Ireland: A fond farewell to an indomitable equine

Farmweek.com - Full Article

By Bree Rutledge
February 12, 2021

WELL-known endurance rider Helen McFarland from Co. Down, writes:

MADAM,

I had the recent privilege of saying a final goodbye to ‘Just Paddy’, my equine companion for over 30 years. Without the benefit of ‘Paddy’s’ indomitable spirit and iron constitution, I would never have gone on to enjoy an endurance career, which has enabled me to compete all over Ireland and Britain, as well as further afield and to have the honour of representing Ireland at European and World Championship level and at the World Equestrian Games.

‘Paddy’ and I started out together in mid 1990 and spent several happy years hunting with the North Down, flying round cross-country courses and doing all the usual Riding Club activities. Nothing ever seemed to tire ‘Paddy’ out and when we took up the newly emerging sport of endurance in 1995, he made swift progress through the various qualification levels at 20, 25, 30, 40 and 50 miles, with ILDRA (Irish Long Distance Riding Association).

I caught the endurance ‘bug’ myself and quickly became addicted to the fascinating challenge of competing over long distances, riding across different terrain and adapting speed and tactics to my horse’s level of fitness. But I can still remember the astonishment I felt when Lorraine Sloan (whose help and guidance were invaluable to me as a very novice endurance rider), casually mentioned one day that she was training to do a ride of 100 miles in a day – I had no notion such a thing was possible, 50 miles seemed more than enough!...

Read more here:
https://farmweek.com/a-fond-farewell-to-an-indomitable-equine/

100 days to go Longines FEI Endurance World Championship 2021

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

Info@endurance-world.com
11th February 2021

Pisa, Italy. Thursday 10 February 2021. The countdown begins to the Longines FEI Endurance World Championship 2021.

In 100 days the San Rossore racecourse will be the scene of an event that is long-awaited for as it is the symbolic desire to return to normality through a sport, Endurance, which founding values are based on true partnership between horse and human. The appointment is for Saturday 22 May 2021, when Tuscany and in particular Pisa will host the Longines FEI Endurance World Championship 2021 as part of the sixth edition of Toscana Endurance Lifestyle.

Event Director Brian Dunn (IRL) and sistemaeventi.it, in partnership with the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) and the Italian Equestrian Federation (FISE) and with the institutional support of the Municipality of Pisa and the Tuscany Region, are working at full speed to set up a World Championship based on ambitious goals, starting with health protection and compliance with the protocols dictated by the Covid-19 pandemic...

Read more here:
https://endurance-world.com/100-days-to-go-longines-fei-endurance-world-championship-2021/

Great Britain: Popular Man v Horse race is cancelled for a second year

CountyTimes.co.uk - Full Article

8 February 2021
By Matt Jones

ENDURANCE runners from Powys and well beyond have been dealt a blow after organisers of the immensely popular Man v Horse race announced the cancellation of this year’s event.

The quirky race – which pits people against horses over a 22-mile distance – is one of the most popular events on the annual Mid Wales calendar, but was cancelled last year because of coronavirus. Organisers Green Events had provisionally pencilled in a June 12 date for the Llanwrtyd Wells race’s comeback, but instead they have followed suit with many other events this year by postponing for a second successive year...

Read more here:
https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/19073603.popular-man-v-horse-race-cancelled-second-year/

UAE: Sultan Alawani emerged to top in Al Wathba

Endurance-world.com - Full Article

Info@endurance-world.com
1st February 2021

Emirates International Endurance Village, Al Wathba, United Arab Emirates. Friday 29 January 2021.

After three days of racing the previous week it was time for Junior & Young Riders to battle for first place at the Sheikh Zayed bin Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Junior & Young Riders Endurance Cup CEN 120.

A total of 100 combinations entered the race and it was Consuelo Marchant – CHI (Gacela 50 – Jumeirah Stables) leading after the first loop with nine riders within the same minute.

Saif Beljafla – UAE (Shadeedah – M7 Endurance Stables) arrived first after the second loop in an important pack of riders but thanks to a good recovery it was Khalfan Beljafla – UAE (Avenir La Majorie – MRM Stables) who took over the lead with an ignorable advantage of two seconds on Saif Beljafla. The only other rider to be in the same minute was Rashed Al Ketbi – UAE (Waterlea Sikorsky – M7 Endurance Stables) in fourth place...

Read more here:
https://endurance-world.com/sultan-alawani-emerged-to-top-in-al-wathba/

In Memoriam: FEI pays tribute to former Endurance Committee Chair Brian Sheahan (1951-2021)

Inside.FEI.org - Full Article

27 January 2021

Dr Brian Sheahan (AUS), former Chair of the FEI Endurance Committee, passed away peacefully on 25 January in his hometown of Samford, Queensland in northeastern Australia. The FEI Honorary Board Member, who was a highly respected veterinarian and a well-loved figure in the international Endurance community, was 69.

He joined the FEI Endurance Committee as a member in 2008, taking over the Chair in 2012 until 2018, during which time he was a member of the FEI Board. He was highly respected for his work with the Endurance Strategic Planning Group and the Endurance Task Force. He was instrumental in creating the FEI Endurance Forum and Conferences, which provided a platform for stakeholders to exchange ideas and voice their opinions.

“The FEI family and the international veterinary community have lost, not just a passionate advocate for Endurance, but also a unique man and a real friend,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said.

“Brian often described himself as a ‘humble country vet’, but he was so much more than that and his passing is being felt everywhere he left his mark. As well as his brilliant ability to work with people, and with horses, he will be remembered fondly for his legendary wit and infectious good humour. His family, and huge circle of friends and colleagues will have no shortage of entertaining anecdotes to keep his memory alive. The equestrian community is certainly better off for having known him...”

Read more here:
https://inside.fei.org/content/memoriam-fei-pays-tribute-former-endurance-committee-chair-brian-sheahan-1951-2021

Uruguayan Rider Handed Record 3-Year Ban for Controlled Meds Offence

HorseSport.com - Full Article

FEI warns riders about personal duty of care after a repeat offender fails to educate himself, despite two prior positives.

By: Pippa Cuckson | January 18, 2021

A Uruguayan endurance rider has been handed a record three-year ban for a controlled medications offence, because of his history of prior violations.

Facundo Leites could have been suspended for four years for this third violation in four years’ period, though the FEI and its independent Tribunal felt three years was appropriate. Leites, 27, will have served suspensions totalling four and half years when this latest one ends in January 2024, unless he appeals.

Leites claimed he had accepted the ride at Bou Thib, Abu Dhabi in February 19 on Calandria Noe at short notice and could not have known the mare had recently been dosed with the corticosteroid Flumetasone to treat “chronic arthrosis” in the fetlock joint. The stable vet injected her eight eight days before the scheduled race. The trainer blamed the positive sample on the ride then being brought forward.

The trainer, Ali Nasser Sultan al Yabhouni, said his stable was one of the most “respectful” in the country. He had carried out his own investigation, and found miscommunication between stable staff in recording the treatment and the entry made for the ride, for which he apologised.

However, for the Tribunal, Dianne Pitts agreed with the FEI legal department that this explanation was unsubstantiated...

Read more here:
https://horsesport.com/horse-news/uruguayan-rider-handed-record-3-year-ban-controlled-meds-offence/

Endurance: Pointless to Strengthen FEI Rules if Loophole isn’t Closed

HorseSport.com - Full Article

The UAE can still dodge FEI rules at headlining endurance races due to the cock-eyed definition of ‘Minor’ events.

Cuckson Report
By Pippa Cuckson | January 19, 2021

Well, that UAE suspension seemed over in a flash, didn’t it? It has been business as usual at the epicentre of winter endurance from January 1 ‒ the UAE is packing loads into the next three months, racing four days out of seven.

Its first feature 120km race of 2021, the Expo Cup CEN, saw the usual pitiful completion rate: 44 finishers, 87 vetgate eliminations and 11 of those mysterious “failures to complete” (FTCs.)

Riders were drawn from 24 nations for that opening meet which ran under national rules. All perfectly legit, because demanding endurance events can count as “national” even when they would be of Olympic standard, if endurance was an Olympic sport.

Worryingly, too, so far this year the longer races have not been livestreamed. There could be Covid-related reasons for standing down the camera crews (though no one else seems too worried about social distancing) but equally the wish to reduce public scrutiny may now seem preferable to ego-feeding...

Read more here:
https://horsesport.com/cuckson-report-1/pointless-strengthen-fei-rules-loophole-isnt-closed/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Safety+Vests+%7C+Endurance+Loophole+%7C+Bright+Futures+Medal+Series&utm_campaign=HS-Enewsletter2021-Wednesday-Jan+20&vgo_ee=pDmBh5FOsIwBMbVGZSaGqDpxdzkQNl9LgdxZ9pnzLRY%3D