The endurance controversy: It’s showtime!

Most Las Vegas shows needs a headline deed – a big-name star to generate publicity too larn bums on seats for the demo of a lifetime. It costs casinos millions.

The FEI, on the other hand, has the remarkable mightiness to larn gifted a headline deed but nearly every yr for its annual General Assembly.

In recent years we’ve seen squabbles over drugs lists, a fascinating challenge to Princess Haya’s presidency, fence but about funding of the Nations Cup, too the averted contretempt but about the so-called dressage blood rule.

This year, compliments of the Middle East, the FEI volition delivering a spectacular flooring demo on endurance, alongside a potentially dizzying array of stars.

Representatives of the world’s national equestrian federations are winging their mode to Montreux, Switzerland, for the FEI General Assembly.

Delegates to the Nov 4-7 gathering get got enough of concern to larn through, but it is the particular two-hour session on endurance on Nov 6 that is prepare to garner most of the attention.

FEI develop spotters volition survive pretty familiar alongside the circumstances.

Endurance, overall, has an first-class rail tape for security too drug breaches. It has been dragged downwards alone past times a serial of doping infractions inwards recent years arising from horses raced inwards Dubai, Qatar too Bahrain. There get got also been welfare concerns but about high fracture rates inwards the region.

Several European federations get got criticised the breaches too demanded action.

The FEI organised a round-table give-and-take too prepare inwards develop a process.

Belgian endurance official Pierre Arnould, inwards an interview alongside The Telegraph paper inwards Britain, voiced his frustrations in conclusion calendar month inwards colourful price at what he considered was an inadequate reply past times the FEI.

“The scandals get got continued unabated, the press is going wild, horses die, fractures are increasing – too adjacent calendar week the wintertime flavour begins inwards the Middle East,” he said.

“Everything would survive idyllic but for iii federations who cast shame on the sport.”

He continued: “While the FEI endurance committee, federations, breeders too riders get got alerted the FEI board for years to these unacceptable practices, the FEI’s alone reply is to do a strategic grouping alongside the occupation of studying the development of endurance for the adjacent 10 years.

“We involve practical, impartial constabulary enforcement measures that volition cease these scandals straight off too permanently.”

Arnould was clearly non a happy man. In stepped FEI secretary-general Ingmar de Vos, who issue a press free giving Arnould a occupation solid telling-off.

The story too thus went ballistic. If it was Arnould who erected the endurance billboard, it was de Vos who installed the blood-red too dark-green flashing lights but about it. All really Las Vegas.

The whole endurance final result is unquestionably uncomfortable for the FEI. Its president, Princess Haya, is married to the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who inwards 2009 copped a six-month ban when his endurance mount, Tahhan, tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid, stanozolol.

Trainer Abdullah bin Huzaim, who admitted giving the Equus caballus drugs earlier the desert races at Bahrain too Dubai, was handed a one-year ban, but the skeikh received a ban every bit the passenger is ultimately held responsible.

The sheikh too his wider theatre unit of measurement are major players inwards the sport of endurance. He has had troubles inwards his British thoroughbred too endurance operations, too, alongside drug move past times an errant trainer inwards several thoroughbreds too the regain of drugs linked to his endurance operation.

It has to survive said that endurance inwards the Middle East paints an unpleasant picture, backed past times a sad litany of FEI disciplinary cases. One could survive forgiven for thinking that a permissive mental attitude existed towards drug move inwards endurance horses inwards the region.

Then, but days ago, an endurance passenger from the United Arab Emirates received a two-year ban from the FEI for a doping infraction, but to ensure the final result did non fade from the headlines.

The instance involved Mohd Ali Al Shafar winning the Feb sixteen CEI3* 160km President’s Cup race inwards Abu Dhabi on his mountain Orman De Cardonne.

The FEI is treading really carefully, but its diplomacy but about the wider final result gives the impression of an organisation walking over egg shells. For example, the FEI announced plans inwards June for a round-table give-and-take to “look into areas of concerns inside the sport of endurance”.

So, alongside practically no budget, the FEI has its headline deed for Montreux. They are guaranteed to survive enough of bums on seats for the Nov 6 show, but nosotros fearfulness the choreography may disappoint.

Following the round-table endurance give-and-take inwards July, the FEI established the Endurance Strategic Planning Group, headed past times Andrew Finding, of Britain.

His grouping is working on a 10-year strategic innovation for the sport, to non alone bargain alongside the occupation issues but grapple alongside the strong increment inwards the sport.

Finding, inwards a written report to national federations, promises that the grouping has been busy.

“I get got been impressed past times the diligence of the squad too the willingness of every fellow member of it to aspect for a novel direction for the FEI’s fastest growing sporting discipline. We are all agreed that modify is necessary,” he said.

In the two-hour session, the grouping expects to bring an hr to prepare out its thinking too proposed strategy to the national representatives.

That leaves an hr for national federations to inquire questions too get got a say. Fireworks? We’ll get got to hold back too see.

From there, the planning grouping intends to circulate a to a greater extent than evolved proposal to national federations past times Nov xxx for consultation.

Then, all national federations volition survive invited to a particular endurance conference inwards Lausanne inwards February, subsequently which the planning grouping volition submit its concluding written report too recommendations to the FEI Bureau.

This written report too its recommendations volition larn to a particular endurance session during the FEI Sports Forum inwards April, 1 time to a greater extent than inwards Lausanne.

Finding has assured fellow member nations that the FEI Bureau volition bring immediate action, where necessary.

Phew!

Yes, in that place volition survive reforms at the halt of all this, but it all seems unduly diplomatic too laborious.

The cracking irony is that the alone sore backside inwards all of this belongs to misfortunate Pierre Arnould, who copped a world spanking from the FEI for what amounted to an impassioned plea to kind the problems out.

 

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