Mongolia: 2019 Gobi Desert Cup Scheduled for 27 August to 6 September

GobiDesertCup.com

Please join us for a 480-kilometer ride across the Gobi Desert on Mongolian horses over six days. We are an endurance race that prioritizes horse welfare and the sustainability of the nomadic Mongol culture through our event. Challenge your horsemanship will embarking on the cultural experience of a lifetime. We are now accepting a limited number of applications at www.gobidesertcup.com.

The Mongolian Horse

Mongolian horses are semi-wild and handled differently then the horses you are used to riding. Sturdy and strong with a lot of heart, they will teach you and test you. The horses selected for the cup qualify based on age, health, quietness, experience and ability to cover long distances. Once qualified, the horses go to our training center to be trained and conditioned for the race. Our herdsmen will be on hand every day to help you and support you as you navigate the course.

Race Details

Following a marked course, starting every morning at 7AM, riders must complete the course before 7 PM. Two vet checks are held a day; one at 40 km and one at the end of the 80km. When entering the vetting area, riders will have maximum 30 minutes to get their horse's heart rate to 64bpm or below. At each vet check, the horses will be trotted out under saddle and checked for lameness. After passing the vet check, a compulsory vet hold of 40min will allow both riders and horses to rest, eat and drink.

Away from the modern world, GET BACK TO BASICS.

Riders will be camping in tents each night in a traditional Mongolian camp. You will wake up each morning to the herders bringing in the horses to the horse line as the sun rises over the horizon. Leave your modern amenities behind because without electricity you will learn to live as the herders have since the time of Ghenghis Khan.

But no open fires here, you will be immersed in the nomadic lifestyle while enjoying catered food prepared by our chef and his team.

Itinerary

The itinerary includes a half day briefing with officials in Ulaanbaatar at the hotel. You will then be picked up the following morning at the hotel to travel to base camp where you will receive two days of training before the race; discovering the horses, the rules, and try your gear. Then the race begins after a Starting Ceremony! Each night awards will be present for Best Managed Horse and Best Sportsmanship. At the end of six days and 480 kilometers, the Individual Winner, Overall Best Managed, and Team winners will be announced, following by a Closing Ceremony.

For more information and to apply, see
https://www.gobidesertcup.com/

Canadian Rider on the storm: Jasper woman plans Mongolia charity ride

Fitzhugh.ca - Full Article

Craig Gilbert | publisher@fitzhugh.ca
February 19 2019

Sandra Coombe plans to spend some of her spring standing tall in the saddle.

The longtime local was the 12th and final rider selected for the seventh annual Gobi Gallop, a 10-day, 700-kilometre traditional ride on herd-minded Mongolian stallions from the steppe into the mountains and back down again at the end of May.

She plans to get all four of the innoculations recommended for travel to the region, including typhoid and rabies, but she seemed more concerned about altitude sickness.

She reached the race’s organizer, Julie Veloo, through a video chat Tuesday afternoon.

“We’re technically skirting around the limits of it,” she said, with the riders starting at 7,200 metres in the western Gobi Desert, ascending to 8,600 metres then descending to about 5,000 metres. “Many people could have other issues.”

Coombe was selected after a three-hour interview process...

Read more here:
https://www.fitzhugh.ca/rider-on-the-storm-jasper-woman-plans-mongolia-charity-ride/

Will there be a WEG 2022? FEI to keep close eye on world champs bids

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

February 19, 2019
Horsetalk.co.nz

Horse sport’s world governing body has acknowledged that because of the globalisation of equestrian sport there are few countries with the ability to host a World Equestrian Games championships in all disciplines.

Following last year’s WEG in the USA which was beset with issues, the FEI will work closely with those bidding to host championships in 2022 in order to create “a unified vision and establish an achievable set of goals” to work towards.

When it opened the bidding process late last year for individual world championships for 2022, the FEI said preference would be given to multi-discipline bids. FEI President Ingmar De Vos stressed at the time that it did not necessarily mean the end of the FEI World Equestrian Games concept.

“The new bid process allows for the sustainable and cost-effective use of existing equestrian sports facilities and for the FEI to partner with National Federations that may have hesitated in putting forward multi-discipline bids in the past...

Read more here:
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/02/19/weg-2022-fei-world-champs-bids/?utm_medium=40digest.7days3.20190219.home&utm_source=email&utm_content=&utm_campaign=campaign

New Zealand’s North Island Championships a victory for the ‘Pip’s’

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

15 February 2019
Race Report made with the assistance of Jane Ferguson

Whareama Domain, half an hour out of Masterton on New Zealand’s scenic east coast was the location for the running of the Toft Endurance ESNZ Endurance North Island Championships from 1 to 3 February 2019.

With the track crossing over 16 privately owned farms, it was a logistical triumph for the organising committee, who had been working extremely hard for many months in the lead-up to ensure a world-class event. Farmers were incredibly supportive, shifting thousands of head of stock, resulting in only two gates on course and a flowing track.

The ride base was picture perfect; sponsors signage was prominently displayed, and with fairy lights running up the vet lanes for the night loops it was a magical experience for all involved. Overseas officials hailed from Botswana, the United States, Costa Rica and Malaysia, and China and Australia were represented among the competitors...

Read more here:
http://endurance-world.com/new-zealands-north-island-championships-a-victory-for-the-pips/

The UK Horse World Prepares for Brexit

HorseReporter.com - Full Article

24/01/2019
by Pamela Burton


The UK Horse World Prepares for Brexit
24/01/2019

Leaders in equestrian sport, vets and government have been working closely to prepare plans for the UK leaving the EU
Although the outcomes of Parliamentary negotiations surrounding Brexit remain uncertain, the horse world has been working closely together to understand the implications for horse owners when the UK leaves the EU on 29 March 2019.

Leaders from a number of organisations from horse sport, racing, vets, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) have been developing plans for what needs to be done in case the UK leaves with no deal.

The chief concern for horse owners will be transportation. Our focus has been on the following areas:...

Read more here:
https://www.horsereporter.com/the-uk-horse-world-prepares-for-brexit/

Opportunity knocks with FEI World Championships 2022 bid process

FEI.org

13 Feb 2019

While 2019 is set to be another busy year for international horse sport, potential bidders are already vying for the possibility of hosting FEI World Championships in 2022. The FEI has already received some exciting expressions of interest for 2022, with more submissions expected before the 28 February deadline.

“I am delighted to say that the level of interest and the quality of submissions to host FEI World Championships in 2022 has been very high so far, and we are confident that we will have an interesting pool of candidates to choose from when the allocations are made later this year,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said.

The FEI initiated a bid process for individual FEI World Championships in all disciplines for 2022 at the FEI General Assembly in Manama (BRN) in November last year.

The FEI President stressed at the time that this does not necessarily mean the end of the FEI World Equestrian Games™ concept, and bids to host the full seven disciplines together for 2022 will be considered.

The FEI Board unanimously approved the opening of a bidding process for individual world championships in all disciplines for 2022, with preference being given to multi-discipline bids. The Board also agreed that ideally the FEI World Championships for Dressage and Para Dressage should be combined. The world championships for 2022 in the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines will serve as qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Games.

“Equestrian sport has become increasingly globalised, but there are relatively few countries that have the capacity to host world championships in all disciplines simultaneously,” the FEI President said.

“The new bid process allows for the sustainable and cost-effective use of existing equestrian sports facilities and for the FEI to partner with National Federations that may have hesitated putting forward multi-discipline bids in the past. The door is now open for these Federations to consider submitting an expression of interest for an individual world championship in the discipline of their choice.”

In a key change to the bid process, the FEI will host an interactive workshop at the end of March in Lausanne for all National Federations/Organising Committees that submit an expression of interest in the 2022 World Championships.

“This interactive workshop is a key factor in ensuring that we adequately convey the structure, opportunities and minimum requirements of hosting the FEI World Championships 2022. By working more closely with the National Federations and Organising Committees from the very start of the process, we can ensure a unified vision and establish an achievable set of goals to work towards,” Ingmar De Vos said.

There are over 4,000 FEI events organised world-wide annually across the seven disciplines of Jumping, Dressage & Para-Dressage, Eventing, Endurance, Driving & Para-Driving, Vaulting and Reining, with world championships in the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines held every four years and every second year for non-Olympic disciplines.

Timeline

• 28 February 2019 – Deadline for receipt of non-binding expressions of interest to host one or multiple FEI World Championship(s) 2022. All information can be accessed here.
• 26 March 2019 – Workshop to be held in Lausanne after which interested bidders will be invited to submit a formal bid, outlining their plans and visions for hosting FEI World Championships in 2022.
• November 2019 – Allocation of FEI World Championships at the in-person Board meeting at the FEI General Assembly in Moscow (RUS). All bids will be fully evaluated over the Spring/Summer of 2019.

Questions concerning the bid process can be sent to bidding@fei.org.

About Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) www.fei.org

The FEI is the world governing body for horse sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and was founded in 1921. Equestrian sport has been part of the Olympic movement since the 1912 Games in Stockholm.

The FEI is the sole controlling authority for all international events in the Olympic sports of Jumping, Dressage and Eventing, as well as Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining.

The FEI became one of the first international sports governing bodies to govern and regulate global para sport alongside its seven able-bodied disciplines when Para Dressage joined its ranks in 2006. The FEI now governs all international competitions for Para Dressage and Para Driving.

Frst Trainers Automatically Suspended Under New Anti-Doping Rule

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

February 12, 2019
by: Pippa Cuckson

Two UAE endurance trainers are the first to be automatically suspended for horses in their care testing positive to banned substances.

The new rule came into effect on January 1st, as the FEI beefs up its battle with ongoing doping issues. Endurance still returns a substantially higher percentage of positives from horses sampled than any other equestrian sport; 37 of the 57 cases currently waiting a Tribunal decision are in endurance, mostly from riders in the Group 7 (Middle East) region.

Trainers Ibrahim Joynal Abedin (Si Quilombo) and Rashed Suhail Al Darbi (Kekmadar) have been provisionally suspended, pending a final Tribunal decision, after both horses tested positive to arsenic. Both horses had the same rider, Said Al Balushi, who is also provisionally suspended. Saudi rider Ahmad Althmaly is also listed as the suspended trainer of Sarem who has tested positive to steroids Stanozolol and 16-betahydroxystanozolol.

This is the first time a new FEI anti-doping rule has been discipline-specific. In all other equestrian sports, because the rider is usually the horse’s trainer and stable manager he is regarded as the prime “person responsible” (PR) and thereby liable for doping offences. However, endurance in the Middle East mostly revolves around large barns of many hundreds of horses and prepared by professional trainers but competed by staff riders or overseas visitors with little prior contact...

Read more here:
https://horse-canada.com/horse-news/first-trainers-suspended-new-anti-doping-rule/