Assembling in Kuala Lumpur
Dear Lovers of the Sport, The World Cup Dressage Final made the news lately and the Jumping Finals in Kuala Lumpur this weekend will follow closely on its heels. And there is the FEI General Assembly, which will take up five days in a row. I wonder who will replace H.R.H. The Infanta Doña Pilar de Borbón as the next FEI President. The Princess was a delight to work with and I have had quite a few encounters with her that showed her easy-going sense of humour. One of these was at the Athens Games when both she and I got a cigarette off Leopoldo Palacios (who is also a non-smoker) and went outside the FEI Lounge to light them, as smoking was not allowed in any of the buildings. Doña Pilar did not, however, like to be seen by the passing FEI officials and guests with a cigarette in her hand, so she took us to her office, closed the door and announced: 'I hereby declare this room an official smoking area'. The FEI General Assembly will discuss and approve the final versions of new Equine Anti-Doping and Medication Control Rules, which the EFA will adopt. The new policy will put prohibited substances into three categories, re-introduce thresholds for certain substances and in general terms combine all relevant aspects of anti-doping and medication control measures into one document. Dressage(by Siobhan Lapthorne) WEG Dressage Short List to be named after Sydney CDI*** Under the EFA's WEG Selection Policy, up to three or four Australian-based horses will be required to travel to Europe for a pre-WEG training camp. A further two combinations will continue training and preparations in Australia. These combinations are to be named after the Sydney CDI 3-Star. Riders will be aiming to produce their best performances to impress the selectors who will all be in attendance. Australian Dressage is improving to the point where the selectors may have a few choices on their hands. Kristy Oatley and Quando Quando are in good form after their 9th place in the Grand Prix and their win in the Freestyle at Braunschweig CDI*** in Germany in March. Matthew Dowsley and Cinderella turned heads with their 7th place in the Grand Prix and their 3rd place in the Freestyle at Stadl Paura CDI*** in Austria this month. Heath Ryan and Mary Hanna obtained qualifying scores with Greenoaks Dundee and Port Said 10 from French O-Level Judge Isabel Judet at this month's Dressage Festival CDI-W at Werribee. Rachael Sanna and Chatham Pak Jac have exploded onto the International circuit, winning the Grand Prix and the Freestyle at the Dressage Festival in their first ever CDI-W appearance. Rachael will be hoping to pull off another top performance at the Sydney CDI to fulfil the qualifying criteria and give the selectors something new to think about. The selectors may have more on their minds if Queenslanders Kelly Layne and Paula Price have a good show with Amoucheur and APH True Seville. Back in Germany, Kristy's second horse Don Bolero is another possibility with performances not far behind his stable mate Quando Quando. With horses like these just one show away from qualifying, the already-qualified riders find they are not yet able to rest easy under the Selectors' eyes at Sydney. Selected riders will be invited to attend the four-week training camp at Ulla Salzgeber's stables, which will be funded by the EFA's High Performance Program. Ulla is also planning another High Performance Clinic in Australia in June. Don't miss your last chance to see your favourite riders in action at the Sydney CDI 3-Star weekend after next. Dressage International - New Delhi, India - 4 - 8 April 2006(by Louise McGregor) In April four dressage riders went to New Delhi, India, to represent Australia in an invitational International Dressage Competition hosted by the Equestrian Federation of India. The team consisted of Tyana Lawless (WA), Alyssa Webb (QLD) and Shannon Tonkin (NSW). Kylie Woodyatt (ACT) was Chef d’Equipe. Five teams competed in this event. India (2 teams), Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand rider Nicole Magoffin was kindly placed in a team with two Indian riders. Overall the team did well and ended up in fourth position in this event, not far out of bronze. In the individual event Alyssa placed fourth, Shannon sixth, and Tyana seventh. The girls rode very well the whole experience was something they will never forget. The members of the Equestrian Federation of India were excellent hosts and did a good job staging this dressage competition for the first time. The team would like to thank the Equestrian Federation of Australia for the opportunity and support given.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rider | Horse |
| Emily Anker | Balmoral Cavalier |
| Phillip Dutton | Amazing Odyssey |
| Phillip Dutton | Connaught |
| Andrew Hoy | Master Monarch |
| Andrew Hoy | Yeoman’s Point |
| Boyd Martin | Ying Yang Yo |
The famous Badminton Horse Trials will take place in the Great Britain 4-7 May. Australia has a large contingent of riders that will be vying for the title of Badminton Champion. Both Phillip Dutton and Andrew Hoy have a busy schedule, which includes competing in both the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** and in the Badminton CCI****, which are just days apart. Olivia Bunn has travelled from Australia with her Athens Olympic partner GV Top of the Line to compete at Badminton. Several other GBR-based Australians will compete at this prestigious competition. For more information and results during the competition go to www.badminton-horse.co.uk .
| Rider | Horse |
| Olivia Bunn | GV Top of the Line |
| Phillip Dutton | Hannigan |
| Clayton Fredericks | WP In Limbo |
| Sam Griffiths | Connigar Bay |
| Andrew Hoy | Mr Pracatan |
| Andrew Hoy | Moon Fleet |
| Sammi McLeod | Enchanted |
| Matt Ryan | Bonza Puzzle |
| Matt Ryan | Bonza Katoomba |
Both the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** and Badminton CCI**** are major selection events for the World Equestrian Games, which will be held in Germany later this year. Several of Australia's selectors will attend these competitions to keep an eye on our horses and riders with the view to selecting the strongest team for the World Equestrian Games.
The major selection event for Australian-based riders will be the Melbourne Three-Day Event on the Queen's Birthday long weekend in June.
We wish all of our riders safe and successful competition.
Carriage Driving
We have received five nominations for the two vacancies to be filled on the National Carriage Driving Committee and are presently assembling an Appointment Panel. Just a reminder that we are still 'open' for nominations to the Panel of Selectors for WEG and other international competition. Nominations close 08 May 2006.
2006 WEG Aachen
Planning is continuing for this 'benchmark event' that also offers qualifying opportunities for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Chef de Mission Geoff Sinclair, the various Chefs d'Equipe and a number of other contributors put together a monthly newsletter edited and produced by Monique Schaefer which will give you a much better update than I could ever produce, so please go the WEG page on our web: Events > 2006 WEG.
Press and Publicity Officer
We are calling for expressions of interest from suitably-experienced members to undertake this role during WEG. The main requirement will be to draft daily press releases and other material that may include personal interest stories, particularly from our Team members, 'flash quotes' from our own and other participants obtained immediately after competitions, reports on all competitions, etc. The 'output' is for distribution in the media centre in Aachen, for publication on our web and for distribution to our media list in Australia.
Interested members should send their application to the CEO, Equestrian Federation of Australia, PO Box 673, Sydney Markets, NSW, 2129, outlining their qualifications and experience to do the job, attaching a few samples of previously-published stories and reports and indicating the conditions they have for doing the work. Applications close Monday, 15 May 2006.
WEG Selection Policy Update - Jumping
Following the completion of the Jumping Selectors' Series, discussions with riders in contention to compete in Aachen and the identification of a suitable selection event in Germany, the Selection Policy for Jumping has been updated to reflect these developments. The revised document will be on our web in a day or two.
Under current provisions of the policy, the Selectors have decided to name Edwina Alexander and Pialotta and Rod Brown and Mr. Burns for the WEG Team and to provide travel allowances to Rod plus to Peter McMahon, David Robertson and Jamie Kermond. Congratulations to all!
Supporters and Sponsors
I cannot close without thanking our funding agencies, sponsors and supporters.
In particular, we would like to mention
• the Australian Sports Commission,
• the Australian Olympic Committee,
• Horseland,
• Kentucky Equine Research and Ridley Agriproducts,
• Horse Deals magazine, and
• Aon Risk Management Services.
Make it a good day!
Franz Venhaus
CEO
 | National Show Jumping Championships in Sale, Victoria The Championships are over. Congratulations to the organisers. The event ran very smoothly in spite of challenging weather conditions. Seven horses and riders got their COC. |
 | Tri-Nations Cup Jumping Competition in Johannesburg (RSA) An Australian team consisting of Kristy Bruhn, Peter Grant, Phillip Stephens and Anthony Thomas accompanied by Chef d’Equipe Jenny Sheppard will fly to South Africa this week for the second and final leg of the Tri-Nations Cup against New Zealand and South Africa. |
 | Anky van Grunsven and Salinero win World Cup Final This is Anky's eight win and the third with Salinero. |
 | Olympic Qualification System for 2008 Beijing. The International Olympic Committee has released the qualification systems for the various sports taking part in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. |
 | 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games, Aachen, Germany The 2006 World Equestrian Games will take place in Aachen (Germany) from Sunday, 20 August 2006, to Sunday, 03 September 2006. |
 | Matthew Dowsley and Cinderella have great debut in Austria Matthew and Claudia Harper's mare Cinderella got a terrific third place in the Freestyle to Music at their first European CDI 3-Star in Stadl Paura, Austria. |
