Polish National Championship at Dolina Gawora

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

15 September 2018
Race Report made with the assistance of Michal Tul and Dustin Jerominek

Dolina Gawora, Malichow, Dobrodzien, Poland. Friday –Saturday 31 August – 1 September 2018. For the third time in a row, Dolina Gawora hosted the Polish National Championship for CEI2* 120km and CEIYJ1* 80km.

Once again Dolina Gawora hosted the biggest international endurance competition this year in Poland with riders from Czech Republic, and for the first time from Lithuania and Finland, 61 combinations in total.

The first start was given early morning on Saturday. The longest distance started at 06:30. This year the competition was a little bit easier compared with the previous year. The morning was very cloudy. Riders started in temperatures of about 17 degrees Celsius, but in later hours the sun showed up and it was beautiful weather. Due to the good conditions of the tracks, riders had a chance to end the competition with excellent results.

The most important category was CEI2* 120 km. Within this category there was also the race for Polish National Chamionship with 12 entries. Rivalry from the beginning was led by two competitors – Tanja Turunen – FIN (Kuvaharjun Valedro) and Ryszard Zieliński – POL (Odwet)...

Read more here:
http://endurance-world.com/polish-national-championship-at-dolina-gawora/

Flair LLC Sponsors 2018 International Veterinary Endurance Conference

Americanhorsepubs.org

by Flair Equine Nasal Strips | Sep 17, 2018

Participated in the 2018 IVEC Conference

Flair, LLC, maker of FLAIR® Equine Nasal Strips, is pleased to announce its sponsorship of the 2018 International Veterinary Endurance Conference (IVEC). The conference was held September 9, 2018 near Tryon, North Carolina, USA

As part of the Flair IVEC sponsorship, Flair LLC President and CEO, Jim Chiapetta DVM, JD, attended the 2018 Conference, and made brochures and sample FLAIR Strips available to every attendee in addition to distributing the FLAIR Strip Clinical Studies Overview. British Equine Exercise Physiologist and noted International Endurance Consultant Dr. David Marlin delivered a five-minute educational presentation on the topic of FLAIR Equine Nasal Strips.

Says Dr. Chiapetta about Flair’s sponsorship of the IVEC: “Flair is pleased to have been part of this group of international veterinarians and competitors assembled in Tryon to address real world clinical and logistics issues relevant to endurance racing and other high intensity equine sports.”

IVEC is a conference for veterinarians and the stakeholders involved in the sport of endurance riding. Conference topics included presentations by some of the foremost experts in endurance veterinary science, including genetics, training and clinical science as well as presentations on horse welfare and latest scientific research. For more information about IVEC, please visit: http://www.ivec.info

About Flair, LLC: Flair LLC is dedicated to evidence-based products for health, welfare, and the performance of horses. Based in Minnesota, Flair LLC is the maker of FLAIR® Equine Nasal Strips. Developed by veterinarians, FLAIR Strips are drug-free, self-adhesive nasal strips that support horses’ nasal passages and promote optimum respiratory health of equine athletes at every level of competition. More than eight clinical studies have been conducted on FLAIR Strips at leading equine research centers. The Strips are clinically proven to: make breathing easier, reduce fatigue, conserve energy, quicken recovery, and reduce lung bleeding. For more information about FLAIR Strips, please visit http://www.flairstrips.com.

Contact: Nan Rawlins
nan@flairstrips.com

Post-WEG Endurance Event Interview with Thomas R. Timmons, DVM

Equimanagement.com - Full Article

Thomas R. Timmons, DVM, President Vet Commission 3 – Endurance, answered questions about the WEG Tryon 2018 event.

KIMBERLY S. BROWNSEP 20, 2018

EquiManagement followed up after the cancelled Endurance competition at WEG Tryon 2018 with Thomas R. Timmons, DVM, President Vet Commission 3 – Endurance. Timmons is an FEI Licensed Veterinarian in Endurance. He travels internationally for veterinary assignments at FEI-level Endurance competitions.

Q. What are your thoughts on the overall veterinary treatment for the horses during and after the race?

A. The veterinary care was excellent. The Commission executed well in evaluating and delivering their recommendations to remove horses from competition as indicated for metabolic or lameness or other reasons. After removal, the vast majority of horses benefited from mild fluid and electrolyte corrections. They likely would have corrected on their own, but precautions were taken with each horse.

Monitoring in the stables continued through the night by clinicians to ensure no latent conditions occurred, and there were none.

Q. Based on conversations at the International Veterinary Endurance Conference (IVEC) held the day before WEG started, is there a movement in general within the Endurance community about modifying how the races should be run?...

Read more here:
https://equimanagement.com/news/post-endurance-event-interview-with-thomas-r-timmons-dvm

Something is rotten in the state of horse sport

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

September 21, 2018
Neil Clarkson

It was Marcellus who declared to Horatio in Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”

The standout line was written more than 400 years ago. Ironically, despite its fame, the line is left out of some stage productions of the play.

Shakespeare’s immortal words came to mind as I pondered the ongoing World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina.

It is fair to say that elements of the Games have not gone well.

The Endurance contest had some competitors misdirected and was then called off due to the heat, humidity and deteriorating underfoot conditions.

The number of horses receiving attention for metabolic issues at the time it was called off would seem to suggest it was the right call. There was the subsequent loss of a New Zealand horse due to kidney issues...

Read more here:
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2018/09/21/rotten-state-horse-sport/

WEG 2018 - Will Tryon Spell End for Games? German Official Gives View

Grandprix-Replay.com - Full Article

Thursday 20 September - 09h45 | Stephanie Sieckmann

The first week of the 2018 Tryon FEI World Equestrian Games in North Carolina is over, four disciplines have wrapped up their competitions and four others – jumping, para-dressage, vaulting and driving – are now getting underway. Dressage, endurance and eventing riders from around the world are heading home from Tryon with very mixed experiences, and this halfway point is a good moment to look back at the Games so far. GrandPrix Magazine spoke to Sönke Lauterbach, Secretary General of the German Equestrian Federation, for his view.

"WE WERE AWARE THAT THIS MIGHT BE DIFFICULT FOR EVERYONE"

GrandPrix: A venue landscape resembling a construction site, organizational chaos and storm warnings all left their mark on the first week of the World Equestrian Games in Tryon. Now that Week 1 is over, what are your thoughts on the event so far?
Sönke Lauterbach: We know that hosting the World Equestrian Games for the different FEI disciplines within existing infrastructure is always a challenge. And in this case, we knew that the organizers only had two years before the start of the Games to get ready after being awarded the contract. So we were aware that this might be difficult for everyone and that, for example, we would have to travel a long way to get to the site, as the accommodations for the teams are far away. That's not ideal, but you can live with it. The most important thing is that the horses are fine. And we would have felt safe with our horses even in a storm with wind gusts of 100 km/h. That's what matters.

Grand Prix Magazine: The accommodations for the horses are very good. What about the other conditions?
Sönke Lauterbach: There was a lot of rain, and the roads and parking lots were partly flooded, but the grounds in the stadiums and in the training areas are still very good. Everything dried up very quickly. The cross-country route for eventing was a real dream. I can not remember another championship track which was so fascinating: well prepared, well designed, good challenges, not too heavy, not too light, ideal for sports. Seen from this point of view, as far as the sporting conditions are concerned, one has to draw a positive conclusion. The conditions are very good here.

GrandPrix Magazine: So what points are there to criticize?
Sönke Lauterbach: While the conditions are good for sport, a lot of other things are not so good. We knew that would be the case. But we did not expect it to be so bad. One has to say that too. Our Chef de Mission, Dr. Dennis Peiler, was already here a week before the start of the Games. He called and said that it was worse than we had been expecting it to be. But you also see how something happens here every day. Day by day things get better. We have already had other events where it was difficult in the first week and then it got better as the WEG were taking place. Of course, it’s unfortunate for the organizer, as he wanted to show off his facility and business in a good light...

Read more here:
http://www.grandprix-replay.com/uk/article/5756/weg-2018-will-tryon-chaos-spell-end-for-games-german-official-gives-view

Jean-Philippe Frances: "A World Championship in Europe ..."

Leperon.fr - Full Article

Saturday, September 15, 2018

[translated]
On the way to the stables that Jean-Philippe Frances gave himself to some confidences.


The Spur: Many things have been said about the start of this race. But what really happened?

JPF: Until the day before the race, we did not know exactly where the start would be, or how to get there. The infos have been modified several times.

Spur: You have not made any recognition?

JPF: there was nothing to see! No beacon, nothing. We could not even see the curls on foot.

The spur: and departure in itself?

JPF: a group of riders took the start at 6:33 am under the orders of no one knows who ... here ...

The Spur: the arrival of the 1 st loop, the decision was made to neutralize the race. Good or bad decision?

JPF: The best decision would have been to cancel this race away!

The Spur: other riders wanted the same thing as you?

JPF: Spain wanted the race canceled and even signed the petition. The French federation did not want. For the team, I left. Spain, seeing that neither France nor Belgium was withdrawing, decided to leave again.

The Spur: how have riders been able to make fewer kilometers and continue despite everything?

The jury did not know who had traveled how far?

JPF: Impossible not to know! All riders were equipped with 2 GPS: 1 on the horse and 1 other on the rider. It would have been easy to eliminate those who had not traveled the right distance. As in cso or in cross: when there is a mistake of course, the rider is eliminated.

L'Eperon: Bénédicte Emond-Bon stated that she had been against the cancellation of the race because the "replacement" Championship would have taken place in Dubai. Have you tried to convince her otherwise?

JPF: there has never been a Championship in Dubai! I explained all this to Bénédicte and Sophie Dubourg.

The Spur: yet that's what is said ...

JPF: it's totally wrong! Sheikh Hamdan, Juma and I discussed the situation together during the break. Sheikh Hamdan was for the cancellation of the race.

He proposed that a "replacement" Championship be organized in Europe, where the team leaders would like it and that he would take care of the traveling expenses of all the riders and horses.

We shook hands, and Juma and I told him that we would forward his proposal.

L'Eperon: and the FFE has not changed its mind following this offer?

JPF: Bénédicte and Sophie Dubourg were categorical: it was a non-firm on their part.

Yet it would have been an opportunity to show the FEI that their vision of endurance did not go at all.

The Spur: this race in the United States was symbolic for you ...

JPF: the loop would have been completed after what had happened in Kentucky. The FEI had endorsed results that were false and we know more ...

The Spur: you have kept Tarzibus for this deadline. It's easy to imagine that you have rejected substantial purchase offers ...

JPF: That's right. But getting ready for WWW is very much for everyone. When I come back, I see my lawyer and if there is a breach, we attack.

From what I know, Sheikh Mohamed also wants to attack in order to recover the money he has put in these JEM and not only for stamina. (the sum would be 25 million).

The Spur: important question: how is Tarzibus? Not too stressed by the race?

JPF: Tarzibus is fine. The race was difficult. In Europe, it runs between 20 and 23km / h and there, at 20 to see a small 21km / h, it had huge cardiac variations. Many horses were hyperventilating.

This also raises another problem: that of qualification minima; they are ridiculous. To qualify for the JEM, these are the same conditions as for a 3 *, the same speed. With the deplorable organizational conditions and the weather we had, the cat is just normal.

The check mark to really shake things were missed in the 1 st stage ... Interviewed by Babsie Kaporal

First week of World Equestrian Games a 'rollercoaster ride'

Tampabay.com - Full Article

September 18 2018

The World Equestrian Games are hoping to finish on a positive note after a dreadful first week that included the cancellations of two events, an organizational mistake that sent riders in the wrong direction at the start of a race and one horse being euthanized.

"It has been a rollercoaster ride," organizing committee president Michael Stone said Tuesday.

The games, which are considered the "Super Bowl of equestrian competition," drew more than 600 equestrians and 700 horses from 71 countries and six continents to the Tryon International Equestrian Center in the small town of Mill Spring, North Carolina — about 90 miles east of Charlotte. More than a 500,000 spectators were expected to attend the event, which concludes Sunday.

The WEG got off to an embarrassing start Wednesday in the first competition when some riders in the 100-mile endurance competition were sent off in the wrong direction by race officials to start of the race, which began before dawn. Some horses ran nine miles before the race was stopped and the decision was made to restart.

However, the race was later called off midway through because of intense heat and humidity —as well as sloppy course conditions — following a mid-afternoon rainstorm, causing more frustration from the riders. The event was not rescheduled.

"That meant a few unhappy people who were leading the race," Stone said. "But the one thing we have to do is make sure the horses are looked after and are safe. Horses can suffer badly in those conditions."

The Federation Equestre Internationale, equestrian's governing body, has started an investigation into the error...

Read more here:
https://www.tampabay.com/ap/sports/first-week-of-world-equestrian-games-a-rollercoaster-ride-ap_sports99b9ddcf7da9490e878cef529627d40b