Endurance: No Gain Without Pain, But Who Will Make the Sacrifice?

HorseSport.com - Full Article

The FEI’s Endurance Temporary Committee has worked for a year to come up with rule change proposals to ensure the safety of the sport’s horses

By: Cuckson Report // Pippa Cuckson

I have been writing about the woes of desert endurance for over seven years. I didn’t want to feel a sense of “déjà vu” when the latest beefed-up FEI rule proposals were published a few days ago, but read them – or more accurately, the response to them – with more weariness and exasperation.

The FEI’s Endurance Temporary Committee (ETC) has worked tirelessly for a year, going further than any of its predecessors dared to with reforms to rescue endurance’s social licence to exist. The elected athletes’ representative Tarek Taher, in particular, has been harassed on social media by anonymous cowards so blatantly in thrall to Dubai. Yet the ETC has pressed on, when others would have walked away.

The ETC undertook unprecedented consultation, listening to all territories, geographies and cultures. It has published the observations of all national federations (NFs); even the incoherent ones, and those of South Africa, Libya, Lebanon and Sudan who simply cut and pasted bumph circulated by the UAE earlier this summer opposing most of the proposals.

The ETC has carefully explained why NF suggestions have been adopted or not. No other discipline has ever reached out to its global community in this way (though no other is in such a mess that it needs to.)

But inevitably the ballsy rhetoric at the FEI Sports Forum in April has been watered-down prior to the FEI General Assembly in Moscow next month, because any rules package has to get past the national federations.

The most obvious casualty of rule reform is Valerie Kanavy’s qualifying/upgrading system, which aimed to reduce fracture-risking high speeds and encourage tactical riding. The speed merchants were always going to oppose it, but it had unintended consequences for countries practising traditional endurance, and who resent having to compromise because of the excesses spread by one region...

Read more here:
https://horsesport.com/cuckson-report/endurance-no-gain-without-pain-but-who-will-make-the-sacrifice/

FEI World Championships, World Cup Finals cities announced

HorseSport.com

Host cities for the FEI World Championships 2022 and other major events up to 2023/2024 have been allocated by the FEI Board in Moscow.

By: FEI Communications | November 17 2019

Host cities for the FEI World Championships 2022 and other major events up to 2023/2024 were allocated today by the FEI Board at its in-person meeting in the Russian capital Moscow.

FEI World Championships in four disciplines: Jumping, Dressage, Para Dressage and Vaulting will be staged in Herning (DEN) in August 2022. The Danish city, which runs a qualifier for the FEI Dressage World Cup™ annually, previously hosted a multi-discipline equestrian event in 2013 when it staged the FEI European Championships for Jumping, Dressage and Para-Dressage.

Pratoni del Vivaro (ITA), venue for the Eventing discipline at the Rome 1960 Olympic Games, will host FEI World Championships for Eventing and Driving in September 2022. The Italian venue, located 35 kilometres south of Rome, is no stranger to hosting high-level equestrian events and FEI Championships. It was the site for the cross country competition at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 1998 and hosted the FEI World Driving Championships for Singles in 2006 and 2010.

“When we opened the process for the FEI World Championships 2022 to single and multi-discipline bids, our intention was to have events that were more manageable and sustainable at proven venues,” FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez said. “By allocating these multi-discipline Championships to Herning and Pratoni del Vivaro we’re working with hosts that already have the necessary experience and required infrastructure in place to organise world-class equestrian championships.

“We received some truly excellent bids and unfortunately we don’t have enough FEI World Championships to allocate to everyone, but we very much hope that these excellent organisers will bid again in the future to host championships at their venues.”

The World Championships 2022 in the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines of Jumping, Eventing, Dressage and Para Dressage, will serve as qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The FEI Board agreed unanimously that any decision on the FEI World Championships in Endurance and Reining should be postponed pending the outcome of discussions about both disciplines on 18 November and voting on 19 November.

The FEI Board also allocated FEI World Cup™ Finals for 2022 to 2024, with Leipzig (GER) once again hosting four FEI World Cup™ Finals under one roof from 6-10 April 2022. The German city previously hosted the same four disciplines – Jumping, Dressage, Driving and Vaulting – in 2011.

The FEI World Cup™ Finals for Jumping and Dressage will return to Omaha (USA) in 2023 (12-16 April), and the FEI World Cup™ Finals 2024 for Jumping and Dressage were allocated to Riyadh (KSA). Dates for the FEI World Cup™ Finals 2024 in Riyadh will be confirmed. Bordeaux (FRA) will host the FEI Driving World Cup™ Finals in both 2023 (2-5 February) and 2024 (1-4 February).

The bidding process for the FEI Vaulting World Cup™ Finals 2023 and 2024 will be reopened.

In addition, the Board allocated qualifiers for the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ series, FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Youth 2020 and FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ 2020, FEI Jumping Ponies Trophy™ 2020 qualifiers and Finals and other Championships.

The list of key allocations is below (a complete list will be included in the detailed report of today’s in-person FEI Board meeting):

FEI World Championships 2022
Multi-discipline

FEI World Championships (Jumping, Dressage, Para Dressage & Vaulting) – Herning (DEN), 6 – 14 August

FEI Eventing World Championship – Pratoni del Vivaro (ITA), 14-18 September

FEI Driving World Championship – Pratoni del Vivaro (ITA), 21-25 September

FEI World Cup™ Finals 2022

FEI World Cup™ Finals (Jumping, Driving, Vaulting & Dressage) – Leipzig (GER), 6-10 April

2023

FEI World Cup™ Finals (Jumping & Dressage) – Omaha (USA), 12-16 April

FEI Driving World Cup™ Final – Bordeaux (FRA), 2-5 February

2024

FEI World Cup™ Finals (Jumping & Dressage) – Riyadh (KSA), 4-9 March or 15-20 April

FEI Driving World Cup™ Final – Bordeaux (FRA), 1-4 February

Australia: Growing success for the Matar Stables Bullio Cup

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

Race Report made with the assistance of the Canobolas Endurance Riders Club Inc
18 November 2019

Orange, Central West of NSW, Australia. Sunday 3 November 2019. When the Canobolas Endurance Riders Club was formed in 2018, its aim was to host an endurance event that showcased Australian endurance riding.

Matar Endurance Stables Dubai came on board with this fledging club and gave great support and confidence to move forward and host another event in 2019.

Consequently, the Club went one step further this year and staged a 120km 2* and domestic 120km ride in conjunction with the 80km 1* and 80km domestic event. Incorporated into the weekend was an intermediate 40km ride plus an introductory component of a 20km and 10-5km ride where young children were able to ride out on the course with elite riders and enjoy being a part of the sport of endurance riding.

Riders came from all over Australia, as well as New Zealand, Dubai, France, the UK, China and Hong Kong. The 139 endurance riders taking part in the senior categories have been forthcoming with high praise of the event. Even those who were not successful on the day have stated they will be coming back to try for a completion buckle at next year’s Matar Stables Bullio Cup...

Read more here:
https://endurance-world.com/growing-success-for-the-matar-stables-bullio-cup/

Belgium: Cooling gel saw Endurance horse fail two drug tests; rider not at fault

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

November 14, 2019
Horsetalk.co.nz

A Belgium-registered rider whose horse tested positive for an anti-inflammatory medication after two Endurance rides bore no fault for the breaches, the FEI Tribunal has ruled.

Jacques Sabeau was not fined or suspended over the breaches, which involved harpagoside, an anti-inflammatory drug with pain-killing effects.

He competed the horse Eaunoire Cookies in a CEI1* 100km Endurance contest in Bullange, Belgium, on June 30 last year, and in a CEI2* event in Wimmenau, France, in early September last year.

Urine samples taken from each event returned positive results for harpagoside, which is listed as a controlled medication under the FEI’s anti-doping rules...

Read more here:
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/11/14/cooling-gel-endurance-horse/

UAE: Fine, suspension for Endurance rider over positive drugs test in horse

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

November 13, 2019 Horsetalk.co.nz

A young Endurance rider from the United Arab Emirates has been fined 7500 Swiss francs and suspended for two years after his UAE-registered horse tested positive for muscle-building compounds.

Khalifa Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri, who was aged 19 at the time of the drugs breach in September 2017, had competed the horse 8 Minute, who was not trained by him, in a 120km event for junior and young riders in Valeggio sul Mincio, Italy.

Samples taken from the horse confirmed the presence of nandrolone and stanozolol, which are listed as banned substances under the FEI’s anti-doping rules...

Read more here:
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/11/13/fine-suspension-endurance-horse/

Endurance riding in Ukraine on the rise

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

10 November 2019
Race Report made with the assistance of Lesia Gordiienko

Shchilin Endurance Equestrian Club, Iatski, Kyiv region. Sunday 6 October 2019.

Endurance riding in Ukraine is becoming more and more popular throughout recent years.

Due to the great enthusiasm of the famous endurance rider and Shchilin Endurance equestrian club owner Mr Czhou Zhuisi, who organizes FEI rides every autumn.

The rides of CEI2* 120k and CEI1* 80k were organized for both senior and young riders. Three loops of 12, 20 and 34km involved a mix of long plane field roads, moderate hills, forest paths and picturesque countryside. The track was rather technical and challenging with long speedy stretches and slopes to walk down...

Read more here:
https://endurance-world.com/endurance-riding-in-ukraine-on-the-rise/

Survival of Endurance rests on crucial vote, says advocacy group

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

November 6, 2019
Horsetalk.co.nz

The very survival of Endurance as an FEI discipline is at stake when national delegates vote on new rules for the sport at the upcoming FEI General Assembly, a respected advocacy group says.

Clean Endurance is urging all national federations to approve the 2020 FEI Endurance Rules during the annual gathering, being held in Moscow in mid-November.

The group, a global collective which combats fraud and doping in Endurance, and seeks to restore the traditional values of the discipline, says it has written to all 134 national federations ahead of the Moscow meeting.

It is asking them to vote in favour of the rules in order to ensure the survival of Endurance as an FEI discipline.

They told secretary generals around the world that their letter was a last resort to try to convey the emergency faced by Endurance, saying that a positive vote was of the utmost importance...

Read more here
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/11/06/survival-endurance-vote/