Australia: The subject of a vaccine for the Hendra virus is driving a split in Queensland’s riding fraternity

Couriermail.com.au - Full Article

Peter Hall, EXCLUSIVE, The Courier-Mail
April 1, 2017

PRO and anti-vaxxers are locked in a battle, but this time involving horses and it is ripping a Queensland ­riding fraternity in two.

Equestrian enthusiasts and the Australian Veterinary Association are in a bitter standoff over the Hendra vaccine, the subject of a state parliamentary inquiry in 2016.

This followed the deaths of 97 horses and four people since 1994 and official findings advised vaccinating horses against the virus should be encouraged, but not compulsory.

The AVA – which lost veterinarians Dr Ben Cunneen and Dr Alister Rodgers to Hendra in 2008 and 2009 – has taken a firm stance and warned vets to weigh the legal risk and carefully consider involvement in endurance events unless they were vaccination only.

The ensuing lack of vets has left ride organisers no option but to ban non-vaccinated entrants, sparking a backlash and, in an unprecedented move, seen the scheduling of an alternative “pro-choice’’ ride using sympathetic vets, some flown from interstate...

Read more here:
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/the-subject-of-a-vaccine-for-the-hendra-virus-is-driving-a-split-in-queenslands-riding-fraternity/news-story/93237945ba1d16782219f7dad4e4113f

Australia: 'Equestrian industry being held to ransom'

Gympietimes.com.au - Full Article

2nd Apr 2017

A SENIOR equestrian industry spokesperson has strongly criticised the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) claiming they are holding the industry to ransom and responding prematurely to the parliamentary inquiry into the Hendra virus vaccine.

Board member and former president of Equestrian Queensland, Peter Toft said the association's ongoing pressure on its members to boycott equestrian events where vaccination was not mandatory was counterproductive and failed to address the responsibility of all involved to create a safe environment within which people can enjoy their horses.

"If vets are refusing to adjudicate endurance events unless they are vaccination only, they are effectively forcing event organisations to turn away any members who have concerns about the vaccine and the impact it has on their horses,” said Mr Toft.

"The reality is that this is a new vaccine and its long-term impacts are largely unknown at present, so it's understandable that some horse owners - particularly those living in areas of the state that are free from bat colonies - are hesitant to vaccinate their animals...”

Read more here:
https://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/equestrian-industry-being-held-to-ransom/3162085/

Denmark: Feldborg Ride

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

29 March 2017
By Anne Mette Holm Halvorsen

The Danish endurance season started beautifully at the Feldborg Ride. The many participating riders enjoyed the gorgeous Feldborg Forest with long, good tracks that offer perfect conditions for both horse and rider.

Even the weather was fine with comfortable temperatures for the horses and this was reflected in good average speeds by many participants.

There is always a good mood at Feldborg and this year it was very international as well with a total of 30 riders coming in from Sweden, Norway, Holland, and Germany with their assisting teams. All were helpful towards each other despite having travelled far to compete. This is generally seen in endurance riding...

Read more here:
http://endurance-world.com/den-feldborg-ride-25-march-2017/

Qatar: FEI Tribunal issues Final Decision on two banned substance cases

Inside.FEI.org

28 Mar 2017

The FEI Tribunal has issued its Final Decision on two cases involving human Erythropoietin (EPO), a banned substance under the FEI’s Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations (EADCMRs).

Abdulla Mubarak Rashed Al Khaili (FEI ID 10076760/UAE) and Mohd Butti Ghemran Al Qubaisi (FEI ID 10092584/UAE), whose horses SUR (FEI ID UAE01796/QAT) and Centurion (FEI ID 102RM71/QAT) both tested positive for the same substance at the CEI1* in Doha (QAT) on 22 April 2016, have been suspended for one year.

The trainer of both horses, Mohammed Ali Khalifa Al-Attiyah (FEI ID 10082342/QAT), admitted that he had administered the horses with EPO just before the competition. The athletes were therefore found to bear no significant fault and negligence for the rule violation and their sanctions were reduced from two to one year.

The FEI Tribunal has imposed a two-year suspension on the trainer, who is now ineligible until 4 July 2018 (provisional suspension, effective from 5 July 2016, will be credited against the period of ineligibility imposed in this decision). He has been fined 3,500 CHF and will contribute 1,500 CHF towards the legal cost.

The period of provisional suspension of the two athletes, effective from 2 June 2016, has been credited against the period of ineligibility imposed in this decision, meaning that both athletes will be ineligible until 1 June 2017. In addition, the FEI Tribunal imposed on each of the athletes a fine of 2,000 CHF, a contribution of 1,000 CHF towards legal costs and disqualified the athletes and horses from the competition.

The athletes and trainer have 21 days to appeal the decisions to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) from the date of notification (27 March 2017).

Further details on the FEI Tribunal decision can be found here.

New Zealand: Four legs versus two in horse versus human marathon

Stuff.co.nz - Full Article

KAROLINE TUCKEY
Last updated 15:44, March 28 2017

Can a human beat a horse? That's the question being tested in an extreme race pitting runners against endurance riders, through steep hill country.

The annual Human v Horse extreme race in Pukeokahu, east of Taihape, is being held for the third time on April 8.

Horses reach higher speeds, but the odds change over a long distance, where humans can have some physiological advantages, race founder Lizzie Maundrell said.

The race is modelled on an eccentric Welsh event founded in 1980, where it took 25 years for a human to beat the horses.

The Kiwi version is harder, Maundrell said. For starters it is longer - a 42 kilometre marathon - then an 1800-metre elevation gain over the entire course. So far a horse and rider have won both years.

"I think people are really interested in doing something different," Maundrell said...

Read more here:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/90910471/Four-legs-versus-two-in-horse-versus-human-marathon

GB: Annie Joppe’s endurance blog: new wheels and an amazing transformation

Horseandhound.co.uk - Full Story

anniejoppe 10:55 - 28 March, 2017

It’s spring! Rain has stopped, mud is less deep and the sun has even come out. Our first endurance ride was on Sunday.

The day was all about Chiara. Over the past few weeks, actually since January, Chiara has been preparing for the beginning of the season. As last year was her first in endurance and only her second summer season having a human on her back, there is still a lot to learn. Preparation involves schooling, conditioning and fitness work and, very importantly, seeing as much of the world as possible.

Chiara had a sheltered life for her first six years, never leaving the stud where she was bred and, although she became used to large farm machinery, lorries and so on manoeuvring around the yard, she had never met a sheep or a cow nor had she encountered dustbins, boulders and the beach; all things an endurance horse encounters in his line of work...

Read more at http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/blog/annie-joppes-endurance-blog-new-wheels-amazing-transformation-616122#qA3ylEjLym3DWatF.99

Two Canadians to Contest 2017 Mongol Derby

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

March 23, 2017
by: Mongol Derby

Two Canadians will line up in a field 40-strong for the 2017 Mongol Derby, featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s longest and toughest horse race – across 1,000km of Mongolian steppe. Last year the race was jointly won by Heidi Teldstad, a lawyer from Langley, British Columbia.

The two 2017 riders are: Olivia Wood, 24, a Canadian living in Buffalo, NY and Tamara Beckstead, 52, from Rockwood, Ontario.

This is the 9th Mongol Derby, featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s longest and toughest horse race. The 2017 race features 12 men and 23 women from nine countries riding 1,000km across Mongolia on semi-wild horses.

William Comiskey was one of the joint winners in 2016...

See more here:
https://www.horse-canada.com/horse-news/two-canadians-to-contest-2017-mongol-derby/