World Equestrian Games over but Bellissimo back in saddle

Reuters.com - Full Article

September 24 2018
Steve Keating

TRYON, North Carolina (Reuters) - Mark Bellissimo, the man who brought the FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) to this bucolic corner of recession ravaged North Carolina is widely viewed as a savior for bringing jobs and hope to the depressed region.

Not so says Bellissimo, deferring to an elderly employee who works in one of the sprawling facility’s kitchens who has apparently taken credit.

“I interact a lot with our staff and a woman who is our baker, she comes up to me and says, ‘I just want you to know I am responsible for the success of Tryon’,” Bellissimo told Reuters.

“I said, thank you and I would love to hear more and she said, ‘eight years ago I prayed that someone would rescue this community, someone with a million dollars and you came and it is because of me’.”

Situated in the U.S. bible belt, all this would seem a very plausible explanation for an equestrian Taj Mahal popping up under the gaze of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

What is not plausible is that Bellissimo rode to the rescue with a million dollars.

To get the Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) ready for the WEG, Bellissimo and his partners pumped more than $200 million into the effort.

By the end of the year that number will rise to $250 million as he pushes ahead with plans to make the TIEC the world’s premiere equestrian lifestyle destination...

Read more here:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-equestrian-world-bellissimo-idUSKCN1M41D2

South Africa: TZANEEN: A case of the tortoise and the hare

LetabaHerald.co.za - Full Article

The approach was quite different from other events, where speed is usually essential. It was a definitely a case of ‘slow and steady wins the race’.

24 September 2018

The Letaba Endurance Riding Club (Letaba Uithourit Klub) organised a horse riding endurance event in Mokopane on September 8 and 9. Many local riders hooked up their trailers and headed across to take on competitors from far and wide.

A total of 55 entries were received which included riders from Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng .

Competitors had a choice between a 80 km or 120 km endurance rides which catered for different aged groups.

For the not so brave, both 16 km and 40 km fun courses were on offer...

Read more here:
https://letabaherald.co.za/56747/tzaneen-case-tortoise-hare/

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