Officiating blunder costs Bermudian Brangman

RoyalGazette.com - Full Article

Stephen Wright
Sep 14, 2018

Marvin Brangman’s World Equestrian Games came to a premature end after he withdrew his horse from the endurance riding event because of an officiating blunder.

Brangman had completed 20 miles of the 100-mile trek on Tuesday when riders were told there had been a false start and route complications. He said he opted against restarting the race after spotting behavioural changes in his horse MM Godiva Chokalat.

The race was called off later that day, perhaps saving the organisers’ blushes, because of a “dangerous combination of heat and humidity” after heavy rain in Tyron, North Carolina, where the Games are being held.

“When we got back [after completing 20 miles for the first inspection] it was absolute chaos,” Brangman said. “We were told there was a false start and the officials had sent us the wrong way. They wanted to restart the race..."

Read more here:
http://www.royalgazette.com/equestrian/article/20180914/officiating-blunder-costs-brangman&template=mobileart

World Equestrian Games Dressage Freestyle Canceled–Official

Dressage-News.com - Full Article

September 15 2018

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

TRYON, North Carolina, Sept. 15, 2018–The World Equestrian Games dressage Freestyle was canceled Saturday after the riders pulled out because of too many schedule and competition venue changes forced by Hurricane Florence.

The decision by the riders to withdraw led to an official announcement by the organizers hours later cancelling the event. Earlier in the week, endurance was canceled after a botched start.

“Despite the best efforts of the whole Tryon 2018 team and the officials, who have been working on plans for rescheduling since yesterday (Friday) evening, including meetings with the chefs de mission and chefs d’equipe, the logistics of putting all necessary elements into place in time have proved insurmountable. As a result, and very regrettably, the dressage freestyle will now be cancelled,” the organizers said in a statement.

“This was not an easy decision, but we have explored every option, including trying to reschedule the horse departures, and even looking at moving the competition into the indoor with a change of footing, but the logistics of making all this happen are just not possible,” Tryon 2018 organizing committee President Michael Stone said.

“We know this is desperately disappointing for the 15 athletes who had qualified their horses for the Freestyle, and of course for all the spectators who had bought tickets, but the weather has simply left us with no choice. Horse welfare has to be the top priority and flying the horses out on the same day as competition doesn’t work, so sadly the decision to cancel the Freestyle had to be taken..."

Read more here:
http://dressage-news.com/2018/09/15/world-equestrian-games-dressage-freestyle-off/

2018 WEG Endurance: Diary of a Collapse

Our "farm road" to get from the parking lot to the stables
Medium.com - Full Story

by Andre Vidiz
September 14 2018

How the FEI and the Organizing Committee turned the Enduro World into a hell

Pre-Written

I will tell you here all the mismatch of information and disorganization that triggered the greatest absurdity that has ever seen in enduro world in history, but first there is a caveat. Event volunteers and the people of the area were extremely helpful, gentle and kind. They all tried to help - even more than they could - to sympathize with us and take responsibility for problems that were not theirs. It was a real class of civility and a sense of community.

04/09/2018 - The Arrival of the Horses

Around 09:00 the truck that brought the horses from the Miami Quarantine arrives. Squirming through the narrow paths of Tryon Park and dividing space with tractors and cranes reaches the last stables in which we would stay. After descending, the horses can not go over the grass or walk a little bit, all thanks to the USDA and its nook with Piroplasmosis. Direct to the stables, the horses that took two flights, 14 hours of truck and were trapped in the quarantine for 7 days would still be stopped by at least one more.

Seeing the USDA sterilize the truck as if they had Ebola samples there, I had the idea of ​​picking up a bale of hay before they could render it unusable. Idea that proved very useful, since in the sequence we would find that in the park there was still no hay or ration (we were forbidden to take ours) and no one knew when they would arrive. It was the first of many "I dont know" that we would hear, almost a mantra of our stay.

The second would come soon: the grooms' accommodations were not ready and nobody knew when they would be. The organization arranged a hotel for them 20 minutes from the park and there we went to install them. From there I headed to the hotel they had assigned to me, 25 minutes from the park, but in the opposite direction, that is, 45 minutes from the grooms hotel.

05/09 - Misinformation

The grooms wake up with a paper under their doors: they should leave the rooms, since there were accommodations for them in the park. If "I dont know" would be our mantra, the disinformation was a constant of the trip and there was the first example. Arriving in the park there was no accommodation, but they guaranteed that by the end of the day the lodges would be ready.

The horses could already walk in the ring and the afternoon could go out on the trail, but never graze or have contact with the grass, as if that would infect the US with Piro.

Shortly after lunch we learned that the promise of a trail would not be honored and that only the ring road remained free. The second promise-the cabins for the grooms-would not be fulfilled, but this news would only arrive at midnight, an hour after, tired of waiting, we reserved a room for them to spend the night. was reimbursed by the organization)

06/09 - No lodge and no parking

Arriving in the park in the morning we are surprised by a new rule: the cars can not reach the stands anymore. They do not say why or even when this would be the case ("I dont know"). Even with coolers, ice and other things to download we can not go through. We park about 2kms away from the stables and walk around carrying things until some volunteer with a golf cart passes by and offers a ride.

We imagine that the new rule is to give more agility to the works that spread through all the corners of Tryon and that give the impression that nothing will be really ready until the opening date, at most will be more or less set.

On accommodation for the grooms no serious news: just excuses and the promise that they will make a new pavilion and blablabla

07/09 - Even less parking. And a crane!...

Read more here:
https://medium.com/@anvidiz/di%C3%A1rio-de-um-colapso-5a699b43c9a8

SPECIAL – Endurancegate Press Conference in Full – 2018 WEG Show

HorseRadioNetwork.com - Listen

Sep 14, 2018

SPECIAL – complete audio of press conference on Endurancegate 2018 at World Equestrian Games.

Tragic News in The New Zealand Camp at WEG

NZEquestrian.org.nz

September 13 2018

It with enormous regret that Equestrian Sports NZ announces the tragic news that in consultation with expert veterinary advice New Zealand endurance representative horse for the FEI World Equestrian Games, Barack Obama, has been euthanised today.

It is without doubt a devastating loss for the owner Mark Round, rider Jenny Champion and support crew Shane Dougan, John Stevenson and Kirstine Campbell who made the decision today.

Equestrian Sport NZ High Performance Director Sarah Dalziell-Clout said the entire team was devastated by the loss but none more so than those closest to the horse which had developed a kidney condition.

“Jenny and her team prepared the horse exceptionally. As with all NZ horses at WEG, Barack was under the best of care for more than 18 months prior to the games to ensure he was at optimum health,” said Mrs Dalziell-Clout.

“He passed a comprehensive vet test prior to leaving NZ and was in good health leading into the race, passing the first two vet checks at the competition. Leading into the race the team vet Nick Page was confident the horse was race-ready.”

Mrs Dalziell-Clout described Jenny as a true horsewoman. She had felt something was not right with Barack, and pulled him up immediately, well before the race was cancelled. She sought medical assistance and the horse was treated as soon as possible.

“Our thoughts are with Mark, Jenny, Shane and John, Kirstine and the entire endurance community in NZ who will be devastated by the news,” said Mrs Dalziell-Clout.

The team would like to thank the vets at the Tryon Equine Hospital and on-site at the WEG venue, their care and advice was exceptional.

In accordance with FEI General Regulations a post mortem will be conducted and samples will be taken from the horse.

For more information about the ride itself please see the attached release from the FEI.

https://inside.fei.org/news/cancellation-endurance-competition-fei-world-equestrian-games%E2%84%A2-tryon-2018

WEG Endurance: Cluster**** of the Century

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

September 14, 2018
by: Pippa Cuckson

A few days before WEG, I shared a current aeriel video of Tryon on Facebook, saying it looked rather more finished than all the images we’ve been seeing from the ground. An American friend promptly posted a picture of Earth taken from Outer Space – Tryon looks even better and more finished the further away you stand….

Certainly the past week has been like observing from a parallel universe. On the one hand, nothing but pink and fluffy press releases from the FEI and Tryon itself. Let’s cheer Tryon for working so hard to get a luxury venue we all thought was more or less ready when given the games 18 months ago half-ready on time.

On the other hand, I have been mesmerized by the non-stop feed on social media of organisational chaos, red dust, mud and floods, and still-being thought-about-but-not-actually-constructed key facilities.

Three days into actual competition, I remain staggered that fire and safety authorities have signed off the public areas. Horse welfare is paramount, as the FEI bleats all the time, but what about people welfare? I’ve been reassured to read about the evacuation plans if Florence hits with all her might. Yet meanwhile I see (current) photos of electric cables festooned willy-nilly across ceilings (where they’ve managed to supply a ceiling, that is) and chunks of discarded construction stuff propped up along public walkways. All lie in wait to mangle innocent passers-by through falling down of their own accord.

I will address the general viability of Tryon and – yet again – the troubled history of all WEGs in another blog. But for now, of course, the fall-out from endurance...

Read more here:
https://horse-canada.com/horse-news/weg-endurance-cluster-century/

More Voice Speak Out After WEG Endurance Fiasco

Granrix-replay.com - Full Article

Friday 14 September - 11h13 | Yeelen Ravier and Lulu Kyriacou

In the wake of the fiasco at the World Equestrian Games Endurance by the on Wednesday, more voices are speaking out on the subject and hopefully leading to positive change for the sport. Grand Prix talks to one and reports on a second, both aiming for positive change in the sport they love.

NICOLAS WAHLEN, PRESIDENT OF THE ALLIANCE OF ENDURANCE ORGANIZERS

Nicolas Wahlen was in office during the Normandy Games four years ago in particular and does not budge from his position: there will be a before and after Tryon for the discipline he adores.

GrandPrix-Replay: What is your assessment of these World Endurance Championships, which you have experienced from a distance?

Nicolas Wahren: It was a surreal situation. I followed the race on the screens, and it was very addictive. In thirty years of my career, I have never seen that! What happened was the factor of several causes. The organization in the first place, and the technical delegate did not have to do his job perfectly. I saw a lot of things in all the events where I officiated, but never such as this! How could they organize a race in these conditions? It's a crazy world ... I do not necessarily want to throw stone at the organization, but it's a fact.

Then the jury and the officials gave two starts; it seems unlikely! The President of the jury is supposed to be on the starting line! The stewards, for abstract reasons, have asked some competitors to leave on the left and others on the right ... As for the problems of markup during the first loop, it is true that in the United States, the races of endurance run less quickly, so the arrows can often be less well positioned. Afterall, I was not there, but that's what I saw on the pictures. From the moment you give two different starts, there is no longer any possibility of equality of chances.

And finally, there are always these conflicts of interest between the international bodies and the partners ... Seeing that Meydan, with whom I have good relations since I worked for a long time with them, was sponsor of the championship ' was shocking. At the 2014 World Equestrian Games, it was totally forbidden. The FEI had told us that it was impossible for an FEI championship to be owned by a brand, precisely to avoid political and financial conflicts of interest ...

Read more here:
http://www.grandprix-replay.com/uk/article/5724/more-voices-speak-out-after-weg-endurance-fiasco