RE: FEI Endurance

["Maryanne Stroud Gabbani" <gabbani@starnet.com.eg>]

Our experience in Egypt has not led us to be distrustful of the FEI itself,
nor to necessarily want to avoid having FEI rides. We (as riders) would like
to have some more informal rides and are very willing to have qualifying
rides. There are some riders here for whom the money IS a big deal. This is
a country where horses are relatively inexpensive to buy and keep although
good tack is scarce and expensive. It is theoretically possible for poor
individuals who live in a rural environment to enter a horse in endurance,
and for them the money is a BIG issue. These are the people that we need to
work seriously with to educate. For many of the rest of the riders the money
is nice, but not that important, and thus its presence or lack is not an
issue.

The real advantages of the FEI rides have been for our vets. Veterinary
medicine in Egypt is not that highly regarded a vocation, and being around
the foreign vets who are obviously well-respected and regarded is a big ego
boost for our young veterinary students. As well they do not get much
hands-on practice, so endurance rides work as clinics for these young
people, and the increase in enthusiasm and confidence has been a real
wonder. The vets have been only a plus for our horses, riders and local
vets.

In fact, we had no bad experiences with our FEI rides at all until the May
ride when the FEI personnel were in the unfortunate position of also being
(to a large extent, although not all of them) employees of either various
Gulf sheikhs or the UAE Federation, and as such may at times have been in
the unenviable position of having to choose between calling someone out of
line and losing their job. This is something that should never happen to
anyone, but unfortunately it is a fact of life in many parts of the
world...not just the Gulf.

The May ride was the one at which some of us began to question just how much
a role we want the federation to play in our rides. The fact that there were
some pretty ugly local politics involved in the power plays didn't help
either. Watching some of our local organizations, the Jockey Club, breeders'
associations, and even the sponsoring magazine scramble for the available
funds was not an appetising scene, and in some instances, it was the riders
and horses who lost out. That is a local issue and one that, unfortunately,
can be rectified by riders organising rides for themselves and making sure
that there is no profit in them.

We are now negotiating with the local Egyptian Equestrian Federation for
organisation of endurance rides that will be FEI sanctioned, and that is a
whole other story as well. They have, until now, been exclusively involved
in show jumping, and frankly their politics have been highly dubious. What
kind of relationship we will be able to establish with them remains to be
seen.

As a group of riders, we like the values of the American system and the
informality. We recognise that most of us are not WEC material or Olympic
material, and that is fine. We don't want to close doors to our riders
competing internationally, but we also really don't want to see another
circus like our May ride. We would be delighted to host international rides
here, FEI or any other, but we...as riders, and not speaking of the
endurance organising committee in which I do not have a role except speaking
my mind to any who are interested....would like to have more control over
the organisation and execution of such rides. We don't want to be treated as
charity cases who have nothing to say in their own behalf. Unfortunately
this was how we felt at the May ride, and even more unfortunately some of
our local federation officials have expressed similar attitudes. The future
of Egyptian endurance, quite frankly, still hangs in the balance.

Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
Cairo, Egypt
gabbani@starnet.com.eg


From Wendy Merendini:
"Yes, as FEI is now going to hold US riders to the same qualifying standards
as it holds European, etc. riders we will
need ride managers willing to add an FEI division along with
 their regular AERC rides.  I have ridden two rides that were
 done this way.  One was the 1999 20 Mule Team 100 and the other
 was the 1999 Cosequin Challenge 100.  I do not think that there was any
hardship for ride management (other than the normal ride headaches!) or the
riders........

Now as for other rides, I have only ridden in one ride where there was cash
money involved and I can assure you the riders
 were NOT riding for the money!  As far as in the UAE the Sheiks
 do not ride for the money, they ride for the thrill and honor
 of winning - they already have tons of money!  I just do not
 see big money as a bad thing.  You cannot "jockey" successfully through a
100 mile endurance race, too many factors involved,
 the number one being that no matter how good of a rider you are
 and no matter how fit the horse is to be really successful you
 have to KNOW the horse all of his little quirks and where his
 strengths are and what is the best way to use them.  After all you have to
be "Fit to Continue" before you get a completion and
 in FEI they are VERY strict about that element."



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