long trot, cutting a straight line through the storm and getting me to the finish.

As soon as I crossed, and the tears and champagne hit the dirt, I learned that Lize had vetted out on her last loop and had to do an extra 40 in these conditions. As Tines had done for me on my very first day, all 8 riders loaded up in the back of a truck to cheer her home. The din when she crossed the line is hard to imagine. We mobbed the vet at the end, teasingly daring him to vet her out a second time. But her horse looked fantastic, and the Sandymont was officially at an end.

For my team, the kilometer breakdown was:

Aviatrix: 250 K

Hidalgo: 170 K

Zara: 170 K

Brio: 170 K 

Fairlane: 120 K

Coco: 80 K

Sunita: 40 K

Cowboy: 40 K (vet out)

As you can tell, I had the privilege of riding amazing horses this week. I want to thank Donnie, Jackie, Wessel, and especially Rykie for letting me ride their horses on this adventure.

I also want to thank Jaco and Rykie for their help during the race. They were my support team, helpers, grooms, and family. Along with Elias, Beeerkjie, and Joseph, they kept me moving to the finish line all week. To Leon and Engela to opening their home to me while I attempted this ride.

Thank you to my fellow riders, all 8 of you were amazing, not a single one of us quit or retired, and it was an absolute privilege to ride with you. It was tough, beautiful, and wild all in one. We've done this, we can do anything.

Thank you to my sponsors, Hammer Nutrition and Tropical Riders, both of which supplied product that I couldn't have gotten through without.

A big, huge thank you to the South African endurance community in general. I came here solo, with no family or support team, and you made me feel welcome and became my support.

More from Devan at:
http://www.endurance.net/international/SouthAfrica/2016SandymountExpress1000/

Australia: Tom Quilty Gold Cup winner: Rider Debbie Grull; horse Lauralyn Notorious

Weeklytimesnow.com.au - Full Article

DALE WEBSTER, The Weekly Times
October 9, 2016

TASMANIAN rider Debbie Grull and her horse Lauralyn Notorious took out the 2016 Tom Quilty Gold Cup endurance ride at Lexton on Saturday in 10 hours, 21 minutes and 13 seconds.

The pair crossed the finish line of the 160-km (100-mile) endurance race just nine minutes ahead of Talea Hasko-Stewart, of Harden in NSW, in second place.

Of the 233 riders who started what is regarded as the toughest horse race in the world, just 120 completed the course and earned themselves a coveted Quilty buckle...

Read more here:
http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/sport/horses/tom-quilty-gold-cup-winner-rider-debbie-grull-horse-lauralyn-notorious/news-story/eef21076ebdc330486ebfda61fdcae14

Cambodia: CEF pressing on with endurance build-up

Lon Sopheaktra, seen here taking part in a dressage competition, won the CEF’s first 40 kilometre endurance trial. Photo supplied
Phnompenhpost.com - Full Article

10 October 2016
H S Manjunath

The Cambodian Equestrian Federation’s determined effort to prepare an endurance team to take part in next year’s SEA Games in Malaysia has been boosted by the Thailand Equestrian Federation’s all-round support in the build-up.

As one of the leading nations in the region on the equestrian front, Thailand has stepped in to lend its experience and expertise to help Cambodia move past dressage and showjumping capabilities to the more demanding endurance events.

With the Malaysian SEA Games less than a year away, the CEF has taken the preparation of endurance riders to a war-footing since it is a mandatory eligibility criteria for a participating country to complete a minimum of four trials – three over 40 kilometres, extending to 80 kilometres for the final one...

Read more here:
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/sport/cef-pressing-endurance-build