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Thank you to all those who attended our Equestrian Social at the Tinicum Park Polo Club in Erwinna, PA which we co-hosted with Bucks County Equestrian. Although I was pre-occupied with hostess duties and chatting with our guests, I was able to catch glimses of the exciting polo game unfolding before us. The weather was glorious which just added to the overall enjoyment of the day.
This was the first year we decided to hold a Social in Bucks County. For the last 2 years we have hosted them in the Lehigh Valley so we were pleased to expand this concept to include a county rich in equestrian tradition.
Cindy Stys Equestrian & Country Properties, Ltd
The Premier Equine Realty Firm Serving Eastern PA
Horses ridden by 4 competitors in the team competition tested positive for Capsaicin which “is classified as a« doping » prohibited substance given its hypersensitizing properties, and as a « medication class A » prohibited substance for its pain relieving properties.” according to the FEI’s website. These riders are from Germany, Ireland, Norway (bronze team medal winner) and Brazil and have been temporarily suspended by the FEI which excluded them from the individual show jumping final. Apparently this substance has been difficult to detect until only recently and the laboratory in Hong Kong is reported as being very “cutting edge”. It’s hard to imagine how riders, their vets and coaches would want to jeopardize their careers especially at an event like the Olympics where everyone is under the microscope! And even worse to risk the welfare of the horses. Both Germany & Ireland were stripped of their medals in 2004 because
of positive drug testing. What on earth were they thinking????? HELLO – is anybody home? Jeez! It’s quite possible that Norway which won the bronze medal could end up losing it which means the Swiss (my husband’s country) will get the bronze. Not such a thrill once the Games are over. At least the tests for dressage and eventing horses have all come up with negative results.
Okay I will stop my ranting on this topic for now. Just glad the FEI has been taking a very tough stance on doping in general as it rightfully so should be doing!
Will keep you posted on how this shakes out.
Cindy
Cindy Stys Equestrian & Country Properties, Ltd.
The Premier Equine Realty Firm Serving Easter PA
I can’t help but feel melancholy since the four year build-up and all the preparation which goes into each Olympic Games has concluded. It’s always exciting to be involved with a sport which has been one of the original sports in the modern day Olympics. It is horse sport’s most coveted competition. Let’s hope it remains in the Olympics for a long, long time. The FEI has been very proactive especially lately under the leadership of President HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein in amending its rules to include the participation of more countries (e.g. trimming the dressage team down from 4 to 3 riders) to satisfy the International Olympic Committee’s requirement of allowing the inclusion of as many nations as possible.
It was a great Olympics for our show jumping team winning the team gold and individual bronze. Eventing’s disappointment of not winning a team medal was sweetened by Gina Miles clenching of the individual silver. This was the first Olympics since 1988 (Seoul) that the US dressage team comes home without the bronze. In fact we were out of the medals completely in dressage. There is a lot of controversy about the judges awarding Isabelle Werth (GER) the silver medal despite her horse’s notably disobedient behavior during the test.
The year directly following the Olympic year is a rather barren one allowing for some down time and also preparation for the World Equestrian Games which occurs a year later. The only major championship will be the World Cup Finals. The 2010 Kentucky World Equestrian Games will be here before you know it. The US will get to showcase its first major world championship in horse sport. Something definitely to look forward to! All the past WEGs have been hosted by European countries.
Best,
Cindy
Cindy Stys Equestrian & Country Properties, Ltd
The Premier Equine Realty Firm Serving Eastern PA
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