WATCH: Rosie Riall wins wildest horse race in the world in South Africa

SouthCoastHerald.co.za - Full Article

During Race the Wild Coast, the constantly changing conditions due to rain and wind on the first two days resulted in frequent alterations to the leader positions. Horse and rider had to work together to overcome obstacles.

October 22 2018

Young UK-based rider Rosie Riall triumphed as the winner of the second Race the Wild Coast endurance horse race, crossing the finish line at the Kei Mouth ahead of 13 other international competitors to take home the honours.

Race the Wild Coast, which is sponsored by international apparel brand KTC and supported by Striped Horse craft beer, is a new breed of long-distance horse racing set along the aptly named Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape. This year’s race was staged from October 16 to 19.

The race is organised by South African company Rockethorse Racing, which launched its first event in 2016. This complex, multi-stage race covers 350km of untamed wilderness and includes river and estuary crossings, narrow cliff-top tracks, rocky paths, beach runs, and often adverse weather conditions – earning it the moniker of “the wildest horse race in the world”. From a technical perspective, it is certainly one of the most challenging endurance races in existence...

More story and photos here:
https://southcoastherald.co.za/323404/watch-rosie-riall-wins-wildest-horse-race-world/

South Africa: Wildest horse race in the world ends in thrilling fashion

Sport24.co.za - Full Article

2018-10-22 15

Cape Town - Young UK-based rider Rosie Riall triumphed in the second-ever Race the Wild Coast endurance horse race, crossing the finish line at the Kei Mouth ahead of 13 other international competitors.

Race the Wild Coast, which is sponsored by international apparel brand KTC and supported by Striped Horse craft beer, is a new breed of long-distance horse racing set along the aptly named Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

The race was organised by South African company Rockethorse Racing, which launched its first event in 2016. This complex, multi-stage race covers 350km of untamed wilderness and includes river and estuary crossings, narrow cliff-top tracks, rocky paths, beach runs, and often adverse weather conditions - earning it the moniker of “the wildest horse race in the world”. From a technical perspective, it is certainly one of the most challenging endurance races in existence.

Says race organiser and co-founder Barry Armitage of Rockethorse Racing: “This year’s race was certainly tough and it’s an achievement just to finish. We congratulate all our riders who traversed the rugged paradise that is South Africa’s Wild Coast. And we take our racing cap off to the winner. It was a tight finish, but Rosie pipped her mate Anna Boden to the line due to strategy, determination, sheer grit and excellent horsemanship!”...

Read more here:
https://www.sport24.co.za/OtherSport/South-Africa/wildest-horse-race-in-the-world-ends-in-thrilling-fashion-20181022

FEI orders endurance review in bid to return discipline to its roots

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

October 23, 2018
Horsetalk.co.nz

The FEI is having another attempt at tidying up undesirable aspects of endurance, appointing a temporary committee to identify ways to bring the sport back to its “original roots”.

The world governing body says it hopes the committee will create a roadmap for the future of the discipline.

It is not the organisation’s first attempt to reform the sport.

Five years ago, an Endurance Strategy Planning Group released its findings during a two-hour endurance session at the FEI’s General Assembly in Montreux, Switzerland.

That group had been set up following a European outcry over the high level of doping infractions and excessive fracture rates in endurance competition in the Middle East.

However, problems have continued within the discipline, with speed and injury rates remaining serious concerns, especially so in the Gulf region. Changes have largely failed to curb desert-style endurance racing, with some rule changes adding cost and complexity for competitors in lower grades...

Read more here:
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2018/10/23/fei-endurance-review-discipline-roots/

Committee to Create Roadmap for the Future of FEI Endurance

Thehorse.com - Full Article

Among other tasks, the FEI’s temporary committee will review the rules to identify the most effective way of bringing the discipline back to its roots of endurance riding (as opposed to endurance racing), with horse welfare and horsemanship at its core while still maintaining the sport’s competitive aspect.

Posted by Edited Press Release | Oct 22, 2018

The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Bureau has set up a temporary committee with a remit to urgently assess the issues currently affecting endurance. The committee will also carry out an in-depth rule review to identify the most effective way of bringing the discipline back to its roots of endurance riding (as opposed to endurance racing), with horse welfare and horsemanship at its core while still maintaining the sport’s competitive aspect.

The temporary committee, which has been established under Article 36.1 of the FEI Statutes1, will be chaired by Sarah Coombs, BVetMed, MSc, MRCVS (GBR), a top FEI endurance veterinarian who has many years’ experience of officiating at FEI endurance events. Coombs was formerly the British Endurance team vet and is a trustee of the global equine charity World Horse Welfare and chair of its Veterinary Advisory Committee...

Read more here:
https://thehorse.com/161986/committee-to-create-roadmap-for-the-future-of-fei-endurance/

FEI Bureau sets up Temporary Committee to create roadmap for the future of Endurance

FEI.org

22 Oct 2018

The FEI Bureau has set up a Temporary Committee with a remit to urgently assess the issues currently affecting the sport of Endurance and carry out an in-depth review of the rules in order to identify the most effective way of bringing the discipline back to its original roots of Endurance riding as opposed to Endurance racing, with horse welfare and horsemanship at its core, while still maintaining the competitive aspect of the sport.

The Temporary Committee, which has been established under Article 36.1 of the FEI Statutes*, will be chaired by Dr Sarah Coombs (GBR), a top FEI Endurance veterinarian who has many years’ experience of officiating at FEI Endurance events. Dr Coombs was formerly the British Endurance team vet, is a Trustee of the global equine charity World Horse Welfare and is also chair of its Veterinary Advisory Committee.

The members are Tarek Taher (KSA), an international Endurance athlete and recently-elected by his peers as a member of the FEI Athletes’ Committee; Pieter Wiersinga (NED), chef d’équipe of the Dutch Endurance team, a Police Commissioner and former Head of the Mounted Police in the Netherlands; Dr Margaret (Meg) Sleeper (USA), who has competed in FEI Endurance since 2005 and is also a trainer, official veterinarian and veterinary cardiologist; and Dr Tim Parkin (GBR), who heads up the scientific research conducted at the University of Glasgow as part of the FEI’s Global Endurance injuries Study (GEIS) and is a candidate for election as a member of the FEI Veterinary Committee.

In order to underline the importance of this discipline review and to facilitate communication between the Temporary Committee and the FEI Bureau, FEI 2nd Vice President Mark Samuel (CAN) will also be involved in the work of the Temporary Committee.

“We need to bring the discipline back to the principles of the FEI where welfare of the horse and horsemanship prevail”, FEI President Ingmar De Vos said. “The Temporary Committee will conduct a thorough review of the discipline with the aim of getting back to real Endurance riding with the focus on horsemanship and the partnership between horse and human.

“The sport has evolved and there needs to be a recognition of that, but the essence of the sport must remain the same. What we need are rules that place greater emphasis on completion of the event, rather than the ‘win at all costs’ mentality that is more and more threatening our sport.

“We have a strong Chair in Dr Sarah Coombs, who has a long-standing and in-depth understanding of the sport, particularly the horse welfare and veterinary aspects. With this new role she will be helping steer this crucial next step by leading a committee of extremely knowledgeable members that is focused on regulatory change driven by science with horse welfare at its heart.”

Prior to the creation of the new Temporary Committee, the FEI Bureau had received and accepted the resignation of Dr Brian Sheahan (AUS) as Chair of the Endurance Technical Committee due to ill health. His eight-year term in office was due to expire in 2020. The President has thanked Dr Sheahan for his dedication and passion for the sport and wished him a speedy recovery.

In a further development, the Bureau has provisionally relieved Ignasi Casas Vaque (ESP) of his rights and duties as Deputy Chair and Member of the Endurance Committee due to pending legal proceedings for alleged incorrect behaviour at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018.

The FEI Legal Department last week initiated a disciplinary action against Dr Casas Vaque, based on evidence provided to the independent Equestrian Community Integrity Unit during its investigation into the cancelled Endurance event in Tryon (USA) on 12 September 2018. Any additional disciplinary actions against other individuals involved in events at Tryon last month will be announced in due course.

Due to the resignation of the Chair and the pending legal proceedings involving the Deputy Chair, the Endurance Committee is currently unable to function as a full committee. However, the remaining members of the Endurance Committee – Shanie Bosch-Fourie (NAM) (2014-2018), Rocio Echeverri (CRC) (2015-2019) and Stéphane Chazel (FRA) (2016-2020) – will remain as members for their terms and until further notice. The Temporary Committee will be asked to consult with them to ensure their expertise is not lost during the review process.

The Temporary Committee will start work as soon as possible, with the plan to hold a session dedicated on Endurance at the FEI Sports Forum 2019 allowing the Temporary Committee to provide an update to delegates.

To Finish is To Win’: AAP Employee to Compete in World’s Longest Horse Race

CornellSun.com - Full Article

October 19 2018
By Callie McQuilkin and Hnin Ei Wai Lwin

When asked what her goals were for next summer, when Cornell employee Kelsey Eliot will spend 10 days racing across mountains, rivers and rough terrain on the back of a semi-wild horse in the 600-mile Mongol Derby, her reply was simple: “To live.”

Eliot, a program assistant in the Department of City and Regional Planning, is one of 40 applicants selected from a pool of hundreds for the competition, which pits riders against each other, the elements and the very horses they’re riding.

“Mongolia horses are jackhammers. I’m trying to build my leg strength so I can withstand that,” Eliot told The Sun.

“It’s scary because a lot of [the horses] probably want to kill me,” she continued.

As they navigate the rugged Mongolian terrain — riddled with marmot holes and crisscrossed with rivers — competitors are likely to slip off their horses, which are often already skittish from the unfamiliar riders.

As a 2014 National Geographic article reported, about 50 percent of racers each year are not expected to cross the finish line, due to dysentery, broken bones and other complications...

Read more here:
https://cornellsun.com/2018/10/18/to-finish-is-to-win-aap-employee-to-compete-in-worlds-longest-horse-race/

2 Endurance Riders and Trainer in UAE Races Suspended

Inside.FEI.org

FEI Tribunal issues Final Decisions

18 Oct 2018

The FEI Tribunal has issued its Final Decisions in four cases involving prohibited substances.

Three of the cases involve the substance Trometamol, a diuretic listed as a *Banned Substance under the FEI’s Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations (EADCMRs) but which is due to be reclassified as a Controlled Medication on 1 January 2019.

As a result of the pending reclassification, the athletes have each been handed down a six-month suspension and costs, as well as disqualification from all placings at the events at which the positive samples were collected.

Argentinian athlete Daiana Chopita (FEI ID 10107027/ARG) rode the horse JC Cahuel (FEI ID 105UO02/UAE) at the CEI1* 100 in Abu Dhabi (UAE) on 9 December 2017 and HLP Gadafi (FEI ID 105AP09/UAE) at the CEI2* 120 in Abu Dhabi (UAE) on 23 December 2017. Samples from both horses tested positive for Trometamol. As Ms. Chopita was not notified of the first adverse analytical finding until after the second ride, the two charges were considered together as one single first violation.

The third Trometamol case involves the horse JLB Noche (FEI ID 104KB96/UAE) ridden by United Arab Emirates’ athlete Waad Nadim Bou Moghlbay (FEI ID 10113241) at the CEI2* 120 in Abu Dhabi (UAE) on 23 December 2017.

The two horses, HLP Gadafi and JLB Noche, are both trained by Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri (UAE), who has been provisionally suspended since the date of notification (10 January 2018). The case against him is still ongoing.

The fourth case involves the horse Concordia 7 (FEI ID 103ZZ97/AUT) competed by Austrian athlete Andreas Ruschitzka (FEI ID 10007005) at last year’s European Driving Championships in Gothenburg (SWE). Samples taken from the horse tested positive for the Banned Substance Oripavine, and the Controlled Medication substances Morphine and Codeine.

A sample taken on 20 April 2018 from a second horse, Solo Rygata XXI 17 (FEI ID 105WE35), driven by Mr Ruschitzka at the Czech CAI3* at Kladruby nad Labem, tested positive to Morphine. Oripavine, Morphine and Codeine are all are classified as Specified Substances** under the EADCMRs.

The athlete was able to prove that the presence of the three substances was due to contaminated feed and, as a result, the Tribunal found that he bore no fault or negligence for the rule violations. No period of ineligibility was imposed, but the athlete has been disqualified from the results with both horses.

The athletes have 21 days to appeal the decisions to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) from the dates of notification of the Final Decisions.

More at:
https://inside.fei.org/news/fei-tribunal-issues-final-decisions-0