Only 55 days to go
The Festive Season is getting closer but lots of things are happening before we can have a few days off and relax and recharge our batteries. The Horseland Australian Dressage Championships took place last weekend. Participants agreed it was a great event. This is being followed by the only Southern Hemisphere 4-star three-day event in Adelaide, then Dressage and Jumping with the Stars in Melbourne, the EFA AGM, the EFA National Forum and a number of other events, including a Branch Managers' Meeting and a Beijing Athlete Program review with the Australian Sports Commission. We in the EFA National Office also hope to be able to move to new premises in early December. More about some of these matters in the next newsletter. Christmas ShutdownThe EFA National Office will close noon Wednesday, 20 December 2006 and will re-open on Wednesday, 03 January 2007. Regional Dressage Qualifier for Beijing to be held in SydneyLate last year, the EFA submitted an expression of interest to the FEI to hold a Regional Olympic Dressage Team Qualifier for Olympic Groups F and G in Sydney together with the 2007 Australian Championships. This is the event where two teams can qualify to compete with three riders and horses plus a reserve at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games (Equestrian competitions will take place in Hong Kong). There was strong resistance from Japan who did not want to send their horses, which are based mainly in Europe, to Australia and preferred to have a qualification event there. FEI Dressage Committee Chair Mariette Withages and FEI Dressage Department Manager Eva Salomon attended an FEI Group VIII meeting during the FEI General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur in April this year but little progress was made. There was a further meeting with the FEI and Japanese and New Zealand representative at WEG in Aachen where Mrs. Withages made it clear that the qualifying event had to be held in the region. We then re-stated our interest to the FEI but asked for modified conditions, since the time available to plan the event had basically been halved in the meantime. The FEI confirmed recently that our application to hold the event had been successful and clarified some of the conditions. We are now in the process of developing an action plan to "make it all happen". Ideally, we would like to offer visiting teams to opportunity to participate in more than one major event and I am pleased to say that the organisers of Equitana are interested creating a special competition. 2008 Beijing Olympic GamesFurther on Olympic matters, it has been rather frustrating to have so little information provided on what is happening and is going to happen in Hong Kong. BOCOG and the Hong Kong Government, the HKG Equestrian Committee and the new HKG Equestrian Company appointed to manage the Equestrian events together with the HKG Jockey Club have signed an agreement on how they are going to work together in the planning and management of the Games. A large delegation from these bodies gave a presentation at the FEI General Assembly but could not give answers to a number of rather important questions. Apart from the qualification systems agreed by the IOC and published in April, we have seen nothing in writing. All we know is information gathered during visits to Hong Kong and reports from various sources. National High Performance SquadsHigh Performances Manager Brett Mace has advised that from 01 January 2007, all competitors and owners, who are named on any of the National High Performance Squads, will need to sign a Competitors' or Horse Agreement before inclusion in any of these Squads. The agreements will be available on the EFA website for information once they has been finalised with the EFA Legal Advisers. All competitors in contention for any of these Squads will be sent the agreement in late November and the new Squads to be announced in early January. EFA Annual National ForumAround 70 invited or nominated EFA "stakeholders" will gather in Melbourne in November for the 2006 EFA National Forum. The Forum will bring attendees up-to-date with developments and achievements since the last (inaugural) Forum, which was in Sydney in February 2005. A number of presenters, including the CEO of the Australian Sports Commission, Mr. Mark Peters, the CEO of Swimming Australia, Mr. Glenn Tasker, and the Chief Executive of Definitive Events (Equitana), Mr. Daryl Herbert, will give us their input on how to improve the sport and its organisation. Clubs will be very much in focus. We will publish a full report after the Forum. National Education Manager Brad Paterson reports:The EFA National Coaching Committee
Directly after this meeting the Committee will also be hosting the first Skills-Specific Trainer & Assessor Course for select Level 1 Coaches wishing to ‘Assess’ he EFA’s Introductory Horse Management and Introductory Riding Certificate Courses. An exciting and new initiative! It is a busy time for the National NCAS and their efforts are much appreciated. EFA Education Programs in Young Rider Development Squads
The office is also working with the EFA Qld Branch to explore options and ways of incorporating these programs into Qld activities too. A big Thanks goes to all EFA Members working in these programs. Your efforts are truly appreciated. Helmet Standards AS/NZS 3838 vs EN 1384As you know, the EFA rules require riders to wear approved safety helmets in certain circumstances. Helmets certified as complying with standards AS/NZS 3838 (Australia/New Zealand), EN 1384 (Europe) and ASTN F1163 (USA) are allowed to be worn. Helmets, like seat belts in cars, protect the wearer in most circumstances, but not all. Only because there may be situations where wearing a compulsory protective device does not reduce injury does not invalidate the requirement to wear it in the first place. Helmet requirements and testing procedures also differ for the three standards mentioned. Again, that does not mean that one helmet is better than the other, as long as the helmets meet the respective standard. There are, however, differences in the systems of follow-up and review that would support the thesis that riding with helmets certified to AS 3838 are likely to provide a higher level of protection than those claiming conformance to EN 1384. Major EventsThere are number of significant events taking place in November. I have already mentioned the Annual National Forum but must not forget those involving horses. The E Bank Trade Adelaide International Horse Trials are about to start. Dressage and Jumping with the Stars the following weekend includes a World Cup Jumping qualifying competition and the Pacific League Final for the World Cup Dressage. We also have World Cup Jumping qualifiers at Wodonga (18) and Sale (25-26). For more details please check the web calendar. Supporters and SponsorsI cannot close without thanking our funding agencies, sponsors and supporters. Make it a good day! Franz Venhaus | ||
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