– Therefore, it is extremely important that the FEI, the international equestrian federation, the order of the problems in the group 7 countries. My impression is that there is a broad consensus on this, but exactly what action is required is difficult to answer, says landslagsledaren Mia Svensson.
FEI divides ridsportvärlden in nine different groups. In the group of 7 countries on the arabian peninsula, in northern Africa and Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan.
the United arab emirates and Qatar are distanssporten – that is the equestrian equivalent to the marathon – the big and the prize money high.
– It is important to be clear that there currently actually are two variants of the endurance. First, we have the more classic, which takes into account his horse, and that is the variation that all of the Swedish riders rider, ” says Mia Svensson.
” Then we have the more aggressive form that mainly occurs in the Middle east. You will see the different on the sport, and in the countries have also a different view on animal welfare.
new , and everything after what distansritten has grown stronger in the group of 7 countries, they have increased.
in The last few years, several horses died each year, and dopningsproblematiken in the countries is great.
in 2017, this led to the Swedish equestrian federation banned the Swedish riders to participate in competitions in these countries. A ban that still applies.
the Same year turned also FEI to the United arab emirates national ridsportförbund with the request that they urgently had to develop an action plan.
it has been difficult to see any positive changes.
During the world CUP in the us Tryon, which was held in september, ended up distansritten again in focus. The time was however not primarily on the riders from the Middle east, but rather on the that most of the things that could go wrong also did.
First sjabblade the organizers at the start, which resulted in the had to be.
Even when you do it with the horses ‘ best interests in mind, it is a tough challenge for both horses and riders to ride at 16 miles, and when the heat rose and the humidity increased in Tryon, it was eventually too tough for the horses.
After eleven ridden miles took therefore the decision to cancel the contest, and one world champion was never for the first time in history.
” the world CUP was in many ways just a sad story. For many it was the world CUP a goal they have trained for several years, and so it ended the way it did, ” says Mia Svensson.
also came news that the man had been forced to kill one of the New Zealand horses who had problems with the kidneys.
a Total received 53 horses to visit a veterinary clinic after the race. The majority of them needed the drip.
The chaotic world CHAMPIONSHIPS:et, in combination with the continuing problems in the Middle east, made to the FEI at the end of last year decided to set up a new temporary distanskommitté that would come with the proposed changes.
“the Discipline must return to the principles that FEI stands for, where the horse’s welfare and the interaction between horse and human is the key,” said FEI president Ingmar De Vos in a press release.
” What we need is rules that put more emphasis on the completion of the contest, instead of ”win at any cost”mentality.
only has been working for three months, they have already taken decisions on some changes to the rules, which is also implemented directly.
– You have, for example, changed on the hr limits and pulstiderna to the test now in the spring. The definition of what is a ”serious injury” has been broadened, and then also have dopningsreglementet changed and is similar to now the Swedish travsporten which means that the horse’s trainer is now also responsible, says Mia Svensson.
at the same time as the temporary distanskommittén began its work, also started distanssäsongen in the group 7 countries.
the Start has not been trouble-free.
Already in the beginning of november, it was reported that two horses had died in connection with a race in Dubai.
since Then three further horses died in connection with the long-distance track event in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
” I understand that there will be a focus on the deaths, and I think it is good that it is being discussed how the sport can and must change. But as I said, it is important to keep apart the things and remember that we don’t have these problems in Sweden. Swedish endurance horses are doing well, ” says Mia Svensson.
but , she has been involved in distanssporten for many years and was also on the world CUP as a veterinary surgeon for the Swedish team.
this year is the european CHAMPIONSHIPS the major goal for the Swedish landslagsryttarna.
– We have a bronze medal to defend from the last european CHAMPIONSHIPS (in 2017) and we have many good and both riders and horses in Sweden so I look forward to this season.
