FEDERATION EQUESTRE INTERNATIONALE NEWS 7 March 2001

FEI/GANDINI WORLD JUMPING RIDERS RANKINGS
Top Ten shaken up, but Beerbaum remains No. 1

Ludger Beerbaum who earned 240 points in Zurich (SUI) consolidated his pole position in the FEI/GANDINI World Jumping Riders Rakings with a total of 2660 points. Markus Fuchs who did not earn any points this month to replace his lost 130 points of Zurich and 120 pts of Bordeaux 2000 drops to 3rd place, ahead of World Champion Rodrigo Pessoa who is now 2nd, thanks to his good performance in Zurich where he brought 180 points in. Pessoa is to drop 359 points at the end of March and will have to replace them and make good results this month to keep his position.

Lars Nieberg jumps from 7th to 4th place thanks to his good results in Zurich and Bordeaux. Alexandra Ledermann makes a spectacular move up from 28th to 17th place thanks to her 75 pts and 130 pts earned in Zurich and Bordeaux. She is the top lady rider, followed by Helena Weinberg who dropped from 18th to 28th position, as she could not replace her points earned in February 2000.

Complete rankings on www.horsesport.org section consult/jumping

FEI/BCM WORLD DRESSAGE RIDERS RANKINGS
Ulla Salzgeber takes the lead

Ulla Salzgeber who had an excellent Kür score of 81.56% in Neumünster, takes the lead of the FEI/BCM World Dressage Riders Rankings. Anky van Grunsven, who did not participate in Neumünster, stays with the same score and takes the second spot. Coby van Baalen, who lost her good score of early 2000, falls from 4th to 9th position. As she did not return to Neumünster this year, her lower 2000 Amsterdam scores are now included in her 10 best results to count.Gonnelien Rothenberger-Gordijn, whose two good scores of Neumünster are taken into account, goes up three spots and is now 6th .

Complete rankings on www.horsesport.org section consult/dressage

FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE AFFECTS EQUESTRIAN SPORT IN EUROPE

British events CIC* Lincolnshire due to take place on 18/19 March, CIC*/** Gatcombe on 24/25 March and CIC */** Somerley Park on 28/29 March have been cancelled due to their proximity to confirmed outbreak areas of Foot and Mouth disease.

The Disease is caused by a highly infectious virus easily transported by humans, vehicles and horseboxes. While horses are not susceptible to infection by Foot and Mouth Diseaseand cannot act as a virus reservoir, they may be involved in spreading infection by mechanically carrying the virus on rugs and hooves.

Therefore to prevent spread of the disease the strictest hygienic and disinfection measures should apply to any horses, humans and vehicles that may have been possibly exposed to the virus. Several organisers in the mainland of Europe have expressed considerable concern with regard to horse from England, Scotland or Northern Ireland scheduled to participate in their events.

France Agricultural Ministry has stopped all animals' movement, including horses, in the country until further notice.

The FEI has asked GBR NF to consider a voluntary withdrawal of riders scheduled to compete at international shows in the next few weeks. The British Equestrian Federation had already issued recommendations for national competitions and took immediate action by advising British riders to withdraw from competitions involving a movement of horses out of Great Britain. Moreover the Federation published recommendations for the riders to assist in eradicating the Foot and Mouth Disease in Great Britain on its website www.bef.co.uk, where you can find regular update on the British and European situation. Andrew Finding, GBR NF Chief Executive can be contacted for more information at andrew.finding@bef.co.uk

Last minute: we have just been informed today that Puncheston CCI***/CCI** Organising Committee has decided this morning to change it's end of April date, due to the fact that many riders would have extreme difficulty ingetting their horses ready for a CCI*** / CCI** in May, or indeed obtaining the necessary qualifications. A new date will be communicated as soon as available.

DRIVING THINK TANK IDEAS TESTED IN AACHEN

Freestyle to Music replaces Compulsory Dressage Competition

On a trial basis, the new ideas for the four-in-hand drivers will be tested at CHIO Aachen from 12 to 17 June 2001.The new driving programme was approved at a recent meeting in Aachen.

The Driving working group called the "Think-Tank", was created in 2000 to consider the future of the driving discipline and to develop proposals to render it more attractive. Its report was presented at World Four-in-Hand Driving Championships 2000. CHIO Aachen Organising Committee immediately applied to the FEI for permission to test some of the ideas developed in the report.

The first day of the event will start with a freestyle to music.This competition should lend the driving sport a bit more zest through the interplay of drivers, horses and music.

For the first time, a demonstration will also take place in Aachen to present a dressage driving competition with four drivers in the arena at the same time, giving them a chance to present their skills similar to suitability competitions.The multiple World Driving Champion Michael Freund, who was also member of the Think-Tank working group is a strong supporter of this idea.

The marathon competition will be shortened this year.The compulsory walk and trot sections A through D will be excluded, only leaving the obstacle section E with an approximate length of 9 km. In addition there will be warm-up section of 5 km.

However, not available for the CAIO Aachen are the security gates for the obstacles in the marathon competition, as proposed in the "Think-Tank" report.They have not been tested sufficiently.However drivers will be confronted with knockable elements in the obstacles, which will cause penalties if they fall off.

FREDDY SERPIERI ELECTED VICE PRESIDENT OF GRE NOC

On 9 February 2001, the FEI Vice President Freddy Serpieri (GRE) was elected Vice President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee. This election reinforces the position of equestrian sport in Greece, which is especially positive in sight of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

New Features on www.horsesport.org

GENERAL SEARCH

The site containing more and more pages, a search engine has been developed to allow you to find more easily specific information. Simply enter one or more keyword and "go!2

PUBLICATION ONLINE ORDER

Individuals can now order rulebooks and other publications online. The rulebooks may also be downloaded from the website.

EQUESTRIAN DICTIONARY

6-languages equestrian dictionnary developed by equestrian interpreter Anita van Adelsbergen can be found in the DISCOVER section. Just type the word you are looking for in either Dutch, English, German, French, Italian or Spanish and the it will come out in all the other 5 languages.

PRESS SERVICE

This section in NEWS is dedicated to information of interest to the media (accreditation forms, information from the International Alliance of Equestrian Journalists, etc.)

The first information posted in this new section are accreditations forms for the World Cup Final Jumping which will be held form 12 to 16 April in Göteborg (SWE)

Background Information and statistics that will be included in the new Jumping Media Guide, to be published in May, are also released in this section as soon as available (World Cup, Samsung Nations Cup and more)

2001/2002 WBFSH INTERNATIONAL BREEDING GUIDE NOW AVAILABLE

Currently, 43 studbooks hold member status with the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses, a not-for-profit organization that strives to promote breeding on an international scale.

The 2000/2001 Breeding Guide includes:

Current and "All-Time" Rankings

This comprehensive guide includes objective information on the international breeding of sport horses. Officially approved stallions from all existing studbooks are ranked based on their offsprings international results in show jumping, dressage and eventing

Detailed Information:

The Guide contains complete information on pedigree, breeder, stud-book, age and results in the current rankings as well as the "All-Time Best Rankings List" which is based on the overall number of points from the past ten years.

Breeders Ranking

In this section you will find information on the world's most successful breeders of international sport horses. Who the breeder is and which horses they have bred.

World Championships for Young Horses

Alongside the breeding information there are also several articles on the World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in Arnhem, The Netherlands (dressage), Lanaken, Belgium (jumping) and Le Lion d'Angers,France (eventing).

Info and purchase on www.wbfsh.org

New Acting Chief Executive for ILPH

Early February saw a new Acting Chief Executive at the International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH).

Jonny McIrvine, Charity Hon.Treasurer and Trustee for the last three years, will be taking over the reins at the ILPH following the retirement of Dr. Douglas Munro. Mr. McIrvine, who will resign from the Council of Trustees and his position as Hon. Treasurer, will be the League's Acting Chief Executive on a part time basis

For further information please visit the ILPH website on www.ilph.org

IN MEMORIAM

Hermann Duckek, for 25 years the most respected specialist for Jumping and Dressage footing, died on 3 March 2001, aged 64. Mr Duckek had been responsible for the ground at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Upon his return from Australia, a cancer was diagnosed. An operation sadly brought only a short-lived relieve. By February, he came home from the hospital and passed away shortly before midnight on Saturday 3 March.

German-born, Hermann Duckek came to Denmark as a riding instructor and later, was instrumental in organising international events in Holte, Brönby and Vilhelmsborg. His mark on the international equestrian scene he made with his skill as ground-specialist. Beginning with the 1974 World Dressage Championship in Copenhagen, Mr Duckek was the ground-man at hundreds of events, World Cups, World and European Championships and at all Olympic Games since 1976 in Montreal, seven in all. Hermann Duckek is survived by his wife, Wiltrud.

Jasper Nissen, the German-born breeding authority and author, died recently, aged 67. Mr Nissen began his career with the Holstein Breeding Society, becoming the Managing Director in Elshorn. After he married the Swedish Jumping rider Lene Lembke, they moved to Sweden where they continued to breed horses. Mr Nissen was the author of several books, including an Encyclopaedia of Horse People.