UAE: Better management could reduce horse doping cases

Thenational.ae

Sarah Tregoning
April 30. 2009

ABU DHABI - Better management could reduce the risk of competition horses testing positive for banned substances, according to an Emirates Equestrian Federation (EEF) official.

Alison Abrahams, a consultant to the EEF and a Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI)-accredited showjumping and endurance judge, said that until FEI rules differentiating between medication and substances used for cynical doping were refined, rigorous care was essential in stables.

Four of the FEI's 14 ongoing doping cases involve UAE nationals.

"There must be a lot of emphasis on education and the importance of strict controls in stables," said Ms Abrahams, who in 1996 became the first woman to win an endurance race in the UAE, and who is a world governing body steward.

"A lot of people are training horses here for different disciplines and they all want to do the right thing, but unless you know what is going on in your stable to the smallest detail, there could be risks."

Horse doping, which has long cast a shadow over international equestrianism, reared its head in the UAE recently when four endurance horses failed drugs tests.

Their riders, who are identified as the "person responsible": under FEI rules, have been banned from competing in FEI-affiliated events pending tribunal hearings.

Vijay Morrthy, head of endurance riding at the Emirates Equestrian Federation, admitted the use of banned substances in UAE equestrian sport was a problem. But given the hands-off management style of most riders in the country, he seriously doubted they knowingly administered such drugs.

"The rider may have some moral responsibility, but I don’t think he knows about these things," he said. "Given the stringency of the testing, no rider or any experienced person would ever dream of doing such a thing and getting away with it.

"These things are absolutely inadvertent, and we need to make sure nothing like this happens again."

At the Beijing Olympics six showjumpers tested positive, four of them on the same day for the same pain reliever, while last week 21 polo ponies, worth an estimated Dh8.1 million, died in Florida after being administered poorly-measured supplements before a match.

While some doping incidents are attempts to enhance performance, the FEI's first vice president, Sven Holmberg, said most cases were medical infringements.

"Out of 2,800 tests per year, we only have one per cent that are positive and that includes the relatively large number of positive tests we have seen in the Middle East. Of the positive tests, 90 per cent are medical violations," Mr Holmberg said recently.

He added that the FEI was working with the World Anti-Doping Agency to clarify the issues of doping and veterinary science in the rulebook.

Ms Abrahams believes positive tests could be reduced with better understanding of how medication is metabolised and stricter controls over administration.

"There are issues with doping versus medication in every country," she said. "It's easy to see how mistakes can be made when horses are all living together and sharing the same feed, but it is essential that if one horse is medicated in a yard, that others do not inadvertently receive the same medication."

Ms Abrahams said the issue of stable management was discussed at the recent season-ending meeting of the EEF, which was held to allow everyone involved to comment on the season and issues affecting horse sport.

"The veterinarian, Dr Jim Bryant, gave a great speech on how to medicate your horse and how to be as thorough and careful as possible in the administration of medicine," she said.

"It’s very easy to lose track when horses are living together, and that’s when you can get into trouble."

stregoning@thenational.ae

* With additional reporting by Hugh Naylor

Bahrain: Top GCC riders for Bahrain race

Gulf-daily-news.com

Thursday, April 30, 2009


A TOTAL prize money of BD5,000 is up for the grabs in the 120-kilometre Seniors Endurance Horseride Championship to be held tomorrow from 5pm at the Bahrain International Endurance Village in Sakhir.

The winner of the race will receive the biggest prize of BD900. Runner-up gets BD800, BD700 for third place, BD600 for fourth and BD500 for fifth.

The next five riders will receive cash prizes with BD400 going to the rider finishing sixth. The next four riders will get BD350, BD300, BD250 and BD200 respectively.

Patronage

This is the concluding event of the endurance season and is being held under the patronage of the Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (Breef) president Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

Top riders from Bahrain and across the GCC are set to compete in this event which is set to conclude at 5.20am on Saturday.

Among leading riders are members of the Kingdom Stables team from Saudi Arabia besides other participants from the UAE and Oman who arrived in Bahrain yesterday.

Others who have confirmed their participation include riders from some of the top stables in Bahrain like the Royal Endurance Team, Al Khaldiya, Al Asayel and Al Fateh stables.

The championship will be held over five stages. The first and second stages will be over 30 kms each, the third over 25 kms, the fourth 20 kms and the fifth and final stage cover 15kms.

The veterinary examination will be held on the day of the event at a purpose-built area inside the village. The examination will be held from 2pm to 4.30pm.

The top three riders will be honoured at the awarding ceremony on Saturday at the race venue.

Australia: Meg Wade Still Hospitalized

Tuesday April 28, 2009

Australian endurance rider Meg Wade remains unconscious in Canberra Hospital, after a fall from a horse while competing in the 100 km Tumbaramba endurance ride on April 4th.

She has been moved from ICU to the Neurological High Dependency unit, where she is breathing on her own and shows response to some stimuli. The doctors are pleased with her progress.

Her family and friends appreciate the overwhelming words of care and concern and support from around the world.

USA: Team USA Wins Silver at 2009 Pan American Endurance Championships

USEF Press Release: April 28 2009

By Joanie Morris and Vonita Bowers

Lexington, KY - Team USA put in a remarkable effort on the final phase at the 2009 Pan American Endurance Championships in Costa Azul, Uruguay to secure a Team Silver medal. They finished less than six minutes off the gold medal-winning pace of Argentina.

The American riders blazed through the final 15km phase: Cheryl van Deusen and on DA Al Capone (New Smyrna Beach, FL) and Stephen Rojek on Savvy (South Woodstock, VT) completed the final leg in just 37 minutes. Valerie Kanavy and LM Francesa Pharr (Fort Valley, VA) added to the effort with another strong final phase time and a sixth place Individual finish to secure a Team Silver medal.

The race was very close as the riders set off on the final phase, Team USA was just four minutes ahead of the Guatemalan Team and 25 minutes behind Argentina. The US riders made up considerable ground.

“We needed the riders to pick up the pace to assure a medal and the riders responded by turning in a phase speed of just under 16 miles per hour,” said Chef d’ Equipe Becky Hart. “The combined experience of not only the riders, but the crews, Team Veterinarian, and Team Staff contributed greatly to the overall result. This win was a true team effort.”

Gabrielle Mann and CM Big Easy (Bolinas, CA) served in the key anchor position in their first international competition. They delivered on their position and provided a security score in case one of the other members was unable to complete the competition. Her completion meant that the US Team was assured of at least the bronze, and allowed for a more aggressive strategy.

“Three of the American horses had to travel a long distance, and arrived with only a short time to prepare before the event. The horses and athletes adapted well to the short prep schedule and performed extremely well on a course that was quite different than what is common in the US. The result was a good performance,” said Team Veterinarian Jim Bryant. “They should be congratulated for the effort.”

Uruguay: King Begins State Visit To Uruguay

Bernama.com

April 27, 2009 14:47 PM

From Abdul Aziz Harun

MONTEVIDEO, April 27 (Bernama) -- Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah today began their state visit to Uruguay.

Their Majesties flew in to the Carrasco International Airport in a special aircraft at 6.15pm Sunday (5am Monday in Malaysia), and were greeted by Uruguayan Foreign Affairs Minister Gonzalo Fernandez.

The royal couple was accompanied by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin as the minister-in-attendance and several senior government officers.

This is the second visit to Uruguay by a Malaysian head of state. The first was in September 1995 by the late Tuanku Ja'afar Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

The current state visit is also to reciprocate the state visit to Malaysia by Uruguayan President Dr Tabare Vazquez Rosas in November 2007.

Tuanku Mizan and Tuanku Nur Zahirah are scheduled to have an audience with Vasquez tomorrow. In the evening, the President will host a state banquet in honour of Their Majesties.

The visit is expected to provide impetus for improving bilateral relations and symbolises the warm and close ties of friendship between the two countries.

Prior to the state visit, Tuanku Mizan participated in the Pan-American Endurance Race in Costa Azul, about 50km from here, on Friday at the invitation of Vasquez.

The Malaysian team clinched the first place among the six non-Pan American countries, which participated in the gruelling 120-km biennial challenge that involved a cross-country resistance race.

The six non-Pan American countries were Malaysia, England, France, Belgium, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

In the overall individual event, Tuanku Mizan, who rode Tormento, came in on 21st place while another Malaysian rider, Datuk Abdullah Taib, came in on 24th.

Tuanku Mizan clocked 8 hours 36 minutes, also to finish second in the non-Pan American category, while Abdullah took third place after clocking 9 hrs 21 minutes. Briton Dominique Freeman clocked 8 hrs 6 mins to win gold in the category.

Abdullah was seen with his right hand in a sling at the prize-giving ceremony at Santa Maria, Costa Azul.

He had suffered a fracture of the right shoulder after he fell from his horse, Horus. He managed to finish the race, riding the last five kilometres of the race with the injury.

Portugal: 2009 Monsaraz - Campeonato Nacional de Portugal

2009 Monsaraz

18 April 2009

Ana Margarida Costa and Gozlane du Somail won the 2009 Portugal Championships held 30 kilometers west of the Spanish border, near the historic medieval village of Monsaraz, in the beautiful hills of the Alentejo province. (Alentejo means "far from Tejo", the river belonging to Lisboa going to the Atlantic.)

Finishing 2 minutes behind Costa was Joao Raposo riding Titanic, followed by Roberto Paul Carranza riding Repoker.

Endurance.net coverage and results, and photos by Alice Proust at 2009 Monsaraz.

France: 2009 Uzes - 90 km, 125 km

2009 Uzes - France

CEI** 125 km: Robert PASTOR and INCHALLA were second on the first loop (00:00:29 seconds after the first), then first on the three following loops. He arrived under a sunny weather, while it was pooring with rain on the following riders.

Coverage on 2009 Uzes by Endurance.net

Photos and complete results by Brigitte Huard