Savin’ All My Love for You – a story of horse carnage in the US | Horsetalk – equestrian feature articles

Riveting!

Adobe House-Final version?

I am one update behind on the process of this painting. My last photos were taken on a rainy day and not crisp enough to post. This image was taken today after my last session with the painting.  Now waiting for the customer’s feed back!

Quislings in the Barn

From the Long Riders Guild:

It’s official. The sport of endurance racing has been sold to the Arabs. The deal went down in an office in Bristol, England where the horse world’s most controversial figure, Tom Morgan, met with the man the equestrian world trusted to protect endurance racing from predators and cheats, FEI endurance director, Ian Williams.

Because of what was decided there in secret, there’s no longer any further need for hundreds of thousands of endurance riders to pretend that they have to follow the rules. They can toss away those log books they’ve spent years filling with carefully documented miles on their beloved horses. Dope ‘em, ride ‘em hard, cheat, laugh at the rules instead. Go ahead, because the so-called “leaders” of your sport have betrayed every mile, every act of sacrifice, every labour of love you ever rode or enacted.

Today the endurance racing world wide stands with its head bowed in shame. No mountain defeated it. No desert stopped it. No river balked it. Endurance racing met its Waterloo in Bristol when a deal was made that set aside the principles of an entire sport.

If you ask how the Long Riders’ Guild can state this, allow us to use the old adage, it comes straight from the horse’s mouth – FEI headquarters in Switzerland. For earlier today the Long Riders’ Guild received confirmation that the FEI’s endurance racing director, following orders from his boss, Princess Haya, journeyed to Bristol, England so as to assist an equestrian event which undermines the very sport the organization was entrusted to protect.

On Friday, July 22nd, the Long Riders’ Guild issued a warning to the horse world that FEI endurance director, Ian Williams, was intent on holding a private meeting with Tom Morgan, the organizer of the Mongol Derby horse race. Prior to this meeting the Guild asked Williams to explain how the FEI could stand by, mute and passive for two months, all the while the largest exploitation of endurance racing rules ever perpetrated was being organized by tour operator turned horse racer, Morgan?

Williams never responded to those questions, which documented how FEI rules were joyfully violated by Morgan’s company, the Adventurists.
(Click here <http://www.thelongridersguild.com/racing-rules.htm>  to read a comparison between FEI Rules and the Mongol Derby.)

The FEI official answered that instead of denouncing the Mongol Derby, his organization was an active participant in offering Morgan a financial, medical and logistical reward. He was journeying to Bristol, he said by phone and via email, so as to broker an alliance between Morgan and the government of the UAE. That was our worry on Friday. This is our confirmation on Monday.

Earlier today, 27th July, the Long Riders’ Guild received a message from Williams which validated our worst fears.

Dear CuChullaine,
I refer to my email of the 22nd July 2009 and as promised I can now provide you with a further update.
I confirm that the FEI’s position remains unchanged and the FEI does not ’support the event’ but is supportive of any actions that might be taken to support the welfare of those horses that may be involved with this particular event.
The FEI’s position is as follows:
The FEI confirms  that we have held a meeting with the organising company of the Mongol Derby to obtain specific detailed information, at the request of the UAE, with regard to the horses being used and the equine  support being provided for the event from within Mongolia.
That information has now been passed to the UAE who have expressed the wish to provide elite level Veterinary Support, both in terms of equipment and experienced personnel, to the organisers through the Mongolian Government both pre, during and post event.
As confirmed already by  the FEI , the Mongol Derby is not an FEI recognised event and does not come under the remit or control of the FEI as the Governing body for International Equestrian sport.
The FEI continues to work with organisations towards achieving the highest welfare support for all horses.’
Kind Regards,
Ian

Ian Williams
Director,
Non-Olympic Sports
Fédération Equestre Internationale
Av de Rumine 37
1005 Lausanne
Switzerland
t +41 21 310 47 47
f +41 21 310 47 60
e Ian.williams@fei.org

The message begs the fundamental question, if the FEI has nothing to do with this wretched race then why is Ian Williams issuing a statement? If the FEI is not involved, then why is the organization’s endurance cop acting like a messenger boy for a foreign power? If the FEI knew two months ago that Morgan’s race put 800 horses at risk and violated every major rule of the organization, why did its President authorize her endurance director to play the part of bag man to this ignoble scheme?

While the Guild welcomes any news that horses may be provided with professional medical care, no amount of money can wash away the fact that these 800 horses are neither up to size, or condition, to carry large foreigners at speed for “only” twenty-five miles across the Mongolian steppes.

Being equestrian explorers, not endurance riders, we at the Long Riders’ Guild were woefully ignorant of any sheik who was famous for riding in endurance races. We didn’t know that his name had been involved in scandals where endurance horses were suspected of being doped. Nor were we aware that international endurance riders were already worried about the growing influence exerted by the sheik and his government over the international sport of endurance racing.
(http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=ODA4MDYxMTE3)

The day after the Guild issued its warning about Williams’ meeting with Morgan, endurance riders around the world began emailing the Guild so as to express private concerns. Names were asked not to be mentioned for fear of retribution.  Here is one such observation.

“The Guild is correct so far in what you have written. The UAE is virtually running the whole of the FEI as they are sponsoring just about everything, including the new building in Switzerland. Keep up the pressure as there is nothing being allowed to be said in the UAE. Any discredit HAS to come from the outside, ” reported this confidential source, who went on to question the amount of influence Princess Haya’s husband, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the ruler of the UAE to which Williams refers in his email, had on the running of the FEI.

With the news from Williams that the UAE government and Morgan have struck a deal, it’s all over now except the crowing. Expect Morgan, Mercy Corps and the Mongols to issue a press release announcing how they have subverted the rules of the international endurance community, with the help of the UAE. Expect them to ignore the fact that Mongolia had been suspended for non-payment of FEI national dues. Don’t think they will acknowledge the letter sent to FEI headquarters asking that organization to explain its involvement in an event which delights in trampling on international rules designed to protect the horse.

Instead we will probably be asked to believe that this decision was done in favour of the 800 little horses being drafted into Morgan’s mad plan.

This is all the more ironic because horse owners everywhere are feeling the economic pinch. When the family home is in danger of foreclosure, then the family horse is one of the first things to be sacrificed.  Average horse owners have been pushed into a corner and run of the mill horses are falling victim to previously unbelievable horrors, as was documented in this article from New Zealand’s Horse Talk news service.

“A further $US2500 has been added to the reward for information leading to those responsible for cutting the brand from a two-year-old filly and abandoning her…In an effort to make sure the filly could not be traced, her former owner cut a 15cm by 20cm section of flesh from her rump to remove the brand.”
http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2009/07/090.shtml

Nor is it only economics that is affecting horse owners. Today’s press is reporting that things are going to get hotter – and tougher – for horse owners everywhere.

“MSNBC has an alarming report about the extreme weather conditions happening across the country. In Texas, half the corn crop is dried up, lakes have disappeared, cattle ranchers are selling cows early because there is no grass to graze on, and 77 counties are designated as having exceptional or extreme drought conditions. Historians say this drought is virtually unprecedented, and there is no relief in sight.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/27/off-the-charts-drought-in_n_245317.html

Thus, in the midst of a global equestrian crisis, when average people are struggling to keep their horses, and play by the rules, what are we to think about an international organization which subverts its own laws so as to play footsy under the table with a foreign ruler?

In his historic editorial, available in this month’s issue of Horse Connection <http://www.horseconnection.com/>  magazine, publisher Geoff Young cites how equestrian sport is riddled with corruption. Precious horses are being doped to the eyeballs so as to gain an unfair advantage. Entire national equestrian teams stand exposed as cheats. All the while, Young pointed out, the FEI under the direction of its president, HRH Princess Haya, has issued edicts, organized committees – and allowed the culture of corruption which has invaded the international equestrian community to carry on.  (http://www.horseconnection.com/site/pdf_docs/breaches.pdf)

Yet Morgan’s race, and the FEI’s involvement, is not an act of any one person, or even one nation, bending the rules. By aiding Princess Haya’s husband’s government in assisting Morgan, the FEI leaders in Switzerland have shown the horse world what really matters to them. No one, except those blinded by self-interest, will buy the pretence that the FEI did not approve, orchestrate, condone, or encourage this alliance between Morgan and the Arabs.

Thus the FEI is no longer merely inept. Now it’s ethically suspect.

Some endurance riders have raised the question, why would the leaders of this organization do this, unless it is to assist Arab contestants to ride in Morgan’s race? Given recent events, that’s a fair question. For mark our words, as the Guild predicted,  once Morgan has established a beach head in Mongolia, with Mercy Corps proving the pretence of charity to cloak the mercenary nature of the event, and with UAE money to buy vets and other help to offset criticism, it won’t be long before we see unregulated races being held in any under-developed country with horses and a money-hungry government.

Publisher Young concluded his editorial by reminding the horse world that “According to their rules, there is a provision for disbanding the FEI if two thirds of the members vote on it. I think it’s a vote that is long overdue.”

The Long Riders’ Guild believes the member nations of the FEI need to heed Young and disband the organization without delay.

In closing, the Long Riders’ Guild has been warned not to publish anything critical of Arab rulers who ride in endurance races. We were told this is an open secret, known to many in this sport. Editors we trust spoke off the record about their fears. This is the Long Riders’ Guild, not your mummy’s pony club. We won’t be bullied or silenced.

We urge the endurance riders of the world to protect their sport. We urge your leaders to voice your collective outrage at the subversion by Quislings in your barn of rules designed, and upheld for generations, to protect the horses we all love.

We urge everyone in the horse world to visit HRH Princess Haya’s website and ask her to provide answers to these questions. What has the FEI done, who ordered it, and who’s paying for it ? Have the rules of international endurance racing vanished thanks to a secret decision? Will the international equestrian community, especially endurance leaders, blithely hand over control to a foreign power? What’s to stop Morgan, Mercy Corps and the UAE from organizing races in other countries? What happens when contestants don’t ride with rules but for personal recognition?  http://www.princesshaya.net/

The Guild urges everyone who ever swung their leg over a horse, who ever sat in saddle, who ever stroked a horse, or loved one from afar, to sign the international petition protesting this blight of a race.
“Sign the Petition – or Share the Shame <http://www.voicesforhorses.co.uk/surveys/survey_18_Petition-to-halt-the-World%27s-largest-Outlaw-Endurance-Race.html> .”

To learn more about the Mongol Derby, please visit:
www.thelongridersguild.com/mongolia.htm <http://www.thelongridersguild.com/mongolia.htm> .

Finally, even in the midst of this dreadful discovery, we urge you to read a heart-felt letter  <http://www.thelongridersguild.com/mongol-president.htm> written by one of North America’s leading endurance racing experts, Kate Riordan. Addressed to the President of Mongolia, it not only explains the dangers involved in this wicked race, it highlights what every endurance rider in the world needs to protect and protest.

An Alarming Alliance

From the Long Riders Guild:
Are FEI Endurance Officials and an Arab Sheik supporting the Mongol Derby?

What is believed to be the most potentially damaging equestrian event ever attempted, wherein twenty-five tourists will pay a collective $130,000 to race 800 small horses one thousand kilometers across Mongolia at the height of summer, may be linked to leaders of the FEI and the United Arab Emirates.

The Mongol Derby has been organized by an English tour operator named Tom Morgan, who has previously specialized in enticing foreigners to pay to race junk cars to distant foreign capitals. News that Morgan’s company was staging the “biggest, baddest equine affair on the planet,” has prompted the world famous equestrian trainer, Linda Tellington-Jones, to condemn the event.

“This abuse of horses must be addressed and stopped by people who love and respect horses. The Mongol Derby could have a negative impact on the endurance world where veterinary care of horses has been a priority for years,” Tellington-Jones warned.

These worries are well founded, as Canadian Long Rider Bonnie Folkins has reported from Mongolia that the previous winter was so harsh the nation’s horses were left perilously weak. This forced local organizers of the traditional Nadaam horse race to reduce the course by several miles. Though the small animals were only carrying child jockeys under the age of ten, eighteen horses died from exhaustion in the latest race.

In reaction to the Mongol Derby, riders in this year’s famous North American Tevis Cup endurance race are being asked to wear orange ribbons as a sign of solidarity with the Mongolian horses and to sign the international petition protesting against the race, which has now gathered thousands of signatures worldwide.

With global condemnation growing, news reached the Long Rides’ Guild that former English jockey, turned Morgan race rider, Richard Dunwoody, had pulled out of the event. In reaction to repeated criticism, he responded in an email, “Due to other commitments I am not now able to race in it, but am solely advising before the start.”

Yet in a startling turn of events, the FEI Endurance Director contacted the Long Riders’ Guild to announce that, despite their long silence on the race, the organization based in Switzerland directed him to journey to Morgan’s office in Bristol on Friday so as to deliver a pledge of financial, medical and logistical support for the Mongol Derby.

Over the course of the last two months, FEI officials have either ignored or rebuffed the Long Riders’ Guild and the international press on eleven different occasions. Emails have gone unanswered, phone calls were denied and attempts to reach the FEI president were thwarted. On the rare occasions when officials were eventually reached they stated the FEI could not engage in any discussion about the race because it violated the organization’s principal rule that no sanctioned endurance race could exceed 160 kilometers. Plus, they added, Mongolia’s membership in the organization had been suspended when that nation did not pay its FEI dues. Only last week British reporter Abi Butcher, of Horse & Hound magazine, was told, “The Derby is not run under FEI rules so has not been investigated.”

Thus the unsolicited telephone call on Tuesday to Long Riders’ HQ, from FEI endurance director Ian Williams, came as a surprise. He was ringing to inform the Guild that he and “the president” had been working behind the scenes for weeks, speaking to “Mongolian officials” and “officers of Section 8″ (the geographic area which oversees Mongolia and that part of Asia). Williams went on to explain that he was flying to England on Friday, 24th July, so as to hold a private meeting with Tom Morgan at the Adventurists office in Bristol.

The FEI endurance director was going to Bristol to offer Morgan assistance from the international equestrian federation.   The organisation would pay salaries, expenses and flights for top-notch endurance vets,  including one from Kentucky, as well as various international endurance racing experts and officials, to travel to Mongolia for “the upcoming Mongol Derby.”  Williams said Morgan welcomed the visit.

Upon learning of this startling turnaround, Senior Swiss Long Rider, Madame Catherine Waridel, was quick to point out that FEI officials had repeatedly told her and the press that they could not be involved in Morgan’s race because it violated the basic rule of 160 kilometers. When the Guild did a careful comparative study of the FEI’s 2009 Endurance racing rules, as opposed to Morgan’s statements published on the Mongol Derby website, it quickly revealed nine major violations of basic FEI endurance rules.  Click here <http://www.thelongridersguild.com/racing-rules.htm>  to read a comparison between FEI Rules and the Mongol Derby.

Armed with this alarming set of facts, the Guild emailed Williams to ask him to explain how he and FEI President, Princess Haya, could justify their support of Morgan, when the Mongol race delighted in not just breaking the rules, but flaunting this disobedience?

Williams refused to acknowledge these violations. What he said instead was that, as he had told the Guild on the phone, the proposal he was carrying to Morgan had the full support of the UAE government.

“As confirmed by phone yesterday I am meeting with the Organising Company this coming Friday when I can discuss the offer by the UAE Government through the Mongolian Government for providing support care for the horses involved in the upcoming Mongol Derby,” Williams wrote.

A reply from the Guild corrected Williams, stating he had never revealed in the initial phone conversation that a foreign government had orchestrated the FEI approach to Morgan.

The Guild went on to say that, upon reflection, the international equestrian exploration organization was writing to Williams, and Princess Haya, to urge them to reconsider this rash course of action.  The Guild urged the FEI not to send Williams to Bristol. The Guild reminded the FEI endurance director that this decision seemed to indicate that the influence of the Princess’ husband was behind the overture to Morgan.  Such a decision was almost certain to anger the members of the FEI, who had not been informed.

When Williams never acknowledged that message or warning, the Long Riders’ Guild sent him this email.

Dear Ian,
We are disappointed that you have not responded to our previous message, wherein we asked you to reconsider the advisability of meeting with Tom Morgan so as to offer him a financial, medical and logistical incentive. Nor have you acknowledged the Guild’s comparative study of FEI endurance rules, as opposed to Morgan’s deliberate flaunting of those international bylaws.
Your silence has left us concerned that you, and the FEI president, are determined to press ahead with what increasingly looks like a badly conceived, and perhaps unauthorized, approach to Morgan by FEI officials.
I am therefore writing to inform you that if the Guild does not hear from you by Friday night, 9.pm. Geneva time, our organization will assume that:
- the FEI has entered into an agreement with Morgan,
- FEI leaders are believed to be participating in, and encouraging, an equestrian endurance event which violates the organization’s endurance rules,
- a foreign government is suspected of being the motivating force behind this decision.
Silence upon your part on Friday will force the Guild to assume the worst.
Kind regards,
CuChullaine O’Reilly FRGS

The FEI headquarters has now closed for the day, Friday, 24th July, there has been no reply from Williams, and there is no reason to believe he did not visit Morgan’s office.

Williams had hinted that Dubai’s ruling Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, who is married to FEI President HRH Princess Haya, was instrumental in making the offer to Morgan. The 59-year-old sheikh owns several stables, hosts the world’s most lucrative horse race in Dubai every year and rides endurance races. The Guild received an unexpected confirmation of the Sheik’s involvement from English jockey, Richard Dunwoody. In response to a protest against his involvement with Morgan’s race, the jockey responded by saying, “Sheikh Mohammed is now also looking to become involved in the Mongol Derby…”

Dunwoody’s disclosure has raised many alarming, and still unanswered, questions, including what has the FEI done, who ordered it, and who’s paying for it ? Have the rules of international endurance racing vanished thanks to a secret decision? Will the international equestrian community, especially endurance leaders, blithely hand over control to a foreign power? What’s to stop Morgan, Mercy Corps and Maktoum from organizing races in other countries? What happens when contestants don’t ride with rules but for personal recognition?

Grave questions about the leadership of the FEI were raised earlier this month by Horse Connection magazine. In an editorial entitled, The Emperor has no Riding Breeches, publisher Geoff Young warned, “The self-anointed world governing body is collapsing under the weight of scandal and the lack of any discernable moral backbone.” Young went on ask how serious enforcement could be if the FEI President’s husband and brother had both been caught and suspended for giving their endurance horses steroids? Like other equestrian journalists, he also wondered why the international governing body had steadfastly refused to condemn Morgan’s unethical race? “I can only interpret the FEI’s reaction this way,” Young said, “the FEI will oversee the welfare of the horse, but only if you pay them their money!”

Young concluded by reminding the horse world that “According to their rules, there is a provision for disbanding the FEI if two thirds of the members vote on it. I think it’s a vote that is long overdue.”
http://www.horseconnection.com/site/pdf_docs/breaches.pdf

While no answers have been forthcoming from the FEI or Morgan, there is something even more alarming than the exploitation of 800 little horses and the cheapening of Mongolia’s sacred equestrian tradition. Are we witnessing a potential revision of accepted international equestrian principles, policies and procedures, one where the establishment of a Mongol Derby without rules threatens the honour and integrity of the global equestrian community?

Credibility takes time to establish, and in some cases, only an instant to destroy. When society doesn’t know something, it is often because special interests have blocked the truth. Has the FEI become an equestrian League of Nations? Is FEI endurance director Ian Williams about to announce “Peace in our Time”?

It’s not a tragedy to love horses. It’s a tragedy to stand by and watch helplessly while they are used in this manner. There is nothing heroic about the Mongol Derby. There is no cloaking the mercenary motives behind this race. After having emerged from its stupor of passivity, why is the FEI suddenly anxious to join forces with an event which runs rough shod over its own rules?

To learn more about the Mongol Derby, please visit www.thelongridersguild.com/mongolia.htm <http://www.thelongridersguild.com/mongolia.htm> .

The Long Riders’ Guild urges everyone to sign the on-line petition asking the President of Mongolia to halt the Mongol Derby. “Sign the Petition – or Share the Shame.”
http://www.voicesforhorses.co.uk/surveys/survey_18_Petition-to-halt-the-World%27s-largest-Outlaw-Endurance-Race.html

If you join the Guild in wondering what happened at Friday’s meeting with Tom Morgan, we urge you to contact FEI Endurance Director Ian Williams
Ian.Williams@fei.org – +41-21-310-4747

If you are a member of the press seeking clarification on FEI policy, you can contact Olivia Robinson, Publications Manager at FEI headquarters in Switzerland
Olivia.Robinson@fei.org – +41-21-310-4723

To learn more about questionable equestrian practices in the UAE, please visit this link.
“The United Arab Emirates’ most popular newspaper suspended publication yesterday for 20 days in compliance with a court ruling after being sued for a story alleging some of the Abu Dhabi ruling family’s horses were doped….The practice has recently been strengthened by the country’s pending media law that includes a staggering fine of $1.35 million for “insulting” members of the ruling elite..”
http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=ODA4MDYxMTE3

Global Condemnation for Morgan’s Mongol Derby

Dear Long Riders, Explorers and Friends of the Guild,

The Long Riders’ Guild was initially contacted by Tom Morgan’s company, the Adventurists, on 28th November, 2008 in regards to his plan to run a 1,000 kilometer horse race across Mongolia. Not only did the Guild offer the equestrian expertise of its Members, as well as the hand of friendship, our organization also warned the company that the poorly-planned event would become a lightning-rod of concern. The Adventurists did not accept the Guild’s offers of assistance, nor heed our warning.

Since then, as predicted, the proposed race has created an equestrian fire-storm of protest, with editors, endurance racers, Long Riders and even mainstream explorers, all joining their voices in an unprecedented condemnation of this dubious event. Thousands of acts of individual equestrian patriotism have resulted in horse-lovers from twenty-six countries signing the petition protesting against the race, a Vet Net advisor denouncing it as being “in total disregard to the welfare of the horses,” and the Barefoot saddle company withdrawing its support.

Regardless, Morgan’s American charity partner, Mercy Corps not only maintains their partnership, they continue to ignore their own statement sent to irate donors who have withdrawn their financial contributions. “…if at any point Mercy Corps is not satisfied with the measures in place to ensure their (horses) welfare, we would not continue to support this trek,” Mercy Corps spokeswoman, Geri Manzano said.

What needs to be fully understood is that we are not discussing common tourists.
Traditional travellers go to a country in order to interact with the people, sample the food and experience the culture. This is an experience that is customarily a slow learning process. That is not what Morgan and his race contestants are doing. They will use every possible means to rush through Mongolia, highlight any danger, mock the cuisine, and make themselves look like heroes at the expense of the land, its people and its horses.

Nor should we be persuaded that Morgan and Mercy Corps, are motivated by altruistic motives. The Adventurists will receive more than $130,000 in fees from the contestants.  Likewise, the Mercy Corps charity will receive a minimum of $50,000.  But when asked how much the herders, who are risking their eight hundred horses, would be getting, the evasive answer was “a fair amount.”  In a scene reminiscent of buying Manhattan from the Indians for $26 in beads, while Morgan and Mercy Corps get rich, naïve Mongolians are being enticed into selling their sacred equestrian heritage for pennies.

Thus, no amount of last-minute window-dressing by the Adventurists and Mercy Corps can disguise the fact that this is an act of equestrian colonialism perpetrated by cultural predators. This race represents a new type of equestrian cancer, one in which arrogance, wealth, racism and social privilege come together for a mounted holiday in an exotic land.

Meanwhile, the world’s scorn for Morgan’s master plan can be seen in some of the comments submitted to the international petition.

Jack, Canada:  All horse-related activities in Mongolia will be damaged by this stunt.  Why doesn’t he stick to filling Mongolia with Europe’s old clunkers instead?
Anne, Wales:  Very glad to help stop this terror.
Stan, USA:  This is brutal and uncalled-for.
Robert, Gibraltar:  If 25 idiots want to cross Mongolia, then take a 4×4 truck;  why is it that there are still people who think that animals have no purpose but to provide entertainment for them no matter what?
Abdul, Sweden: Shame on the culprits and those who refuse to act.
Gabrielle, Belgium:  Adventure should never prevail over animal welfare and long-distance riding should not be turned into a contest built upon injury and loss of life.
Jean, UK:  Utterly ghastly.  How can people be so thoughtless and cruel?
Thomas, USA:  Money ruins everything.
Carol, Canada:  I feel very strongly about getting this profit-mongering idiot’s activities exposed and stopped.
Alison, Scotland:  This event is a disgrace to 21st century equine sport.
Neale, Australia:  Cruelty such as this should be illegal.
Grit, Denmark:  What monster has got this arrangement going?
Ranald, South Africa:  When money and egos clash with horses, horses always lose.
Raven, USA:  This is the most inhumane thing I have ever heard of.  Shame on you!
Eduard, Peru:  I suggest the humans do it on foot.
Lynne, USA:  Sheer lunacy and certainly testosterone-driven;  a total violation of man’s stewardship of the animals.  Let’s ride the Adventurists across Mongolia instead.
Dori, USA:  Shame on Mercy Corps.  I’ll make sure never to send them a single penny.
Harry, USA:  This race should be outlawed and the promoters cast out of all horse-related projects.
Vera, Romania:  Whoever takes part in this event shows a complete disregard for the life of the horses that are used in it;  thus forfeiting their right to be called a horse person.
Tami, USA:  This is a travesty for the poor innocent horses;  there should be some form of international law prohibiting this form of animal cruelty.  The contestants get to choose their idiotic level of risk, the poor Mongolian horses do not.
Christine, USA:  I am an endurance rider and this race is not “endurance” – it is torture to horses.
Hans-Juergen, Switzerland:  This race is nothing but a merchandised killing of friends.
Charlotte, USA:  Unbelievable!  Have we reverted to the Stone Age?
Odette, USA:  As a veterinarian, I am appalled at the greed and cold-heartedness of the organizers and participants of the race.
Diane, Canada:  Shame on Tom Morgan for exploiting these wonderful animals.
Katrina, UK:  The Mongolian government should stop this event by refusing to grant visas.
Jane, Canada:  I’m absolutely disgusted that Mercy Corps would be involved in this.
Janice, USA:  When will Europeans stop exploiting Asians?
Talitha, USA:  As a veterinarian, I find this race appalling.
Dyane, Australia:  Shameful!
Angela, Australia:  Unethical!
Serena, Australia:  Unbelievable!
Fran, USA:  Let the tourists suffer;  it’s their choice.  But the horses deserve protection from these cruel money-hungry fools.
Lois, USA:  This sounds like the biggest case of animal cruelty in the world.
Graeme, Scotland:  As a veterinarian involved in endurance, I feel this is a blatant disregard for the welfare of the horse.
Jodi, New Zealand:  The very thought of this race sickens me.
Michelle, Canada:  This race is a disgusting exploitation of a country in poverty, and its animals, by some jerk trying to make a buck.
Stephen, Taiwan:  This is an outrageous affair of a company more interested in their cheque-book than common sense.
Naomi, UK:  I am ashamed that a British company has organised this ill-conceived and idiotic event to indulge bored, rich exhibitionists.

In conclusion, The Long Riders’ Guild urges you to share your concerns with Tom Morgan and Mercy Corps by either emailing or telephoning them with your views.

Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent events manager at the Adventurists
ants@theadventurists.com <mailto:ants@theadventurists.com>  – + 44-(0)1779-541-515

Geri Manzano – Mercy Corps Donor Relations Representative
+1-800-292-3355, ext. 250 – donorservices@mercycorps.org <mailto:donorservices@mercycorps.org>

The Mongol Derby and Vet Net

A reply email from the Adventurists:

Hi

The Adventurists would like to respond to recent statements published online concerning the veterinary care for the horses taking part in the Mongol Derby, and to clarify their relationship with the Mongolian veterinary NGO, Vet Net.

(Full statement is available here as a PDF:
http://theadventurists.com/files/newsreleases/MD09_Mongol_Derby_Veterinary_Update.pdf )

Horse welfare has always been at the top of the agenda for The Adventurists, and hence in November 2008 they contacted Vet Net, in order to seek advice on veterinary care for the 600 plus horses being ridden in the Mongol Derby.

The Adventurists would like to make clear that the two parties have been in regular contact since November 2008, by email, telephone and in person. Vet Net have consulted The Adventurists on the veterinary situation in Mongolia, on the availability of good quality medicines and on how best to provide veterinary care for the Mongol Derby horses. Vet Net also provided The Adventurists with the names and contact details of all their trained soum (village) vets along the Mongol Derby course.

According to an email from a representative of Vet Net to The Adventurists: “The soum veterinarians are well qualified veterinarians. They are private practising veterinarians who have benefited from the world class drugs and equipment that we have been able to import and supply for them after they have received training in their use.”

This network of Vet Net trained vets will be providing vet care for the Mongol Derby horses over the 1000 kilometre Mongol Derby. They will be checking the horses during their pre-race training, immediately before they start, and after they have completed.

These Vet Net trained vets will be working in conjunction with a UK vet with 32 years of equine experience. This vet is being flown out to Mongolia especially for the Mongol Derby.

This UK vet will be following the race in one of the back-up emergency response vehicles. He will be equipped, as all the riders are, with a GPS spot tracker, and will respond to any emergency situations that arise. He will be following the race with an equine vet from the Mongolian government’s Ministry of Agriculture, who is fully supportive of the Mongol Derby.

All vets, herders, horse breeders and trainers involved in the Mongol Derby are being well paid by The Adventurists for their involvement. Horse welfare and respect for the Mongolian people and their culture is of the utmost importance to the organisers. The Adventurists hope that this information clarifies the recent confusion over Vet Net’s association with the Mongol Derby, and looks forward to the first of many successful editions of the event.

To read the full statement please follow this link for the PDF:

http://theadventurists.com/files/newsreleases/MD09_Mongol_Derby_Veterinary_Update.pdf

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us directly.

All the best,

The Adventurists
–
Mongol Derby | The Adventurists
mongolderby@theadventurists.com
Hamilton House | 80 Stokes Croft | Bristol | BS1 3QY

Fighting to make the world less boring
http://www.theadventurists.com

BREAKING NEWS from the Long Riders Guild

Dear Long Riders, Explorers and Friends of the Guild,

The last fortnight has seen an extraordinary outpouring of concern from horse lovers, explorers and Long Riders around the planet, all of whom have added their voices to a collective cry aimed at stopping the so-called Mongol Derby. Here is a link  <http://www.thelongridersguild.com/mongol-comments-water.htm>  which will provide you with the latest news about this ill-conceived and perilous plan, including details of how one high profile contestant has withdrawn from the race, a possible connection between race organizers and the US government, as well as forums, news stories and blogs, all of whom are monitoring these events around the world.

Yet the most astonishing news was revealed earlier today.

For the last two weeks Tom Morgan, and his tour company the Adventurists, have been busy telling the world that all equine health concerns were being overseen by the reputable NGO, VET Net.   This claim was also published and promoted by Mercy Corps in Portland, Oregon and by the Horse & Hound magazine in London.

In an exclusive interview with the Long Riders Guild, an official VET Net  spokesman confirms that their organization is not involved, that they were not aware that their name was being used to promote the race, that they consider the race a threat to the small native horses and disrespectful of Mongolia’s equestrian heritage. The official concludes by joining the Long Riders’ Guild in urging the Mongolian government to halt the race immediately.

VET Net and the Mongol Derby

The following interview was held between Dr. Thomas Juergens DVM and officials of the Long Riders’ Guild on July 11, 2009. Dr. Juergens is an American equine practitioner and advisor to VET Net, the Mongolian NGO  which has been linked to the Mongol Derby. According to documents released on July 1, 2009 by Tom Morgan, and his English tour company, the Adventurists, stated that the renowned Mongolian veterinarian training program, VET Net, was associated with providing equine medical assistance during the race.

“We are working with an American veterinary NGO based in Mongolia called Vet Net,” Morgan’s press release declared.

In an effort to placate irate donors, PR representatives of the Portland based charity, Mercy Corps, also circulated VET Net’s name so as to offset public anger. According to Dr. Juergens, officers of the highly respected medical organization were not even aware that their organization was being linked to the  race, nor do they support it in any way. In fact, VET Net’s spokesman has denounced the event .

How long has VET Net been working in Mongolia and what are some of the many achievements your organization has achieved there?
VET Net is the leading source of veterinary continuing education in Mongolia. The NGO was formed by Dr. Gerald Mitchum, who has spent the last seventeen years overseeing the training of hundreds of Mongolian veterinarians in modern veterinary medicine.

What are your personal connections with Mongolia?
I’ve spent the last ten summers there, educating remote veterinarians on how to become better veterinarians, practicing modern equine veterinary medicine..

What effect will this race have on your personal efforts, as well as VET Net’s, to further veterinarian education among the Mongols?
This race negates everything we’ve been teaching the Mongolian people and veterinarians for the last ten years because here we have the concern of foreigners racing horses to death. Have you ever seen a horse raced to death? It’s horrific.

According to a document Morgan released last week, he claims, “Horse welfare has been at the top of the agenda since … early 2008.”  When did VET Net officials first learn about Morgan’s Mongol Derby and did your organization offer to lend your medical expertise to this event?
I think VET Net was contacted in either January or February of 2009. It is my understanding that they wanted us to supply all the veterinarians and oversee the medical needs throughout the entire race.  But it is also my understanding that VETNET is not involved with providing veterinary care to the horses in this race.

Were you aware that Morgan and Mercy Corps had specifically named VET Net as being in charge of the equine medical care of the 800 Mongolian horses to be used in the non-sanctioned race?
I was surprised to be told that our organization had been named as being part of this race.

Upon learning that Morgan had misinformed the public about VET Net’s role in the race, did your organization contact the Adventurists and order them to cease using your organization’s name?
One of the other advisors immediately fired off emails asking that VET Net not be linked to this event.

Do the officials in charge of VET Net have concerns regarding the potential damage Morgan’s race may inflict upon the horses, the herders and the equestrian heritage of Mongolia?
Absolutely ! This event is being done in total disregard to the welfare of the horses and it shows no respect for the nation’s equestrian traditions either. It’s as if they think these horses are rental cars. Because the contestants don’t own the horses, they’ll think they can ride them hard, then just walk away. There’s no sense of personal accountability. What I see instead is disrespect for the horses and Mongolian traditions.

The race organizers in England have attempted to sooth public concerns by saying that they will be providing vehicles to drive local vets along the route of the race, so as to ensure proper equine safety standards are maintained. What are your feelings about that?
Just because the remote Mongolian veterinarians have studied modern veterinary medicine for six weeks with VET Net doesn’t mean they are qualified to act as attending veterinarians for the critical health needs of the horses competing in this race. Normally the horse’s pulse, respiration, soundness and hydration are all checked at required stops by qualified veterinarians during a normal endurance race. This race is absolutely different. And saying that the individual horses are “only” going to be raced for forty kilometres is just showing disrespect. You have to worry about the horses – and the riders. I can’t see any good coming from this race.

Do you, as an advisor to VET Net, believe it is in the best interest of Mongolia for Mongolian officials to order this event to be halted?
Yes, because there are ethical, moral and humanitarian concerns which do not seem to have been met at this time. If the race organizers wanted to put on such an event, they should have spent more than six months organizing the logistics of quality veterinary care for the horses. But they haven’t even proved that they can provide adequate veterinarian care for the horses.

Mongol Derby Update

Received today via email:

Hi Everyone,

Apologies for the group mail, you’re receiving this email because your
contact details were published on a website or blog that has recently
featured the Mongol Derby.

We wanted to take the opportunity to send you the most recent news
release and accompanying document explaining in brief some of the
logistical arrangements for the Mongol Derby.

If you would like any more information or you have any questions please
do drop us a line – our websites may be written in a humourous tone but
we do take what we do incredibly seriously, particularly when it comes
to animal welfare for the Mongol Derby – we think that perhaps this tone
is sometimes misunderstood. It’s also important to point out that horse
welfare has been at the very top of the agenda since the very beginning
of the Mongol Derby way back in early 2008 and these systems have been
in development for quite some time.

News Release as a PDF online:
http://media.theadventurists.com/files/newsreleases/MD09_Horse_Welfare_Press_Release.pdf

Horse Welfare and Race Logistics Document available online here:
http://mongolderby.theadventurists.com/files/newsreleases/MD09_Horse_Welfare_Logistics_Announcement.pdf

Regards,

The Adventurists

–
The Adventurists
media@theadventurists.com
Hamilton House | 80 Stokes Croft | Bristol | BS1 3QY

Fighting to make the world less boring
http://www.theadventurists.com

……………………………………………………………

This email and its attachments might be confidential. If it’s not
meant for you, stop being sneaky and don’t do any more sneaky stuff
with it. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily
those of the League of Adventurists, especially if it will get us into
trouble.

……………………………………………………………

Mongol Derby Alert

Equestrian Exploration and Endurance Leaders condemn world’s largest unethical horse race

What is being labelled as the world’s longest horse race, has been denounced by an unprecedented alliance of equestrian, endurance and exploration leaders.

At a thousand kilometers, the Mongol Derby would be the largest non-sanctioned endurance race ever attempted. Set to be run this summer in Mongolia, nearly a thousand semi-wild under-sized native horses have been drafted into an effort which deliberately flaunts international endurance racing rules.

“There’s no carefully marked course, no catering tent and no support; this is horse racing on a whole new scale. You will change steeds every 40 km so the horses will be fresh. Bleeding kidneys, broken limbs, open sores, moon stroke and a list of dangers longer than your arm stand between you and victory,” warns the official race website.

The horse race is being promoted by Tom Morgan, a native of Great Britain whose company, The Adventurists, previously specialized in enticing adventure-hungry tourists into signing up to race junk cars to distant national capitals.

“We don’t make any safety arrangements. Our adventures are designed to be just that, so organising a support crew would rather take the edge off things. People are made painfully aware that what they’re entering into can be extremely dangerous,” Morgan’s website cautioned.

Connie Caudill, President of the American Endurance Ride Conference, is one of the many equestrian leaders who have warned that Morgan’s Mongol Derby will severely damage the sport and may well lead to horses being ridden to death.

“This will set endurance racing back 50 years,” Caudill said, then added, “This isn’t an endurance race, it’s entertainment that will undermine endurance racing all over the world.”

Morgan’s company sought advice from The Long Riders’ Guild, the world’s first international association of equestrian explorers. The Guild warned the tour company against  encouraging the twenty-five foreign competitors, all of whom had paid nearly $5,000 for a chance to ride, to attempt the journey, as the Guild’s mounted explorers had recently encountered wolf attacks, bubonic plague, rabies, flash floods, foul water, poisoned food, horse theft and personal assault.

“The Adventurists is preparing to embark on an ill-advised equestrian misadventure, one in which your company does not appreciate the many equestrian hardships and dangers being presented to the horses and riders,” The Guild informed the tour company.

Regardless of the danger, Morgan is busy promoting what he calls “biggest, baddest equine affair on the planet.” He is being assisted by Richard Dunwoody, a former British champion jockey turned equestrian tour guide. Originally hired to present a lecture on racing to the amateur riders, Dunwoody has announced that he will be riding as a contestant in the event.

Because he plans on drafting nearly one thousand native horses into his non-sanctioned race, Morgan sought tactical and equestrian assistance from an unlikely source, the international charity, Mercy Corps.

Operating in more than a hundred countries, with offices in Scotland and Mongolia, the wealthy charity agreed to accept a guaranteed £25,000 in donations from Morgan’s riders in exchange for providing the tour operator with access to twenty-five Mongolian herder families and their horses.

“Mercy Corps are delighted to be a part of the first ever Mongol Derby,” said Jennifer Adams, the Event Development Coordinator at Mercy Corps, European Headquarters in Edinburgh, Scotland. When asked if this partnership of participation meant that Mercy Corps was in the horse racing business, Adams answered, “I guess you could say that.”

During an eight month investigation into the race, Long Riders in New Zealand, Canada, Switzerland, Great Britain, Mongolia and the United States confirmed that neither the Mongolian government, nor the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the international body assigned to protect endurance racing from exploitation, was involved in organizing the race.

“This is going to be all about the endurance of the rider, as opposed to the horse,” said a spokesperson for Morgan’s company.

Contestants are riding straight into danger.

“They’re providing us with these yellow brick trackers, so we can activate the emergency beacon if our horse is injured and we can’t walk it in,” one rider said. “The only other time you’re supposed to activate the beacon is if you feel your life is in immediate danger. There’s only one emergency medical helicopter in all of Mongolia.”

Food and water will also be an obstacle during the so-called Mongol Derby.

“We’re still looking into the food options,” the naïve young contestant told the press. “They’re going to give us GPS locations to the wells, where we’ll be able to get water, and they don’t guarantee that the wells will have water. They want us to be careful because there are packs of wild dogs that surround those wells.”

When it was learned that Morgan’s race appears to violate the three primary principles of endurance racing, namely no commercial exploitation of the horse, a marked route and confirmed sources of water, the world’s largest coalition of riders, explorers and editors launched an international petition asking the Mongolian president to halt the race and urging Princess Haya, President of the FEI, to ban the competitors for life.

Additionally, Britain’s Minister for the Horse, Jim Fitzpatrick, has been urged to scrutinize Morgan’s non-sanctioned race, and the Charity Commissions in England and Scotland received a complaint asking them to investigate the possibility that Mercy Corps participated in unacceptable behaviour.

Regardless of what happens out on the steppe in August, it is already plain to see that thousands of horse riders, equestrian explorers and endurance riders have banded together in an unprecedented act of solidarity designed to halt Morgan’s spectacle.

For more information about the race, and to sign the petition, please visit the Long Riders’ Guild Mongol Investigation & Petition
www.thelongridersguild.com/mongolia.htm <http://www.thelongridersguild.com/mongolia.htm>

The World Ride and Equine DNA Search

A Mounted Search for Scientific Truth:

In addition to being the first global equestrian journey, the World Ride will inspire the largest equine DNA search in history.

Working with leading equine hereditary specialists, Basha O’Reilly will be collecting hair samples from the breeds encountered on the World Ride. An international appeal is also being broadcast to horse-owners world wide, so as to include their animals from continents not on the journey’s route. The goal is to construct the first uninterrupted equine DNA chain, thanks to an unprecedented international alliance of equestrian, cultural and scientific co-operation.

The creation of the world’s first equine DNA chain brings staggering possibilities, including unravelling the origins of the horse.

Though the horse has lived alongside mankind for millennia, many of his mysteries are still unresolved, and because of a lack of modern academic evidence, equestrian concepts often end up being argued with more passion than proof. The global equine DNA project will offer a host of new answers in fields ranging from archaeology to zoology.

Breeds for which we have DNA hair samples – 29
Appaloosa, BLM Mustang, Brumby, Buz-kasi, Camargue, Cossack Working Horse, Criollo, Exmoor, Fell Pony,  Fjord,  French Trotter, Jackmabadi, Kazakh, Lusitano, Marwari, Mongolian, Mule, Noriker, Paso Fino, Pinto, Poitou Donkey, Quarter Horse, Sable Cream Dun, Shetland, Spanish Barb, Tennessee Walking Horse, Thoroughbred, Waziri, Welsh Pony (Section A)
Breeds for which samples are definitely in transit – 5
American Paint Horse, Missouri Foxtrotter, Rocky Mountain Horse, Mountain Pleasure Horse, Kentucky Mountain Horse
Breeds for which samples have been promised – 26
Azteca, Curly Mustang, Saddlebred, Silver Paint, Welsh Cob, Dartmoor, Peruvian Paso, Caspian, Kurd, Turkoman, Arab (from Arabia), Spanish Mustang, Manga Larga, Marsh Tacky.

To learn more about the world wide equine DNA collection project go to:http://www.theworldride.org/science.htm A submission form is available at the site for download.