Endurance Temporary Committee continues work at second in-person meeting

Inside.fei.org

15 Jan 2019

The Endurance Temporary Committee, which has continued to receive a vast amount of feedback from the Endurance community, held its second in-person meeting at FEI Headquarters today to continue working on its remit of carrying out an in-depth review of the discipline rules.

The Committee, which was established by the FEI Board in October last year, has been tasked with bringing the sport back to its original roots of Endurance riding rather than Endurance racing.

FEI President Ingmar De Vos opened today’s meeting, and commended the Committee members on their dedication, both to the discipline and to the task in hand.

Topics discussed included mandatory rest periods, number of entries and staggered starts, crewing outside water points, the appointment and rotation of FEI Officials and rules enforcement.

“I am really encouraged by today’s meeting”, committee chair Dr Sarah Coombs said. “It was extremely productive and, with the combination of the hugely experienced individuals on the committee and the input from the community, I feel we have already made and will continue to make strides towards our goal of improving horse welfare in Endurance.”

The Committee had its first meeting in mid-December last year and has already received Board approval for a change to the Endurance rules to introduce the concept of Severe Injury, with the same sanctions as for a Catastrophic Injury which requires euthanasia. This has been extremely well received throughout the Endurance community and will be implemented from 1 February 2019.

A proposal to test a reduction in maximum heart rates and presentation times at Endurance events held between 1 February and 1 April 2019 has met with mixed reactions from Organising Committees and National Federations hosting events during the two-month test period. Participating organisers would be asked to implement heart rates of 64 bpm for the first vet gate and 60 bpm thereafter, including the final inspection, within 20 minutes.

The Temporary Committee members are Dr Sarah Coombs (GBR), Tarek Taher (KSA), Pieter Wiersinga (NED), Dr Tim Parkin (GBR) and Valerie Kanavy (USA). FEI Vice President Mark Samuel (CAN) also attends the Temporary Committee meetings to facilitate communications between the committee and the FEI Board.

The Temporary Committee will hold its next in-person meeting on 22 February 2019, following a full day of previously scheduled stakeholder consultations. There will be a dedicated Endurance session at the FEI Sports Forum 2019 (15-16 April) at which delegates will be provided with an update by the Temporary Committee as part of the full consultation process prior to voting on proposed Rules amendments at the FEI General Assembly in November.

Separately, the FEI has this week sent out a reminder to Endurance Trainers that significant changes to the FEI Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Rules (EADCMRs) came into force on 1 January 2019. Under the new Rules, automatic provisional suspension will be imposed on the registered Trainer of any horse that tests positive to a Banned Substance or two or more Controlled Medication substances. During the provisional suspension, Trainers would not be able to train or enter horses under their direct or indirect care for either national or international Endurance events.



About the Endurance Temporary Committee

Information on the Endurance Temporary Committee first in-person meeting is available here.

Endurance Temporary Committee looks to trial lower heart rates

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

January 16, 2019
Horsetalk.co.nz

The Endurance Temporary Committee, appointed last year in bid to tidy up undesirable aspects of the discipline, has scored a win in respect of major injuries, but is reportedly finding more headwind as it looks at the possibility of lowering heart rates, with a presentation time of 20 minutes.

The committee was formed by the FEI Board last October. It is carrying out an in-depth review of the rules to identify the most effective way of bringing the discipline back to its original roots of Endurance riding as opposed to Endurance racing.

The committee held its second in-person meeting at the FEI’s headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, this week.

Topics discussed included mandatory rest periods, number of entries and staggered starts, crewing outside water points, the appointment and rotation of FEI Officials, and rules enforcement...

Read more here:
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/01/16/endurance-committee-heart-rates/

Abu Dhabi: M7 Endurance Stables power to victory in Al Reef Cup

Photo credit: Morhaf Alassaf for Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club
Endurance-world.com - Full Article

Info@endurance-world.com
15th January 2019

Emirates International Endurance Village, Al Wathba, United Arab Emirates. Saturday 12 January 2019. For the CEI2* 120km Al Reef Cup, organiser Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club kept the rule of 60kg for the riders (with saddle). As mentioned earlier, this is a move that has been welcomed by the teams.

Some considered this race as a final test for the HH The President of United Arab Emirates Endurance Cup scheduled for 9 February. It was true that the very best horses were not entered, but nevertheless there was a high level of quality on the start list.

Coming in first after the opening loop was Miriam Mala – SVK (Kynnum Park Shahkira – Hadaybit Asalem 2 Endurance Stables), who was able to hold a top three place after a longer recovery, but sadly to no avail as, after an even longer recovery at the second gate, she was vetted out for irregular gait.

The leader of the first hour was Amy McAuley – IRL (Moondarra Maher – F3 Stables), but she was also out of the race by the end of the second loop...

Read more here:
http://endurance-world.com/m7-endurance-stables-power-to-victory-in-al-reef-cup/

Lowering the Heart Rate - Solution or Heresy?

Grandprix-replay.com - Full Article

Sunday 13 January - 19h03 | Muriel Judic

Lowering the heart rate is a topic that has divided the endurance world since the announcement this week of a trial to test lowering of the recovery threshold to 60 beat per minute instead of 64 bpm. The organizers of the CEI at Fontainebleau on March 22nd and 23rd, have attracted the wrath of a large number of French riders but also the staff of the National Federation. But the subject has merit throughout the sport of endurance and not only in France.

Anxious to contribute to the efforts aimed at the well-being of endurance horses, the team of Gilles Cabardos, had these last two years already experimented more strict principles in the field of recovery with the reduction to 10 mn max (against 20 mn) presentation time at intermediate veterinary checks. Why change the rules? At the end of each ride loop, the horse goes through a series of metabolic examinations, but all too frequently - especially on fast races running for the first 22 or even 25 km / h - exhausted horses pass the examination, but fail to complete the next loop. Some have legitimately mentioned the results of the Sheikh Mohamed Cup in Dubai, which had, in early January, only 89 couples who completed the ride and 250 who didn't during this 160km event...

Read more here:
http://www.grandprix-replay.com/uk/article/5944/lowering-the-heart-rate-solution-or-heresy-

Endurance Organizers Sought for Urgent Heart-Rate Study

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

January 11, 2019
by: Pippa Cuckson

Organizers of upcoming FEI endurance rides worldwide are being urged to take part in a trial of lower heart-rate parameters, in a bid to reduce attrition rates.

The trial will take place from February 1 – April 1, giving the FEI’s new “temporary” endurance committee time to review results before the FEI Sports Forum from April 16-17.

But there has already been a setback with the major ride in Fontainebleau, France, declining to participate after “taking into account the many comments of the riders.” The organizer – who has no title-sponsor this time – faced a boycott. Fontainebleau also notes that veterinarians have always had the opportunity to request a re-examination if the horse’s recovery time is too long...

Read more here:
https://horse-canada.com/horse-news/endurance-organizers-sought-urgent-heart-rate-study/

First Issue of Arabian Horse Int'l Endurance

ArabianHorseIntlMagazine

Publisher Cidinha Franzao has released the first issue of Arabian Horse International Magazine has been released. Contents include an interview with World Champion Valerie Kanavy, a profile of the endurance horse legend Nobby, a recap on international rides in Europe and South America, and more.

Read online here:
https://www.flipsnack.com/arabianhorseintlmagazine/arabian-horse-intl-endurance-issue-1.html

Spain's Alex Criville a motor bike legend turned horse rider

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

Info@endurance-world.com
5th January 2019

How do you introduce Alex Criville, the Spaniard who took his Repsol Honda to the title victory in the 1999 MotoGP World Championship? From the glamorous high-octane life of motor bike racing, he is now a competitive horse man. An interview with a legend.

Why horses?

Well it’s kind a life’s philosophy where I love nature and in some kind of way I still compete even though it’s now with the horse and not at 300km/h like I used to go with motorcycles. Yet this phase of my life pleases me a lot.
What does it mean in Spain, first winning races and then the ultimate title in racing?

Winning the 500 title with the maximum category meant a lot to me as we were thinking why not winning it and we finally demonstrated it. 10 years later Lorenzo and Marquez won it and now we are dominating the category...

Read more here:
http://endurance-world.com/alex-criville-a-motor-bike-legend-turned-horse-rider/