FEI imposes two year suspension in endurance case

Inside.FEI.org

16 Jan 2017

The FEI Tribunal has issued its Final Decision in the case involving Dr Pasha Syed Kamaal (IND), identified as support personnel in the 2012 equine anti-doping case of Glenmorgan (FEI ID UAE40813).

Samples taken from the horse, which was ridden by HH Sheik Hazza bin Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan (UAE) in the CEI3* 160 km at Al Wathba (UAE) on 10 February 2012, returned positive for the Banned Substance Propoxyphene, an opioid analgaesic, and its metabolite Norpropoxyphene.

In its Final Decision, the FEI Tribunal has imposed a two-year suspension on Dr Kamaal as a member of the Support Personnel, in accordance with Article 169 of the FEI General Regulations and Article 10 of the Equine Anti-Doping Rules. The period of Provisional Suspension, effective from 16 November 2015, has been credited against the period of ineligibility, meaning that Dr Kamaal will be ineligible through to 15 November 2017.

The Tribunal also imposed a fine of CHF 2,500 and costs of CHF 1,000.

Dr Kamaal has 30 days from the date of notification (13 January 2017) to appeal the decision to the CAS.

The FEI Tribunal had previously imposed a 27-month suspension on HH Sheik Hazza as the Person Responsible. This was reduced to 18 months on appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), although the CAS upheld the FEI’s principle of strict liability in the application of its equine anti-doping rules. During the FEI Tribunal and CAS proceedings, Dr Kamaal stated that he had administered the product Fustex to the horse the night before the event. Fustex contains Propoxyphene, although it is not listed as an ingredient.

Following the original case, the FEI issued a communique to stakeholders in July 2015 urging caution over the use of Fustex, an Argentinian product used to promote muscle growth. The communique stated that lack of knowledge regarding the ingredients of Fustex would not be a valid excuse in any equine anti-doping procedures.

Further details on the case can be found here.

Endurance UAE - Good, Bad, and Ugly

Grandprix-replay.com - Full Article

16 January - 10h09 | Lulu Kyriacou

Endurance in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continues to make equestrian headlines this week although not only for bad reasons. Although the FEI will be holding urgent talks with the UAE endurance organisers this coming week there was also a lengthy statement from 4* judge Francois Kerboul in support of Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan's Boudhieb Endurance Challenge which is aiming to change the current face of the sport within the Arabic nations.

In total three horses were listed as catastrophically injured during the recent Maktoum Cup meeting at the Dubai Endurance International City, the venue that was deposed as hosts for the 2016 World Championships when horse welfare could not be guaranteed according to the FEI. Since then a further sanction preventing international competition was imposed on the venue and the Maktoum Cup Festival of Endurance was the first CEI 160 to be held after this sanction was lifted. Another horse died during that race, making four at the venue in total and five in the Dubai area in the last three months. According to endurance expert Pippa Cuckson in her latest column for Horse Canada, the FEI are looking into improvements in training regimes as all four of the horses died on the first loop of the rides, leading to a suggestion that the horses may already have been suffering from pre-existing conditions caused by training techniques. It is also just as possible that these sort of injuries are caused by incidents during the mass starts of dozens of horse and it must be asked why the FEI are entering into what amounts to speculation on incidents that are not exactly a rarity.

A spokesperson for the FEI told Cuckson that "The catastrophic injuries that have occurred this season have all been in the first loop, so it suggests that these are pre-existing fractures and that there is a serious issue with training techniques. Data from all events, including national fixtures, is being fed into the Global Endurance Injuries Study (GEIS) and Equi-ratings is also providing the FEI with statistics for surveillance and monitoring.

“The FEI will continue to work closely with the new management at the Emirates Equestrian Federation and a strong course of action will be agreed upon depending on the outcome of these meetings, including a requirement for reduced speeds and heart rates, shorter presentation times to enforce slower speeds and/or potential suspension of CEIs in the calendar.”

​All about the money?
Unfortunately, the FEI can do little to stop large amounts of foreign riders accepting invitations to compete, many of whom are no doubt lured by the €25'000 guaranteed prize money just for completing...

Read more here:
http://www.grandprix-replay.com/uk/article/4359/endurance-uae-good-bad-and-ugly

Kentucky Horse Park Withdraws from Consideration for Hosting 2022 World Equestrian Games to Chart Its Own Course

KyHorsePark.com

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 13, 2017) – The Kentucky Horse Park Commission voted today to withdraw from consideration for hosting the ninth International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) World Equestrian Games, to be held in 2022.

Commission members expressed concerns regarding staging of the games and the potential conflict that hosting would create with the long-term goals of the Kentucky Horse Park, including limitations on potential Horse Park-generated revenue opportunities.

BOUDHEIB ENDURANCE HAS DEVELOPED ITSELF AND CARRIES ON

THE NEED FOR COMMUNICATION

After more than one year of existence, the necessity of building a structured communication network has become obvious to convey what is happening in Bouthib.

We have seen and we know that names and designations are not always easily transcribed from one language to another, mainly when different alphabets having nothing in common are concerned (in this case the Arab characters and the Latin ones with English phonetic predominance). This is why the spelling fluctuates between Bouthieb, Boutheib, Bouthib or even Bou Thib according the transcribers' will more or less phonetically right. But if you really wish to communicate, you have to decide which spelling is suitable and stick to it. This is why Sh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan has decided that, from now on, the right spelling in English is "Boudheib", which phonetically speaking is the nearest possible way to write it in English.

Then a logo was created to clearly identify the Organizing Committee and avoid calling it "the one of Bouthieb" or "the organization of Bouthieb", etc.



The official logo of Boudheib Endurance

"Boudheib Endurance" has become the official name of the entity managing and promoting the innovations taking place in Boudheib.

The Bouthieb Protocol has become the "Boudheib Endurance Challenge Award" or "BECA".

But orthography and a name are certainly not enough. Communication is more demanding, otherwise nothing or almost nothing of what one does has a true existence in the eyes of others. Of course, the articles written and distributed throughout the world, with the multiple developments it generates are an efficient means, but it does not replace the other media anchor which penalized the action.

It has now been done with the opening of a Facebook page ("Boudheib Initiative") and a website to come soon (www.boudheib.ae). This website will broadcast the live results of the events taking place in BIEV (official abbreviation of "Boudheib International Endurance Village"), situated among the dunes, next to Al Khatim in the center of Abu Dhabi. These results are at present exclusively broadcasted through the ATRM website which has a worldwide extent and shares the diffusion of the Boudheib Endurance events and will continue doing so.

Being aware that images have a tremendous power on the public, Boudheib Endurance has decided to have the BIEV events broadcasted on a live mode. Broadcasting live by streaming on Internet was preferred to the "traditional" TV process which is heavier to handle, more expensive and has less geographical extent than what the Internet network easily provides. The rides of January 5th and 6th 2017 were a successful test of that mode.

Read the full article here

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François Kerboul
FEI 4* Judge, TD & CD
Architect dplg 13 01 2017

UAE: More Horses Die During Dubai Endurance Rides

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

January 12, 2017
by: Pippa Cuckson

Four horse fatalities in three rides have put endurance organisers in Dubai under threat of further disaffiliation from FEI competition.

Urgent meetings will take place in Dubai next week, where the FEI is expected to insist on tougher measures to reduce high speeds. Two of the four horses died in a single ladies’ ride on January 4th, both from the same barn. The FEI has also taken the unprecedented step of suggesting the fatalities could result from pre-existing fractures due to training techniques.

All four catastrophic injuries occurred at Sheikh Mohammed’s Dubai International Endurance City on December 12th, January 4th and January 7th. DIEC had only started staging FEI rides again in December, after the FEI imposed a seven-month moratorium on considering schedules for any type of event from DIEC. Last April, the FEI also removed the 2016 world championship event from DIEC, on the grounds that “horse welfare could not be guaranteed.”

A FEI spokesman said: “The FEI is extremely concerned that there have been a number of in-competition endurance fatalities in the UAE this season and has put in place a series of urgent high level meetings in Dubai next week to discuss the current issues...

Read more here:
http://www.horse-canada.com/horse-news/more-horses-die-during-dubai-endurance-rides/

Canada: 2016 Young Riders Endurance Team Challenge

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

December 22, 2016
by: Equestrian Canada

On November, 12, 2016 a team of talented young Canadians travelled to Ehrhardt, SC for the 2016 Young Riders Endurance Team challenge.

The event was the brainchild of a committed group of Endurance officials, including Canada’s Deanna Spiker DVM, following the cancellation of endurance at the 2016 North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC). It was hosted by Broxton Bridge Plantation and USA Southeast Endurance.

A total of 22 endurance riders, aged 14 to 21, from six teams representing Canada, Guatamala, Ecuador, and the United States, descended on the Broxton Bridge Plantation to contest a FEI 2* (120 km) event.

Read more here:
http://www.horse-canada.com/horse-news/2016-young-riders-endurance-team-challenge/?utm_source=Enews+Jan+9%2C+2017&utm_campaign=EnewsJan92017&utm_medium=email

Spain's Maria Alvarez tops 2016 World Endurance Ranking

January 9 2017

Spain's Maria Alvarez Ponton topped the 2016 Open Riders World Endurance Ranking with 1848 points. France's Julien Lafaure was second with 1613 points, and Uruguay's Pilar Saravia was third with 1594 points. Cheryl Van Deusen was the highest ranking US rider with 1133 points in 29th place.

Atop the 2016 Open Combination World Endurance Ranking was Uruguay's Luis Crucci and HLD Patron with 424 points. Second was Uruguay's Oriana Ricca and Che Niebla with 388 points. Portugal's Ana Barbas and E Da Fuica were in third with 381 points. Canada's Wendy Maccoubrey and AM Mysterious Mopsa ranked fifth with 554 points, and USA's Kyle Gibbon and Rushcreek Quantum were ranked twelfth with 301 points.

Topping the 2016 Open Horse World Endurance Ranking was HLD Patron (Uruguay) with 424 points. Second was Waterlea Dawn Treader (ranked 135th in Open Combination with Bahraini rider Shaikh Naser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa) with 390 points. Third was Che Niebla (Uruguay) with 388 points.

Italy's Constanza Laliscia topped the 2016 Young Riders World Endurance Ranking with 1496 points. Uruguay's Belen Mendez was second with 1476 points. Uruguay's Valentina Mendez was third with 1307 points. Annie Whelan was USA's top rider, tied for thirteenth place with 1026 points. Kelsey Russell was just behind in sixteenth with 1015 points.