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Re: [RC] RC Malaysia Edaran Classic:Lowering The Bar - Maryanne Gabbani

I think that this lack of foresight in making the high speed COC rule works against more people than the Malaysians. After all, qualifying for the COC with that speed doesn't necessarily demonstrate optimal care for the horse (and therefore optimal horsemanship, surely an FEI goal...) under a number of circumstances. If speed is all there is, why don't they simply put in a new long-distance flat track racing sport? Yes, horses who would complete or win over 160 miles of running around a track would be supreme athletes...no discussion there. Yes, they would indeed have endured....no discussion there. But the elements of surprise, variability, the concept of travel over time on horseback would not be there, and I believe that these intangibles have a great deal to do with the global understanding of endurance riding. It boils down essentially to the question of who is defining the sport at least in as much as the World Endurance Championship is concerned.

To take a reasonable analogy (although no one vet checks bicycles)...would the Tour de France be the same race if it was run with the same distance around a track? I don't think so. Just so Tevis wouldn't be Tevis without the cross country aspect, nor would the Quilty be the Quilty if run on a track. Maybe the basis of the World Endurance Championship as a construct needs to be examined completely from the ground up. There probably would be fewer complaints and/or concerns if it were called the World Distance Riding Championship for example. As it happens, no one has trademarked the term 'endurance' and it's being used in all too many senses of the word.

The way things stand now, endurance riders in Malaysia can't ride at the speed to gain a COC in Malaysia unless they totally forget all the aspects of horse care that is supposed to be part and parcel of the FEI mandate. Riders in more mountainous areas or any riders in a place where long stretches of gallop are prohibitive due to climate or terrain are also eliminated without question from eventually competing in the WEC because they will never get the COC. If the goal is to define 'endurance' riding as something done at a certain minimum speed (a high speed) ultimately, then that should be made clear. But that does mean that the basic philosophy of endurance riding is being changed.

Olympic participation is lovely, but is it really a good idea if it warps the sport out of recognition? Is it even realistic? My understanding every time the equestrian Olympic disciplines are discussed is that the Olympic Committee would be delighted to dispense with all of them. The various endurance riding groups world wide have had a pretty good handle on what the sport was until this push to make it more 'accessible to the media' (ie, shorter in time span) came along. Maybe the planners need to go back to the last clear idea of what they were doing and sit down to examine the premises of actions taken all over again.

Not that I think it will ever happen....

Maryanne Gabbani
Cairo, Egypt


On May 31, 2005, at 2:55 AM, Nik Isahak Abdullah wrote:


Thanks Steph.You and Dinah Rojek have been excellent ambassadors for your country.I hope both of you have enjoyed the short sojourn in our countryFor Dinah it was really really short.She flew in and the next day we know she was already out,to another endurance ride I guess.
Yes we do think that FEI has erred here in setting up the bar too high.If you Americans,Canadians and Australians are generally not happy with the the bar I wonder whereit originate from.Could this be the work of the influential "Toulouse Group" in FEI.In Malaysia at least this bar certainly ensure us that we will never be able to compete internationally on our own horses as prequalifying at that minimum 12 kph would never be a reality unless we have our horses reconfigured in heaven.
I did wrote about this to FEI a couple of years back when Mr Michael Stone was the Endurance Chairman but as you say Steph,FEI work in a peculiar sort of way. Obviously I was barking at the wrong tree.!But then the Chairman of the Endurance Technical Committee himself had officiated at our rides before a couple of time in the past ??
If we have a choice between running our local horses to the ground to acheive prequalifying standards and riding lease horses forever overseas we will spare our horses and carry on leasing.That one we know.
Hope to see you next year Steph.


Dr Nik Isahak Wan Abdullah


From Steph Teeter:



The FEI rule which states that riders must qualify for Championship level
events (Certificate of Capability) by completing a 160km ride in 13:20 ride
time or less, cannot be applied to riders in Malaysia. It is too hot and
humid. All the time. This rule makes no sense applied to Malaysia, and is
contrary to FEI's stated concern for the welfare of the horse. The various
National Federations need to communicate with the FEI regarding this rule.
While the intent of the rule has some valid points (only championship level
horses should be competing at championships) it cannot be reasonably applied
as a blanket rule, since variables in climate and terrain play a crucial
role in determining an appropriate and humane winning time. If the rule is
to remain, it must contain exclusion clauses for some Federations, and some
ride venues.



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[RC] RC Malaysia Edaran Classic:Lowering The Bar, Nik Isahak Abdullah