"Answering queries that he had rejected €15million during Olympia, property magnate Visser said: "You can't say he's not for sale. Never say never. If you say €15 million, then maybe €20 or €25 million would be the price.
"I don't have any anxiety or fear as to what can go wrong. Otherwise I would sell him right away."
The previous dressage record offer was an unconfirmed €8 million for the Danish horse Blue Hors Matiné after the 2006 World Games." Telegraph.co.uk
"Jonathan [Holling] said he has noticed about a 30-percent drop in prices for mid-range horses.
'Four years ago the young, full-of-potential preliminary (horse) was $70,000,' Jennifer [Holling] said. 'Today it's $45,000 or $50,000.' Making a profit, just as with houses, is a waiting game.
'If you can wait a year or two and be patient, you are probably going to get what you want out of a horse,' Jonathan said, 'but you have to continue to feed it, and two years from now nobody is going to buy an intermediate horse that hasn't competed in two years'..."
UK fundraising calendar for cancer and injured riders. 'Nine out of ten women prefer horses'
"After identifying a lack of reliability and repeatability in experienced veterinarians' evaluation of lameness, a group of vets have challenged the industry to search for and develop "a more objective and reliable method of lameness evaluation for us in the field," and noted that such efforts "should be encouraged and supported." ...
Key findings of this study were:
* Equine practitioners agreed whether a limb was lame or not 76.6% of the time after trotting the horse in a straight line;
* Veterinarians agreed whether a limb was lame or not 72.9% of the time after completing a full lameness evaluation;
* Clinicians agreed on whether a limb was lame or not more frequently if the lameness occurred in the forelimb rather than the hindlimb;
* If the AAEP lameness score was greater than 1.5, the veterinarians agreed whether a limb was lame or not 93.1% of the time;
* If the AAEP lameness score was less than or equal to 1.5, the veterinarian's only agreed 61.9% of the time, and
* When the equine practitioners were asked to decide whether a horse was or was not lame and to pick the limb that was the most lame, they agreed just over half (51.6%) of the time." Read more
From FEI Press Release:
...In line with the Bureau's earlier decision, the present Equine Prohibited List and its accompanying Rules and Veterinary Regulations will remain in effect until 4 April 2010. As of 5 April 2010, the FEI will implement the 20 October Prohibited Substances List, a more detailed version of the present Equine Prohibited List which received no specific objections during the four-week pre-General Assembly consultation period....
At the 2010 General Assembly [in November], National Federations will have the opportunity to vote on the policy issue of whether the FEI should allow the restricted use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), provided the levels are limited and are deemed by the List Group not to threaten horse welfare and not to be performance enhancing. Full Press Release
"The gather is part of the BLM's overall strategy to remove thousands of mustangs from public lands around the West and ship them to greener pastures in the East. The BLM estimates about half of the 36,600 wild mustangs live in Nevada. It wants to reduce the overall population to what it considers an "appropriate management level" of 26,600. In its decision involving the 2,500 Nevada horses, the BLM said removal of the mustangs is needed to bring population numbers down in the Calico Mountains Complex to prevent habitat deterioration...
Horses taken from the range would be placed for adoption or sent to long-term holding corrals, which now hold about as many wild horses as left in the wild. Mustang advocates counter the planned gather using helicopters is illegal because some of the animals are traumatized, injured or killed. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., is scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday on a motion to stop the gather. The suit was filed in November by California-based In Defense of Animals and wildlife biologist Craig Downer." More from the AP.
"The decision was made today after weeks of ups and downs and continued complications that to continue to attempt to save Cooper at this point would be for my own mental well being.
Cooper wouldn't have a chance at having a humane quality of life if we continued on the same path. I will always know that we did everything we could do for him.
Thank you to everyone that has supported him and me. He was a champion, and I hope that he will be remembered for what he was and could be. I didn't deserve Cooper, and what he gave me in four years was more than any other horse ever could and will...
No horse will ever replace Cooper...although I don't think I need to say that." Full Blog Entry, COTH Forum Thread
From the accident at Fair Hill, through the multiple surgeries, to Cooper coming home, to Cooper suffering from laminitis, and finally to this terrible conclusion, Cooper's journey has been the most inspiring and the most tragic story in eventing for 2009. Cooper will be in a better place now, and he will enjoy watching Jennie rebound from this terrible incident and climb again to the top of eventing.
"Although a firm decision has not yet been announced, every equestrian nation H&H has contacted -- including those in favour of allowing NSAIDs in sport -- agreed to the delay... Spain, Ireland, Sweden, Isreal, the Netherlands and Germany also said they agreed fully with the proposal. And although Belgium, Russia and the US are in favour of NSAIDs in horse sport, these federations have agreed to the delay." Read more
TheHorse.com explains why making fair and uniform drug rules is challenging.
"[Equestrian Sport of New Zealand] chief executive and secretary general Jim Ellis laid out New Zealand's position in an open letter to FEI head Alex McLin...
"Our international federation should be working to the highest standards of governance and the late notice of this list, which did not allow for adequate consultation time with our veterinarians and members, has done the FEI a significant disservice," he said...
"ESNZ will continue to maintain a zero tolerance for these NSAIDs within our national medication control programme," Ellis said...
"The proposed postponement would ensure a 'clean' World Equestrian Games in Kentucky.
"In the event that a majority of national federations do not support the postponement, the board of ESNZ reserves its right to consider the participation of the New Zealand Team at WEG 2010." Full Article.
My take: the implications of the national federations rejecting Princess Haya's request for a delay and revote on the Progressive List would be profound. Combined with the rejection to consolidate FEI power into a smaller governing council in Copenhagen, and the mismanagement of the Progressive List early on, it is hard to imagine FEI leadership having any credibility if they are refuted on this matter. However, it does seem like the possibility of national federations voting down the delay and revote of the progressive list is very real, certainly much higher than anyone seemed to think at the USEA Convention, where the delay was spoken of like it was a done deal. Getting a final answer is important to helping the FEI move on, and to helping the NFs develop a sufficient drug management policy for WEG team selections.
"Dear President,
We the International Jumping Riders Club are the athletes who form the sport that your International Federation is the governing body of. We represent the athletes of the well know discipline in your family, and we are a group that has a membership across the globe, which has been in existence since the year 1977...
We do not feel that the General Assembly should be permitted to reverse a decision after it is taken, or to delay it beyond reasonable timeframe. We agree to the fact that the FEI Bureau has requested delay of implementation until April, and we will do everything to work alongside you in order to help you achieve the necessary examination of the substance levels that are included in the list. We the International Riders feel that we are willing to accept and aid the List Group of the FEI to amend the list to include lower levels in the case of some substances specified, in order to protect horses who compete in countries with less of a depth of veterinary knowledge and care, and in order for your delegates to feel comfortable that they have made a conservative judgment. According to the Statutes that the FEI passed in regards to Clean Sport, we recognize that an annual amendment to the list is possible, and therefore we agree to this policy direction and understand that annually it can be refined.
Madam President, we request respectfully, that you maintain this progressive list, and that you protect us, your riders from the damage that is being done to us publicly in the International Media from a situation that we did not contribute to create...
Postpone any decision for a further year would not be useful to our sport and would still leave riders, owner, organizers in a situation of uncertainty, and giving a negative image of our sport to athletes, fans and media.
On behalf of the IJRC
Respectfully Yours, Rodrigo Pessoa, IJRC President Ludger Beerbaum, Vice President Dr. Eleonora Ottaviani Moroni, Secretary General Francois Mathy jr, Advisor" Full Letter. Thanks to the FEI for originally sending us this letter.
"While we've been thinking that we'd have no riders from "accross the pond" next year [at Rolex] because of the WEG Eventing World Championships, it's definite that Ollie, considered a strong contender for the British Team, will be here. He has already asked how many horses he may ride (4 was my answer)."Townend stands to win the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing with a win at Rolex.
Photocred: Princesshaya.net
Excerpts from the FEI's letter sent out to all member federations last week about postponing the 'progressive list' until a revote in November 2010, a move that we originally reported on Friday after hearing about it at the USEA convention.
"Dear Member National Federations of the FEI,
In the context of the dispute that has erupted within our family over the best way to achieve our shared goals of eradicating doping and protecting the welfare of horses, I write to ask for your support.
Specifically, I am asking you to give your written consent to allow the implementation of the "20 October List" with the new rules in April 2010 and place the issue of NSAID policy on the agenda for the 2010 General Assembly. I give you my word that this issue will be tabled in the form of a policy choice for the GA in 2010 and that, in the meantime, HQ will make it a priority to provide you with the necessary scientific thought and research for you to make an informed decision. I ask that you please indicate your support, or lack thereof, by replying to this email.
...The General Assembly considered two options: the "20 October List" and the "Progressive List." The Progressive List classified specified NSAIDs up to certain levels as permitted medications and removed them from the Prohibited Substances category of the 20 October List.
[Note: the 20 October list is known colloquially as the 'zero-tolerance list.' The FEI has been accused of selecting confusing names for the lists and changing those names, and this letter is still seems a little unclear about the exact nature of each list, whether intentionally or unintentionally.]
...We all agree on the important things. Everyone involved in this debate wants to eradicate doping. Everyone involved in this debate wants to protect the welfare of horses. We all favour "zero tolerance." The General Assembly approved an outright and unequivocal ban on substances that are intended solely to enhance performance. There will be no retreat from that. But the term "zero tolerance" is easy to use - and easy to abuse. In human sport, "zero tolerance" is actually the same policy as the Progressive List. Acceptance of the Progressive List for equestrian sport does not mean acceptance of doping.
This is not a debate driven by geography or cultural differences. It is not a split between developed and under-developed; and rich from poor; or East and West. Many of the most developed nations among our NF body have voted for the Progressive List, and feel passionately that this is the way that the sport must go. I would equally highlight that many of the smallest and most under-developed nations in our sport have vocalized clearly to me their overwhelming concern that this policy change will not allow them as National Federations to fulfill their duty to protect their equine communities. Some have also expressed fear that passage of the Progressive List presented them with the problem that they would be unable to institute the necessary educational tools fast enough to protect their equine communities from those with a lack of knowledge who would unwittingly abuse the rules...
There are good arguments on both sides of the issue, and we should listen to each other with consideration and respect. Our equine partners in sport will be the losers should we not agree to debate this in a calm and rational fashion...
Let us put this "time out" to good use so that we can engage in a calm, rational debate over the best way forward and then vote on this policy issue at the 2010 GA. In the meantime (as of 1 January 2010), the FEI will apply the clean sport recommendations not related to the new regulations, which have you have already approved and which will allow for considerable progress on the FEI's clean sport initiative.
We will probably never have unanimity, but working together, we can agree on an approach that serves the interests of equestrian sport and the athletes -- both human and equine -- who practice it. That, after all, is what we all desire.
Once again, I ask for your support in approving the implementation of the "20 October List" with the new rules in April 2010 and place the issue of NSAID policy on the agenda for the 2010 General Assembly. I ask that you please indicate your support, or lack thereof, by replying to this email.
Yours respectfully,
Haya Al Hussein"
Read the full letter at Eurodressage. Thanks to the Chronicle for the original link.
My ridiculous take: We have questioned Princess Haya over the past few weeks, but this letter is the perfect step to resolve the issues within the FEI. Delaying the implementation of the progressive list until next November resolves concerns about the WEGs, and allowing the revote will lend legitimacy to the final decision. All of this is assuming that the member nations actually vote to approve the delay, but I cannot possibly imagine that the FEI would offer this as an option without being sure of the final vote. If the member federations voted against Princess Haya on this matter, the legitimacy of the FEI leadership would be crippled. Everyone at the USEA convention seemed absolutely convinced that the delay and revote would go through, including Mark Phillips, and the Chronicle reported "rumors confirmed."
"The FEI originally decided to postpone enactment until April, but under continuing pressure from a variety of nations, on Friday it contacted all its member countries asking for permission not to enact the NSAIDs rule -- but rather, to schedule another vote on the matter at the general assembly next November in Taiwan."
Read the full story at NJ.com.
"The German Federation in particular has done our sport a disservice over the past number of years by behaving in an ill-considered and unbalanced manner towards any rider suspected of doping. Instead of standing up for its riders and taking mitigating circumstances into account, instead of explaining to the public that there is a difference between doping and a positive medication finding, they would without fail start hacking around with their battle-axe, causing several people to be undeservedly condemned and hung and quartered by the press." My Take: Right, it would have been much, much better for equestrian sport if the German Federation had let their riders off the hook and explained to the public that their horses were contaminated because a vet touched a broom handle, which touched a groom, who touched a horse, because that's what happened...right? That strategy worked great for baseball, right up until the sport was crippled by the steroid controversy.
The fact that Princess Haya has had the courage to submit two lists for voting proves that she is not led by rabble-rousing and false sentiments, but that she, as FEI President, knows what is going on in her sport...On behalf of the horse, thank you Princess Haya!" My take: I'm going to just let that last sentence go, but one thing that is clear to me over the past week is that the FEI leadership does not know what is going on in equestrian sport. Mismanagement regarding the vote, preventing a revote, and the long silence by the FEI after the vote all indicate arrogance and detachment by the FEI leadership.
The letter also claims that the permitted levels are not related to doping, which disagrees with the FEI's own findings in 2004. There have been some very eloquent and persuasive defenses of the progressive list, but this letter is not one of them. That said, the letter has some informative points about the allowed drugs and I am being too harsh. I would suggest reading it.
"The FEI has announced today (1 December) that the FEI Bureau has passed a Resolution delaying implementation of the new Equine Prohibited Substances List and the accompanying Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations until 5 April 2010. This Resolution has been passed in order to allow for broader debate and consultation on the policy change approved at the recent FEI General Assembly regarding the restricted use of a small number of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
The FEI recognizes that a number of issues arise as a result of this policy change, which was voted in by a majority of 53-48 at the meeting in Copenhagen on 19 November. The change in policy will affect National Federations and organizers who must comply with state laws as well as international competition rules. It has implications for the breeding industry and the selection of horses and may impact on all those concerned with animal welfare. It also affects the laboratories involved in the testing procedures. The decision, which reversed the 1993 ban on phenylbutazone, has provoked considerable debate among FEI stakeholders.
The FEI acknowledges that these concerns are all legitimate and feels that there is clearly a need for further debate on the issue. The delayed implementation of the new Equine Prohibited Substances List will also allow for supplementary research to be carried out on the use of NSAIDs in the competition horse.
"The FEI has been criticized for not providing sufficient time for consultation on the substances that differentiate the new policy from the old and there has also been widespread unease about the late publication of the progressive list", FEI President HRH Princess Haya said today. "Views that have been expressed since the vote are being taken extremely seriously by the FEI as legitimate welfare concerns and we give similar importance to our membership's decision to effect a policy change. In light of both these considerations, we felt it was only fair to delay implementation of the new list to allow everyone to have their say and let other veterinary experts look at the science behind this policy change.
"The controversy surrounding the List has almost completely overshadowed the clean sport campaign, which received overwhelming support at the General Assembly. Now we can allow the focus to return to the wonderful work that has been undertaken by the Joint-Commissions chaired by Professor Arne Ljungqvist and Lord Stevens, which has provided a clear roadmap for the delivery of clean sport."
Under Article 20.4 of the FEI Statutes, the FEI Bureau may, by a two-thirds majority, pass Resolutions which are normally passed by the General Assembly. In such cases, the National Federations can ultimately override the Bureau's decision so long as a majority of NFs indicate their opposition within 30 days of the Resolution.
To date no specific requests regarding this issue have been directed to the FEI by the National Federations. Yesterday (30 November), two National Federations, the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) and the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) forwarded press statements to the FEI highlighting their positions. The two statements reflect the ongoing debate on this issue, with the BEF expressing opposition to the new Equine Prohibited Substances List and the USEF expressing support. Both statements requested postponing implementation of the List."
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