Great Britain: Success at Royalties

Endurancegb.co.uk

13 October 2015

Endurance GB's newest FEI ride was welcomed by riders at Royalties on Sunday 10th October as part of the end of season 3day event.

The FEI 1* ride attracted 11 entries of experienced and new riders. The going was good, the weather was good and all seemed to enjoy the day. The course however did pose some challenges and so congratulations to the successful finishers and commiserations to those whose day did not go to plan!

The results were:

1st Richard Allen
2nd Tricia Hirst
3rd Charlotte Strang
4th Bella Fricker

Congratulations also to Daisy Strang, winner of the 3day 170km CER class - a great end to the season.

Australia: State endurance riding championships held at Glen William

Dungogchronicle.com.au - Full Article

October 13 2015

Over the October long weekend the NSW Endurance Riding State Championships were held at Glen William.

Lyn and Leo Dillon’s Banfield property was the venue for the prestigious event which was hosted by the Zone 6 Endurance riding committee.

Competitors from as far away as Tasmania and North Queensland travelled to the Dungog Shire for the event.

The ride base was set on the banks of the Williams River with recent rain providing a lush setting. Interstate riders started arriving from the Wednesday onwards with local businesses reporting a steady stream of riders coming through...

Read more here:
http://www.dungogchronicle.com.au/story/3418467/state-endurance-riding-championships-held-at-glen-william/

Australia: Local author dies in freak farm accident

Themorningbulletin.com.au - Full Article

Madeline McDonald | 12th Oct 2015

IT WAS a freak accident on a neighbour's Canoona property that tragically took the life of local author and former Australian bronc-riding champion Alwyn Torenbeek on Friday morning.

Authorities confirmed the 78-year-old was a passenger in a farm vehicle that was involved in an accident at 11.30am on the Wattlebank Rd property, north of Rockhampton.

As those who knew Alwyn would know, he was a hard-working character who never let his age stop him from helping out on the farm.

Alwyn died while helping his son and their neighbour on their neighbour's property.

When Alwyn hopped into the four-wheel-drive farm buggy, he tried to move over to the passenger side of the vehicle but accidentally pushed his foot down on the accelerator without noticing.

Tragically, Alwyn drove the buggy into a post despite efforts of trying to direct the vehicle.

The bush legend was known in his early days as a champion in the rodeo ring, having won the Australian bronc-riding title at just 21.

He was a triple Hall of Fame winner as an inductee in the Stockman's, Equine and Rodeo halls of fame and was one of the oldest competitors of endurance equestrian rides in the country.

More recently Alwyn was known for his book, Life in the Saddle, which was published in 2013 and featured on ABC's national TV program Landline.

Endurance horse rider helped defeat England with her Wales equestrian team while battling breast cancer

Walesonline.com - Full Article

9 OCT 2015
BY KALHAN ROSENBLATT

Nicola Smith, 50, put off her latest round of chemotherapy to help Wales win a national riding competition.

She put off chemotherapy to represent her country - now Nicola Smith is celebrating an extraordinary sporting victory - despite battling breast cancer.

The 50-year-old equestrian is part of a Welsh riding team which scooped top prize at the recent Red Dragon Festival of Endurance.

The event at Builth Wells attracts some of the country’s most skilled riders, but it was the Welsh Endurance Team who came out on top, winning the 2015 Home International...

Read more here:
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/endurance-horse-rider-helped-defeat-10232337

Ingmar Da Boss: His first 10 months at the helm of the FEI

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

Neil Clarkson | 7 October 2015

Shortly after the election of FEI President Ingmar De Vos, a wag cheekily suggested I should ask him what it’s like to be the world’s most famous Belgian.

Come on, I replied, the world is full of famous Belgians.

Admittedly, names didn’t immediately spring to mind.

If only a website were devoted to such a worthy subject. As it happens, there is!

I surfed on over to Famousbelgians.net, where an exhaustive account of Belgium’s best and brightest can be found, along with a gentle front-page chiding for those who believe the world lacks famous Belgians.

Naturally, I made my way to the list entitled “The current Top 10 famous Belgians”, to find no sign of De Vos. A mistake, surely?...

Read more: http://horsetalk.co.nz/2015/10/07/ingmar-da-boss-first-10-months-helm-fei/#ixzz3ntccXYsT

Great Britain: The Dartmoor Derby: Sheer heaven

Horseandhound.co.uk - Full Article

Polly Portwin
5 October, 2015

Camping with your horse at the end of September might not be everyone’s idea of the perfect way to spend a weekend, but Dartmoor has long held a special place in my heart, so simply hearing the words “Dartmoor Derby” immediately made me prick my ears.

With fond memories of family holidays that always seemed to involve a stop by the River Dart and more recent hunting trips on the moor with our own horses, this magical area intrigues me. For that reason there was no doubt the Dartmoor Derby was an event I wanted to learn more about so it was great to get involved in the pilot weekend.

The brainchild of Elaine Prior — founder of the Dartmoor-based riding holiday company Liberty Trails — the event was loosely inspired by Elaine’s experience of African riding safaris which she combined with visions of the Mongol Derby. Having not experienced either of these first-hand, I was able to take a fresh look at the whole concept and to enjoy it rather than making comparisons in my head.

The brief was that we would be riding approximately 25 miles per day on two consecutive days with an overnight luxury camping trip, with hotel stays the night before and the night after the ride...

Read more at http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/blog/the-dartmoor-derby-sheer-heaven-video-512383#D8oFRLvBXo5TfIw4.99

FEI President Pushes 'Clean Sport' Message

Thehorse.com

By Edited Press Release
Sep 1, 2015

Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) President Ingmar De Vos has sent a strong message to the equestrian world on the importance of the FEI Clean Sport campaign in the countdown to the rollout of the FEI’s global Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Program (EADCMP) on Jan. 1, 2016.

The FEI headquarters currently coordinates administration of the EADCMP in FEI Regional Groups I and II (Europe), while administration of the program in the rest of the world has been undertaken through national anti-doping programs or national federations. In January the FEI headquarters will take over administration of the program worldwide.

In advance of the implementation of the worldwide EADCMP, the FEI will upscale its awareness and education campaign amongst national federations, athletes, and their entourages in order to prevent inadvertent positives.

“It is vital for the integrity of all sport that it is clean and fair, but it is even more important when there is an animal involved because of the welfare implications”, De Vos said. “The FEI has a stringent anti-doping policy in place to protect horse welfare and maintain a level playing field. Horse welfare and fair play have always been and always will be two of the central pillars of the FEI.

“We have close to 4,000 international events on the FEI calendar now and, as the international governing body, it is our responsibility to safeguard our athletes and the sport itself, and part of that is protecting our clean athletes,” he continued. “We have a rigorous testing policy and the FEI prohibited substances list contains over 1,000 substances, so it is crucial that our athletes and their vets are aware of what they are giving their horses.

“Of course our horses have to be treated if they are injured or sick, but anything given to the horse must have been eliminated from the body of the horse by the time of competition so that we can maintain the integrity of our sport. Boosting awareness and education is key. Keep it clean is the message.”

De Vos’ statement comes following news that the FEI has imposed provisional suspensions on two athletes whose horses have tested positive for prohibited substances.

Samples taken at a CEI1* 80km endurance event at Miramas, in France, on May 3 from the horse Buenaventura, ridden by Candice Pilloni (FRA), returned positive for the banned substance oxycodone (an opioid analgesic) and the controlled medication substance lidocaine and its metabolite 3-hydroxylidocaine (a local anaesthetic).

Further, samples taken at the North American Juniors and Young Riders Championships in Lexington, Kentucky, on July 16 and 18 from the horse Why Not, ridden by Sophie Simpson (USA) in jumping, returned positive for the banned substance capsaicin, a topical analgesic or irritant.

Both athletes have been provisionally suspended from the day of notification (Aug. 31). Additionally, the two horses have been provisionally suspended for two months. The athletes and the horse owners have the opportunity for a preliminary hearing before the FEI Tribunal to request the lifting of the provisional suspensions.