Canada: Fort rider heading to World Equestrian Games

Fortsaskatchewanrecord.com - Full Article

Jeff Labine
Published on: September 7, 2018

Being able to compete with Team Canada at the World Equestrian Games is a dream come true for Colleen DeVry.

“I’m very, very excited,” the 52-year-old told The Record. “It has been a dream of mine for many years.”

The local endurance horse rider was one of four chosen out of a possible 23 nominations to represent the country at the prestigious event, which is being held at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, N.C. The event, which runs from Sept. 11 to Sept. 23, features a long-distance endurance race where competitors will trek across 160 kilometres. The fastest team able to get across that distance wins but the catch is the horses have to be in good condition. DeVry and the rest of Team Canada will all set out at the same time to do the 160 kilometres and their combined points will be their overall score...

Read more here:
https://www.fortsaskatchewanrecord.com/sports/local-sports/fort-rider-heading-to-world-equestrian-games

WEG Endurance Riding on NBCSN

ENDURANCE RIDING ON NBCSN (and the NBC Sports app) --

Endurance team and individual coverage from the FEI World Equestrian Games is scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, September 12. 

If you are interested, you can cheer on AERC members competing in the WEG from your home (or wherever you happen to be with the app). 

For more info about all WEG programming, see: http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2018/09/06/nbc-sports-presents-nearly-65-hours-of-fei-world-equestrian-games-tryon-2018-coverage-beginning-wednesday-sept-12/

Q&A with Thomas R. Timmons, DVM

Equimanagement.com - Full Article

Join us for a glimpse into the preparations for the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 Endurance competition and the veterinarians who keep horses safe and healthy. Brought to you by KindredBio

KIMBERLY S. BROWN
SEP 5, 2018

The endurance team and individual competitions are part of the kick-off events for the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 on Wednesday, September 12. Thomas R. Timmons, DVM, is President Vet Commission 3 – Endurance at the WEG Tryon 2018. Timmons is an FEI Licensed Veterinarian in Endurance. He travels internationally for veterinary assignments at FEI-level endurance competitions.

We caught up with Timmons just before WEG Tryon 2018 and asked him a few questions.

Q. What are your official title and job duties at WEG Tryon 2018?

A. I’m the President of the Veterinary Commission (PVC), Endurance. PVC duties are primarily administration and delegation of veterinary matters — equine health, welfare and safety as it relates to climate, course and vet-gate. Similar duties are shared with the Foreign Veterinary Delegate (FVD) at many levels; however, the FVD is more focused on technical matters relative to adequate facilities and establishment for treatment, stabling, equine identification, international movement of horses and disease prevention and control...

Read more here:
https://equimanagement.com/news/q-and-a-with-thomas-r-timmons-dvm

Endurance Rider Cleared of Doping Because of Contaminated ‘Sludge’

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

September 4, 2018
by: Pippa Cuckson

A leading American endurance rider who is also a veterinarian has escaped suspension for a doping offence in Canada, after the FEI Tribunal accepted that contaminated “sludge” was to blame.

Nicki Meuten, 48, and her husband Don, also a rider and retired veterinary pathologist “suspended themselves” once notified of the positive result at the Coates Creek ride in July last year. This prevented their consideration for the 2018 World Equestrian Games, but Meuten said they did not want to be labelled cheaters – they were 100% for horse welfare and totally against drug and physical abuse.

Meuten’s horse FYF Dutch tested positive to the banned anti-depressant O-Desmethyl Venlafaxine (ODMV) after winning the CEI160km ride at the New Lowell, Ontario venue.

Ride coordinator Robert Gielen confirmed that the trail passed through “at least one field” used for dumping sludge, and that the ride base was located at a Girl Guides’ camp, on whose huge septic field many of the competing horses had grazed...

Read more here:
https://horse-canada.com/horse-news/endurance-rider-contaminated-sludge/

Australia: Riders ready to test endurance

Latrobevalleyexpress.com.au - Full Article

Michelle Slater
6 Sep 2018

Victoria's fittest riders and their elite horses will be aiming to complete a gruelling 100-kilometre ride around the Toongabbie hills on the weekend during the Gippsland endurance championships.

Riders will gather at the Toongabbie Adult Riding Club to head out for the ride, which is governed by a series of stringent vet checks at ride intervals to ensure the horse is rested and fit to continue.

The Verspaandonk family from Glengarry will saddle up their team of lean and leggy Arabian horses, after starting out in the sport 10-years ago.

All six family members compete together on their own horses who they train at home along local bush tracks...

Read more here:
http://www.latrobevalleyexpress.com.au/story/5630440/riders-ready-to-test-endurance/

Heavy scrutiny of endurance ahead of WEG in Tryon

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

September 5, 2018
Horsetalk.co.nz

The world championship endurance race at the upcoming World Equestrian Games could well be the most scrutinized long-distance horse race in history, following a recent flurry of publicity around the problems within the discipline.

A group of six German endurance veterinarians have written an open letter to the German Equestrian Federation outlining a raft of concerns about the global development of the discipline. They asked that the national body pass it on to the world governing body, the FEI.

Five officials from the German Distance Riders Group, which runs endurance in the country, also weighed in on the debate, with their own open letter to the FEI.

Both letters follow just days after the respected group Clean Endurance released an A-to-Z guide to aid onlookers in spotting cheating in the sport...

Read more here:
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2018/09/05/scrutiny-endurance-weg-tryon/

Langley long-distance riding champion prepares for new challenge

LangleyTimes.com - Full Article

After winning the Mongol Derby, Heidi Telstad is planning to compete in a new 1,000 kilometre race

DAN FERGUSON
Sep. 3, 2018

The Langley rider who won the 10-day, 1,000-km Mongol Derby in a three-way tie in 2016 is preparing for a new challenge.

Heidi Telstad is getting ready to tackle the first annual Patagonia Derby, a 1,000-km horse race across Argentina that will resemble the Mongol race — for good reason.

The (original Mongol) Derby organizers are planning a similar horse race to the Mongol Derby except in Patagonia in the next year,” Telstad told The Times.


“The details are still in the works, as they want to build a race based upon the history of the Argentina horse culture and history,” Telstad said.

“It will be brand new.”

The route is still being researched, but plans call for the first event in October of 2019...

Read more here:
https://www.langleytimes.com/sports/langley-long-distance-riding-champion-prepares-for-new-challenge/