Tasmania: North-West teenager Jaz Hutchins crosses the line first but does not win the Tom Quilty Gold Cup

TheAdvocate.com.au - Full Article

Andrew Mathieson
October 6 2018

Jaz Hutchins galloped home to cheers, but the tone in the voice of the first to finish the Tom Quilty Gold Cup ride told the true story.

After nine hours, 46 minutes and 27 seconds in the saddle, the junior winner on the course near Scottsdale didn’t hide her understandable disappointment.

“Yes, I was the first – that’s correct,” Hutchins told The Sunday Examiner in the affirmative, “but it’s a bit disappointing that I can’t take the cup home being a junior.

The Sassafras 17-year-old like her contemporaries could not make the mandatory 73kg weight for the cup.

The lesser weight over the 160km journey from darkness to sunrise and sometimes beyond is considered an unfair advantage.

Not exactly tainting the win of top Victorian Kristie Taprell – a junior winner has been ruled ineligible of taking home the trophy before – but Hutchins’ ride 18 minutes and 40 seconds earlier could have caused a stir...

Read more here:
https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/5687697/teen-cup-win-that-wasnt/?cs=12

Brief Encounters – The New 'Normal' in Endurance

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

Blogs Cuckson Report | October 5, 2018

I haven’t spoken to, or read anything written by, any veterinarian that disagrees with abandoning the Tryon WEG endurance ride. Vets all seem emphatic that horses were not coping with the fast rising heat and humidity.

One told me some were even pulsing back up while being examined – including the super-horses whose heart-rates usually meet the parameters within minutes.

But it isn’t quite that black and white. The weather in isolation was not the issue – historic rides have taken place in worse conditions without everyone keeling over. Worries also stemmed from the inability of so many to ride according to the conditions; some riders were apparently not even aware their horses were in difficulty.

How can that be? This was a world championship, featuring the best and most experienced horses and riders on the planet, surely? Not necessarily. No rider can truly can say their horse is pinging along with its usual verve when they’ve hardly competed it before. In modern endurance, not knowing your horse is the New Normal.

FEI records of the 120-odd riders who started the fateful first loop show:

• 13 had never competed their Tryon horse in a FEI race of any distance before;
• 13 had only started on their Tryon horse once before (in most cases their 160km WEG qualifier, which might not have been a highly competitive race;)
• 28 had only attempted 160km with the same horse twice before;
• 24 had started their Tryon horse in FEI twice over any distance before; nine riders three times;
• 59 riders had previously attempted 160km with their Tryon horse more than twice;
• Only 37 horse and riders had progressed from 80Km to 160km level as a combination;
• Four riders had fewer than 10 career starts in FEI at any distance on any horse/s; 18 riders had just 10-20 previous FEI starts on any horse/s...

Read more here:
https://horse-canada.com/blogs/brief-encounters-the-new-normal-in-endurance/

Tasmania to rise again to the Tom Quilty Gold Cup challenge

Examiner.com.au - Full Article

Andrew Mathieson

Australian equestrian’s biggest prize is firmly in the grasp of Tasmanian riders entering the prestigious Tom Quilty Gold Cup on Saturday.

The arduous ride over its 160-kilometre course returns to the North East of the state for the first time in six years.

The top Tasmanians have a recent stranglehold on the premier endurance event of its kind, starting at midnight.

Brooke Brown-Cordell, of Tunnel, and Debbie Grull, of Staverton, earned a Tasmanian quinella in the 2017 Cup.

Lebrina neighbours Bella Pickering and Kirstie Lockhart were remarkably the first two in the country across the line for the junior division...

Read more here:
https://www.examiner.com.au/story/5683585/state-rate-riders-ahead/?cs=12

Has Endurance Racing Morphed Into ‘Win At All Cost’ Flat-Track Racing?

PaulickReport.com - Full Article

by Paulick Report Staff | 10.01.2018

The American The American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) executive committee, in a letter to the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), the governing body of horse sport in the United States, has requested immediate withdrawal of funding to the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) endurance events held outside U.S. borders.

An international discipline, the sport of endurance is based on long-distance races that are completed at controlled speed, with the care and health of the horse key in riders' minds. Horses must pass veterinary inspections as specific intervals during the competition. Flat-track endurance riding has evolved in the last decade and is vastly different than endurance riding; it focuses on much faster, prolonged speeds on groomed courses. Endurance riding is held on natural terrain.

The letter states that the committee feels that riders of extreme flat-track racing “know nothing about riding their horses within their capabilities according to the weather and terrain of the day. Their objective is often ‘winning at all costs.'” The committee feels that this approach is vastly divergent from the traditional endurance competitions, where “to finish is to win...”

Read more here:
https://www.paulickreport.com/horse-care-category/has-endurance-racing-morphed-into-win-at-all-cost-flat-track-racing/

South Africa's Race the Wild Coast Begins Oct 13

RocketHorseRacing.co.za

From 13-21 October 2018, Race the Wild Coast will return for its second edition amid the iconic wilderness of South Africa’s east coast.

It's a new breed of horse race. Riders, with a team of three horses, compete for victory over 350km of rugged paradise on the remote east coast of South Africa; navigating through this challenging wilderness, swimming rivers and keeping horses fit for vet checks in this complex multi stage race will challenge the endurance of any horseback adventurer.

This five-day, multi-stage challenge is one of the most dynamic tests of endurance horse-riding, navigation and survival skills in the world.

For more information, see:
http://rockethorseracing.co.za/race-the-wild-coast/



(Video link: https://vimeo.com/234684258)

China: 2018 Dangshan International Equestrian Endurance Race kicks off

AnhuiNews.com

Pub Date:18-09-30 14:54 Source:ah.gov.cn
The 2018 China·Dangshan International Equestrian Endurance Race was held at the International Racecourse of the Old Course of the Yellow River in Dangshan County, Anhui Province from September 27th to 28th.

It attracted over one hundred riders from home and abroad and nearly 10,000 equestrian enthusiasts.

In the two days, the FEI one-star (87 km), two-star (120 km) endurance races and 48 km and 87 km qualification competitions were held and wonderful equestrian performances were presented.

The FEI 2-Star Endurance Race is the highest level international equestrian endurance race held in China. (source: ah.gov.cn)

American endurance officials condemn “extreme” flat-track form of discipline

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

September 30, 2018 Horsetalk.co.nz

America’s top endurance officials have warned about the “dangerous disconnect” between the extreme flat-track racing over extended distances and the more traditional version of the discipline.

They want the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) to immediately withdraw all funding to FEI endurance events outside of the US for two years or until significant changes are made within the FEI. Funding should instead be directed toward US national events.

The American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) executive committee, in a letter to the USEF, described events at the endurance ride during the recent World Equestrian Games in North Carolina as chaotic and disturbing. (The race was shortened after some competitors were misdirected on the first loop, and later cancelled because of heat and humidity.)

“WEG has brought clearly into focus the dangers of flat track racing for extended distances being attempted in the framework of traditional endurance …

“While we agree that the start mix up and the incomplete facilities were a major issue in this particular WEG, as noted above, the decade-plus erosion of traditional endurance behaviors and equine welfare criteria are the greatest threats to the discipline.”

The committee, which wrote to USEF president Murray Kessler and secretary-general William Moroney, said their letter arose out of grave concern about not only the recent events of WEG, but also the years-long evolution of the sport of endurance in general...

Read more here:
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2018/09/30/american-endurance-officials-flat-track-discipline/