Following months of controversies, the FEI has withdrawn endurance races in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from its 2015 calendar.
Horse welfare
Two international races were scheduled to be held in March in the UAE. However, the first meeting of the new FEI executive board, chaired by recently-elected President Ingmar De Vos, voted to remove the competitions as an “emergency measure” to protect horse welfare.
The decision follows a mandate from the FEI bureau to investigate horse welfare issues and non-compliance with FEI rules and regulations in the UAE.
“We have made this our top priority and will make our conclusions as speedily as possible so that the recommendations can be presented to the bureau for urgent consideration”, the FEI President said after the meeting, which was held at FEI headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland`.
Conflict of interest
Endurance has been hitting the headlines over the past 12 months for all the wrong reasons. Accusations of doping, cruelty and rule-breaking in the Middle East have continued to plague the sport, despite new, tougher rules put in place in August 2014 by the FEI’s Endurance Strategic Planning Group (ESPG).
The group was set up by Princess Haya, who was the FEI President at the time. However, because there could have been a “conflict of interest”, as she is married to Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and an endurance competitor, Princess Haya recommended the first vice president John McEwen take over responsibility for endurance.
The Princess later announced she would not to stand for a third term as the FEI president.
Shocking images
The ESPG’s new rules include additional dope testing, reduced racing speeds, and injury surveillance and reporting. However, races in the Middle East continue to see average speeds of 18mph sustained over distances up to 100 miles.
Many of the positive dope tests revealed powerful painkillers are used to enable the horses to continue racing.
Just last month, shocking images were released of a horse collapsing with both front legs broken at a race in Abu Dhabi (31 January). Splitters Creek Bundy, ridden by sixteen-year-old Hamaid Al Falasi, was one of three equine fatalities in the competition.
Banned
The FEI did not comment on the event at the time, as it was a national race, and therefore not under the organisation’s jurisdiction. However, it has since requested a “detailed report” from the UAE equestrian federation.
According The Telegraph, the Danish equestrian federation has since banned its riders from competing in non-FEI events in the UAE, while equestrian bodies in New Zealand, Australia and Germany have made public statements opposing the Bundy incident.
The American Endurance Ride Conference is looking at the possibility of forming an alternative international governing body.
Controversy
The British Equestrian Federation has written to the FEI about its concerns about the sport.
But Endurance GB (EGB) recently announced that they had accepted a sponsorship deal from Meydan corporation, owned by Sheikh Mohammed.The decision was put to the vote, with 570 to 405 in favour of the three-year deal.
Some EGB members have since said they will not rejoin as they are opposed to joining forces withDubai.
Update: Endurance GB has announced today that they will no longer be proceeding with the Meydan sponsorship. Full story to follow soon.