(Phelps Media Group) – The 30th Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI-W kicked off with all the horses passing the FEI jog on the beautiful International Horse Sport Showgrounds in Loxahatchee, FL. There was a friendly camaraderie in the air as well as a bit of welcome relief from the heat on a sunny South Florida day as the competitors settled into their routines and vendors arranged their wares for a busy shopping weekend.

There was concern about the recent positive cases of the EHV-1 virus in Florida but the organizers of the Derby, International Horse Sport Palm Beach, announced an increase in biosecurity measures and a ban of any horses entering the grounds from the Ocala area.

“We have put the necessary protocols in place for the safety of the horses,” said Show Manager Noreen O’Sullivan. She added that the well being of the animals was the No. 1 priority for the show management team, who strive to be open and transparent with the owners and riders about the status of the virus in the area.

The health concerns didn’t dampen the excitement for the 30th anniversary of the Dressage Derby. Historic photos displayed in the show office document some of the events from the Derby’s beginnings, when dressage was just taking hold in the area, and people stopped to remember the early years as they checked in.

Out on the pastoral grounds, competitors chatted amiably as they waited for the jog, which all the FEI horses passed. Cheryl Meisner of Canada withdrew Paganini, a 16-year-old dark bay KWPN stallion, during the jog, but is slated to compete with Tango in the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special.

Competition begins on Friday, March 1 and features FEI classes including the Grand Prix Open as well as Intermediaire I and II, Prix St. Georges, Pony Team Test Qualifier, and Young Rider tests as well as a cadre of USEF tests. The classes continue all weekend with the Grand Prix Specialon Saturday and the Grand Prix Freestyle on Sunday.

For class schedule, day sheets and rider’s report, log onto www.pbderby.com/derby.html.

For results, log onto www.pbderby.com/results-derby.html.

For show schedule and information: www.ihspb.com or www.pbderby.com.

Photo Courtesy of Phelps Media Group – Caroline V. Roffman and Her Highness O

(USEF) – Lexington, KY – The Florida Department of Agriculture has confirmed the positive diagnosis of Equine Herpes Virus 1 (EHV-1) in horses in Florida. Six of the confirmed cases are linked to the HITS competition in Ocala. An additional horse in the Wellington area (with no identified direct or indirect connection to the Ocala show grounds) has been tested and found to be EHV-1 positive.

The Florida Department of Agriculture has posted a detailed report regarding this situation and is updating the report regularly. These updates include links to additional resources and are available at:
http://www.freshfromflorida.com/newsroom/press/2013/02272013_2.html. Please check this source regularly for the most current and reliable information regarding the status of the disease.

The equestrian community is being advised of the importance of horsemen implementing good biosecurity protocols that should be routine when attending competitions or visiting other venues where horses of different origin and disease status are congregating. If planning to travel to such venues, make certain you contact the venue prior to travel to understand what biosecurity measures have been imposed. Additionally, it is advised that you consult with your veterinarian in evaluating your horse’s current vaccination and immunity status and to review or develop an individual biosecurity plan. The California Department of Food & Agriculture has published a bio-security tool kit at this link: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/animal_health/equine_biosecurity.html. Dr. Stephen Schumacher, Chief Administrator for the USEF Drugs & Medication Program describes this as a “good comprehensive resource compiled from a number of sources.”

The vision of the United States Equestrian Federation® is to provide leadership
for equestrian sport in the United States of America by promoting the pursuit
of excellence from the grassroots to the Olympic Games, based on a
foundation of fair, safe competition and the welfare
of its human and equine athletes.

Dressage4Kids had to reschedule its annual Weekend Educational Program in February due to a winter snowstorm. New dates for the event have now been announced and it will be held on March 9-10 at Nonnewaug High School in Woodbury, Conn.

Early registration rates have been extended until Wednesday, March 6th. On Saturday, Registration will open at 11:30am and our Program will run from approximately 12:30pm – 8:00pm, including dinner. On Sunday, Registration will open at 7:30am and our Program will run from approximately 8:30am – 3:00pm, including lunch. There is an updated Registration Form. For those that had already registered for WEP, please be so kind as to fill out a new Application form to confirm your attendance for Saturday, Sunday, or both days.

For more information visit the Dressage4Kids website at www.dressage4kids.com.

(FEI) – A delegation led by Paul Côté, President of the Bromont Bid Committee, was at FEI Headquarters today to make an in-depth presentation to the FEI Evaluation Commission as part of the final stages of the bidding process for the hosting rights to the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in 2018.

The seven-strong team which presented the official Bromont and Montreal bid book to the Evaluation Commission also included the Mayor of Bromont Pauline Quinlan, President of Equine Canada Mike Gallagher, President of Bromont International Roger DesLauriers, technical advisor Leopoldo Palacios, and President of the Bromont Olympic Park Marcel Bundock. The presentations were led by the Bromont Bid Director Benoit Girardin.

The presentation included details on the delivery of the sport, including horse welfare and anti-doping, the competition venue in Bromont, the financial plan and revenue generation strategy for the 2018 Games, the public and private partners, the local organising committee, risk management and security, and the legacies to Canadian equestrian sport if the Games are awarded to Bromont.

The Bromont bid committee plans to use the Montreal 1976 Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony, and the Bromont Equestrian Park, which staged the equestrian events in the 1976 Olympic Games, is the proposed venue for all seven disciplines at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in 2018.

“We’ve had an extremely constructive and positive meeting with the FEI today and it’s provided a good opportunity for us to present and explain our bid to the FEI team”, Bid Committee President Paul Côté said. “The Committee now better understands the expectations and requirements for the FEI World Equestrian Games and we feel confident that we can organise and manage the Games in 2018. We are looking forward to presenting to the FEI Bureau in July and hearing the final decision. Getting the 2018 Games could change the sport forever in our country.”

The FEI Evaluation Commission will now produce a full report for the FEI Bureau. Once that has been reviewed by the Bureau, the Bromont bid team will return to Lausanne for the in-person Bureau meeting at FEI Headquarters. Originally scheduled for 10-11 June, the meeting has been moved to 1-2 July. Appropriately, the Bromont team will present to the Bureau on Canada Day, 1 July, prior to a Bureau vote to decide on the allocation of the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018.

“The World Equestrian Games is the FEI’s flagship event, so the bid process is extremely important to us and we were very happy to welcome the Bromont bid committee to FEI Headquarters today”, FEI Secretary General Ingmar De Vos said. “They gave us an excellent presentation and the members of the Evaluation Commission were very impressed with the attention to detail outlined in the Bromont bid. The team here in HQ is now looking forward to evaluating all the elements and putting together a detailed report that will form part of the final decision making process, but ultimately of course the allocation of the 2018 Games rests with the Bureau.”

The FEI Evaluation Commission is made up of Secretary General Ingmar De Vos; Commercial Executive Director Carsten Couchouron; Jumping Director John Roche; Dressage Director Trond Asmyr; Eventing & Olympic Director Catrin Norinder; Endurance Director Ian Williams; Non-Olympic Sports Director Bettina de Rham; General Counsel Lisa Lazarus; Veterinary Director Graeme Cooke, Director Governance and Executive Affairs Sabrina Zeender, and Press Relations Director Grania Willis.

Notes to Editors:
The FEI World Equestrian Games™ are held every four years, in the middle of the Olympic cycle. The seven FEI disciplines – Jumping, Dressage and Para-Equestrian Dressage, Eventing, Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining – are all included on the competition schedule.

The inaugural FEI World Equestrian Games™ were hosted in Stockholm (SWE) in 1990. Since then the Games have been staged in The Hague (NED) in 1994, Rome (ITA) in 1998, Jerez (ESP) in 2002, and Aachen (GER) in 2006. The first Games to be staged outside Europe were the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Kentucky (USA) 2010. The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 will be held in Normandy (FRA).

(USEF) – As a reminder, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is accepting applications for the position of Dressage Technical Advisor/Chef d’Equipe until Friday, March 15, 2013.

The job description and application are available here: http://usef.org/documents/highPerformance/dressage/ApplicationDressageTA_Chef.pdf

For more information regarding the process of hiring the next Technical Advisor/Chef d’Equipe for the U.S. Dressage Team contact Jenny Van Wieren-Page at (859) 225-6949 or by email JVanWieren@usef.org

The Norwegian Equestrian Federation has announced the riders who will make up the country’s 2013 Absent from the current list are two of the country’s top riders in 2012 – Olympian Siril Helljesen and Jonas Elvebakk. Both are currently without horses after their top mounts were sold last year.

These are the 2013 team members:
Stine Gøtesen with Worsteiner
Lillan Jebsen with Pro-Set
Camilla Kalseth with Carte D’or and
Cathrine Rasmussen with Fernandez

(USEF) – Two observation sessions for the 2013 Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Program have taken place in Wellington, FL February 13-14 and Burbank, CA February 22-23. Between the two sessions, USEF Young Horse Coach, Scott Hassler, has been able to observe close to 40 young horses. The majority of riders attended the sessions with their personal trainers, allowing them to develop plans for their horses with the help of Hassler. He has seen great improvements in horse quality and an exciting number of promising combinations.

“We had terrific participation,” said Hassler. “2013 looks like a very exciting year with high quality young horses. Several of the combinations have potential to be future international competitors and I am really excited to watch them develop through our pipeline of trainers and programs.”

The goal of these observation sessions is to seek out up-and-coming talented young horses and provide guidance for riders, trainers, and owners. The Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Program also includes open training sessions which are conducted in a clinic format and not only focus on the education of young horses but also on the education of those attending the training sessions as auditors. There will be three upcoming training sessions: March 2-3 at Oak Hill Ranch in Folsom, LA, April 13-14 at Rosebrook Farm in Georgetown, MA, and April 27-28 at Oak Hill Farm in Lockport, IL.

For more information on the 2013 Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Program or if you are interested in auditing the training sessions, click here or contact Hallye Griffin by email at hgriffin@usef.org or by phone (859) 225-6918.

Photo Courtesy of USEF – Sigrid Wolff and Kodaly, owned by Alex Holland