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June 2005

NEWS ABOUT THE 2005 EUROPEAN DRESSAGE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Mariette Withages desperate about European Championships Dressage

Despite of the ultimatum from the president of the FEI Dressage Committee, Mariette Withages, the Moscow politicians have stymied progress for more than a week, declining to guarantee the financial backing, the FEI has asked for.
“I feel very sorry for the hard working organisers of the Moscow European Championship," Mariette says. "Practically and technically all matters have been arranged. But we are still waiting for the politicians. And not over the phone, as the governor of Moscow did yesterday, but in writing.”
“We have tried every source. We even asked the German Prime Minister Gerhard Schröder to contact the Russian president, Wladimir Poetin, but there is still no firm answer. I really am exhausted and frantic.”
The Executive Board of the FEI in Lausanne is still in conference tonight July 4th to discuss the situation. The European Championship Dressage is due to start in just three weeks time, on Wednesday July 27th.

(Dressagedirect, July 4th 2005)

CHANGE OF VENUE
2005 FEI European Dressage Championship. The Executive Board agreed to the RUS NF’s request to change the venue within Moscow from Luzhnyki to the Olympic centre Bitza.

A separate Press Release has already been issued on the Beijing 2008 situation and can be found on the FEI Website

2005 FEI EUROPEAN DRESSAGE CHAMPIONSHIP
Last week, the FEI Executive Board agreed to change the venue of the championship within Moscow from Luzhnyki to the Olympic centre Bitza. Bitza is situated 15 km from central Mosoow, some 48 km from the airport.

The revised press accreditation form can be found on the FEI website, section media center / accreditation. The form must be returned by 17 June.

The agency Fenix is in charge of the media accreditation. For any question, please contact:

“Fenix Forwarding Agency”
Pistsovaya Str., 13a
103220 MOSCOW, RUSSIA
Phone/fax: (7 095) 213 01 01; 213 88 72; 213 19 65; 725 73 94; 725 73 95
E-mail: office@fenix.su

Visit the website of the championship: www.eurodressage2005.com
FEI EUROPEAN DRESSAGE CHAMPIONSHIP, MOSCOW (RUS) 27-31 JULY 2005

The 2005 FEI European Dressage Championship will take place from Wednesday
27 July to Sunday 31 July according to the following timetable:

Wednesday, 27 July
10h00 – 10h15 – Guinea pig, explanations for the public
10h15 – 13h20 – Grand Prix, part A (first half of participants)
14h00 – 16h00 – Break
16h00 – 19h00 – Grand Prix, part A continued

Thursday, 28 July
10h00 – 13h20 – Grand Prix, part B (second half pf participants)
14h00 – 16h00 – Break
16h00 – 19h00 – Grand Prix, part B continued
19h30 – prize-giving ceremony (6 best teams)

Friday, 29 July
15h00 – 15h15 – Guinea pig, explanations for the public
15h15 – 20h15 – Grand Prix Special
20h30 – prize-giving ceremony (8 best riders)

Saturday, 30 July – day off

Sunday, 31 July
15h00 – 15h15 - Guinea pig, explanations for the public
15h15 – 1815 – Grand Prix Freestyle
18h30 – Prize-giving ceremony (15 best riders)
19h00 – Closing ceremony

The Championship will be held at the equestrian centre Bitza located 10 km from central Moscow (exact address Balaklavskii Prospekt 33, 113303 Moscow, Russia). This is Europe’s largest equestrian centre located within a city’s boundaries. The centre was opened in 1980 and served as the venue of the equestrian events of the 1980 Olympic Games. It was been expensively renovated and refurbished over the last two years and currently offers competition, training and stabling facilities of the highest standard. The prize money totals EUR 130,000.

Journalists wishing to cover the Championship, should contact the event’s Press Officer Olga Ezhova, IMA-press PR agency, email: ezhova@imapress.msk.ru, telephone: + 7 095 290-3188 or 290-2053. The accreditation form can be found on the FEI website www.horsesport.org,
section Media Centre, Accreditation. It should be filled in and returned to the attention of Olga Ezhova no later than 17 June.

Hotel and visa arrangements can be made through the ITP-Internetplus Travel agency, email: rahmonov@internetplustravel.ru, telephone/fax: + 7 095 933 2033. A list of proposed hotels along with other useful information can also be found on the FEI website, section Media Centre, Accreditation.

The transportation arrangements between the various hotels and the competition venues are currently being finalized and will be announced in due course.

Extensive information on the event is available on the official website www.dtks.ru

For any queries on this event, international media should contact Olga Ezhova or the FEI Communications Department at their earliest convenience.

German team for EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Immediately following the national championship in Verden, the German Dressage committee has announced the team for the European Championships Dressage 2005.

The team includes Heike Kemmer with Bonaparte, Hubertus Schmidt with Wansuela Suerte, Klaus Husenbeth with Piccolino and Ann Katrin Linsenhoff with Sterntaler-Unicef. The last pair didn’t compete in Verden because of a minor veterinary problem. They have been selected, provided the problem will not recur. Ellen Schulten-Baumer with Lesotho is named as reserve rider.

(German Federation FN July 3rd 2005)

FEI NEWS:

SECRETARY GENERAL
Following the Secretary General’s resignation the Executive Board agreed that an interim Secretary General is to be appointed to manage the Secretariat’s daily to day business from 1 September 2005, until the new structure has been developed and formalised. The terms of reference will be
established during this process.

The Executive Board will have an increased role in the management of the FEI during this period.

The Sports Director, Michael Stone, was appointed by the Executive Board as Chairman of the Nations Cup Committee and as Member of the World Cup Working Group for Jumping, thus replacing with immediate effect the Secretary General.

EXTRAORDINARY BUREAU MEETING
The FEI Bureau will hold an extraordinary meeting on 14 September 2005 in Lausanne (SUI) to discuss the proposal for the new FEI Statutes and the implementation of the new structure.

STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE
The Board members discussed the role and the function of the Strategic Planning Committee which will meet in its new composition on 15 September 2005 in Lausanne.

ALLOCATIONS
2006 FEI World Cup Final Dressage The Executive Board decided to allocate the 2006 FEI World Cup Final Dressage to Amsterdam (NED). The dates will be confirmed at a later stage.

FEI DRESSAGE COMMITTEE MEETING
London (GBR), 20 - 22 May 2005
The Dressage Committee held its annual meeting in London (GBR) on May 20-22. Dr Vincenzo Truppa (ITA) attended his first meeting.

The meeting was fruitful with much discussion concerning in particular, the Rules revision, appointment of Officials at Championships and Teams for Olympic Games 2008. Some of the items of interest which were discussed and/or decided to recommend the FEI Bureau for decision were the following:

New Dressage tests
The following tests will be developed and be effective as of January 2006.
- Junior Tests
- 4-year old test to be used at National events

Olympic Games 2008
Following the General Assembly decision on the principle of having three riders in Team for the Olympic Games 2008, the Committee discussed the matter at length together with the input they had received from several NFs. A proposal was made to be forwarded to the Executive Board for their consideration.

Rule Revision
The members discussed and will recommend a number of changes to the rules in relation to amongst other things – Drawing system – Age of horses – Formula at World and Continental Championships – Appeal Committee – New medals.

PROCEDURES FOR CHANGE OF NATIONALITY
The procedure for Change of Nationality of competitors is now available from the FEI website, section Legal Procedure

5TH FEI WORLD JUMPING AND DRESSAGE FINALS SUPPORTED BY PSI

The 5th FEI World Jumping and Dressage Challenge Finals supported by PSI took place last weekend in Hagen (GER) at Hof Kasselmann in the framework of the Horse & Dreams Exhibition. Unfortunately, the weather did not play the game and disturbed the exhibition and competitions on Saturday and Sunday. However, the three Finals of the FEI World Jumping & Dressage Challenge took place as scheduled and were supported by a large crowd, which could notice a real improvement of the level in Jumping, Dressage and especially at the Children’s level. The quality of the horses lent by Mr Kasselmann and Mr Schockemöhle were outstanding.

FEI World Jumping Challenge Final supported by PSI
1. Judy Limb (KEN)
2. Patrick Nisbett (BER)
3. Armando Hassey (MEX)

FEI World Dressage Challenge Final Supported by PSI
1. Carla de Falco (ARG)
2. Timolene Walraven (ZIM)
3. Akoele Roachford (BAR)

FEI World Children Dressage Challenge supported by PSI
1. Rebecca Goldsbury (NZL)
2. Simona Krizova (CZE)
3. Eniko Decsi (HUN).

GRANIA WILLIS MAKES IT TO THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT EVEREST

(source: Irish Times)
Irish Times journalist Grania Willis has become the first Irishwoman to scale Mount Everest by its more technically demanding north ridge.

Grania Willis (49), who reached the summit last Sunday, climbed with the Himex commercial expedition run by New Zealand guide Russell Brice, and aimed to raise €200,000 on behalf of St Luke's and the Irish Hospice Foundation through her climbing endeavours.

A former international three-day event rider who is equestrian correspondent of The Irish Times, Grania Willis reported on the equestrian competitions of a number of Olympic Games and attended numerous FEI championships and international events over the years.

The journalist decided to climb Everest in 2002 when she first glimpsed the mountain from an airplane. "I was just so staggered by its beauty and the sheer scale of it," she said earlier this year.

Having left Ireland on March 30th for Kathmandu, she reached Everest base camp, 5,200 metres above sea level, about a week later. Her expedition then proceeded to Advanced Base Camp (6,400m) where very poor weather and high winds delayed the summit attempt until this weekend. She will return to Kathmandu later this week before travelling to Ireland for celebrations on
11 June.

FEI DRUG TEST CASE 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES

OLYMPIC CASE:
O’CONNOR WAIVES APPEAL, PESSOA EARNS THE GOLD

Last Friday 10 June 2005, the FEI received an official waiver from Cian O’Connor’s attorney, confirming that he will not appeal the Judicial Committee’s decision of 23 May 2005.

Consequently, the decision of the Judicial Committee on the disqualification of Cian O’Connor (IRL) and Waterford Crystal from all the Jumping competitions of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens is immediately enforced.

The FEI has officially informed the IOC, which will take care of redistributing the medals in cooperation with the National Olympic Committees concerned.

Modified results of the Olympic Jumping Individual Competition are as follows:
• Gold: Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA) and Baloubet du Rouet
• Silver: Chris Kappler (USA) and Royal Kaliber
• Bronze: Marco Kutscher (GER) and Montender 2

Jumping Team competition:
The Irish Team is eliminated from the competition. Consequently, the Italian Team moves up to 7th place. The Korean Team goes up to 8th place, and all other teams classified below moves up one place.

Points counting for the FEI/Gandini World Riders Rankings will be redistributed according to the new result of the Olympic competitions.

Note to the editor: the decision of the FEI Judicial Committee on the case relating to the findings of prohibited substances in the horse Waterford Crystal, ridden by Cian O’Connor (IRL) at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens is published on the FEI website, section Legal.

2006 FEI WORLD EQUESTRIAN GAMES IN AACHEN

Successful Endurance test event (extract from Aachen 2006 Newsletter)
Belgian rider Leonard Liesens won the international Endurance WEG test event held in Aachen, the German city that will play host to the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games, on Sunday 12 June. The competition also served as the German National Endurance Championship which was won by Melanie Arnold, who finished third of the overall classification. Sweden won the team competition.

The victory of the Belgian outsider Leonard Liesens on Arazzi, ahead of French rider Raphael Muller, came as a complete surprise. Liesens completed the ride, which had begun at 5 am in 13 hours and 39 minutes after the start.

800 signposts were placed along the 160 km track running through Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. About 250 volunteers were deployed. Twenty competitors out of a total field of 72 riders from 15 nations reached the finish. "That's the quota we expected looking at the challenging, and for most unknown, track," Frank Kemperman, show director of the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein e.V., said.

"Many riders were surprised by the challenging track," he further commented. Some of the favourites, such as all six competitors from the United Arab Emirates, failed to finish the course.

The organisers were happy and relieved too. Compared to last year's test event, the track and signposting have significantly improved since last year’s test event, even though there is still room for progress. "The course stands," Kemperman commented, "but especially at the Vet Gates, we have to allow for more space for the spectators."

The athletes and their crews were thrilled about the spectator turnout. The riders received loud encouragements from the large crowds in all three countries.

ONLINE RESULTS, RANKINGS AND BIOGRAPHIES ON THE FEI WEBSITE

The FEI now offers a new system for searching results, rankings or FEI Biographies online. This service is available on our website (www.horsesport.org) for the 3 Olympic disciplines of Jumping, Dressage and Eventing.

ONLINE RESULTS
This service can be found on the results section of each discipline.

By a simple click on "Search online results", you can access a world of information on the riders and horses competing at international level.

The search is very userfriendly: simply type the name or the ID number of a rider and select him/her from the list displayed (if there are several riders with the same name, select the one you are interested in). After having clicked on the selected competitor, the list of events he/she attend
will be displayed. If you wish to have more details about the rider’s score at a specific event, click on its corresponding date. Last but not least, you can access the horses'results, by selecting the name of the horse.

ONLINE RANKINGS
The FEI International Rankings in Jumping, Dressage and Eventing can be found on the Results/Rankings section of each discipline.

The consultation procedure is the same as for "Online Results". The list of riders is already displayed sorted by place in the rankings when you click on "search for online rankings". You will be able to see the number of points collected for each score counting for the FEI Rankings.

FEI BIOGRAPHIES
Access to the online FEI Biography service can be found on the right area of the FEI home page www.horsesport.org (grey column). First select the discipline, and the list of riders with information available will be displayed. Simply click on the name of the rider to display his/her biography and results information available.

CHERIE WE WILL MISS YOU! PLEASE COME BACK AND VISIT US…OFTEN!

To All of My Canadian Friends!

I am now leaving Canada for the warmer climates of the US. I will truly leave a bunch of good people that have helped me through the last 12 years of living here in Canada.

This is a GOOD -BYE AND A THANK YOU FOR JUST BEING YOU, AND CANADIAN!! I have never felt so supported by any other people. When I first got here, and started going to shows, John Mac Pherson was my coach. He introduced me to numerous people. Then at one show at Corner Stone, two ladies came up and talked to me, it was Jeannie Vander Plough, and Chris, Lara's owner. They talked to me for minute upon end, and were so sweet and very gracious! I was so green, and they made me feel right at home! Also Gary Vander Plough who did not want to ,but did jog The Toad for me, when I was lame!! Neil Ishoy, whose sense of humor always made me laugh, and Cindy Ishoy, who made me believe in myself, when I asked for help, gave me confidence, when I needed it

I met Evi Strasser, Cindy and Neil Ishoy, Tom Davork, Nancy and Lee Tubman, Nancy and Davis Cup, who I had met years ago, Lorraine and Angus, Brenda and Carl, Karen Thompson-Harry, Karen and Shionna Robertson, Belinda Trussel, the two Jackie Brooks, which I might say was very difficult to begin with to keep the two separerated!!, Sue Ramsey, Lorraine Stubbes, Kim Goodyear, Sharon Brooks, Ashley Holser, Shanon Olden-Dueck, who showed me her Toll House Cookie House along with pizza, when I had no place to go for dinner that night, and the list is so long if I have left any one's name off, please forgive me, as I can not name one and all without a book of who's who's! It would take me the whole Canadian Roster to thank one and all, but I would like to thank everyone who helped me, even if your name did not make the roster, I was trying to think of one and all..I have had really great moments in the last 12 years, especially when I went to Devon, and I was put on the Canadian Schedule for ride times, and I was US, that was very Special to me, that ya'll included me on the list!

So all I can say is this to the Canadians! Thank you!! My time in Canada has, was very special to me, and please send this on to one and all, and my apologies to those that I did not name, as my brain is fried right now, but keep in contact with me through clrreiber@hotmail.com , it might not work right off, but have changed to this e-mail account, so keep trying!

AND THANK YOU FOR BEING CANADIAN!! YOU PEOPLE ARE THE BEE'S KNEE'S!!!

Love to one and All, Please forward this to one and all, as I do not have everyone's e-mail, and would like this to be sent to one and all!

Sincerely,
Cherri Reiber
and
THE TOAD!!

Just to repeat, You Canadian People are Fantastic!
Every one in this country has been great to me, and I just want to thank one and all for making my stay in Canada absolutely fantastic, it has been a very good experience for me and I will not forget the great things that everyone has done to help me along the way!! See Ya Down the road at the next Rodeo, Goat Roping, or Gymkanna!! There will be a beer in the cooler, and lots of stories, just pull up a chair, take a breathe, and see if you can get a word in edge wise!! Just make sure that you pack up your bag of stories, cuz everyone will want to laugh!! Love to one and all!! "C"