Horse & Hound – 08 August 2019

6 Horse& Hound8 August 2019

Pictures

by

Hamish

Mitchell

NEWSInsider

THEshowingworldhas

welcomedthenewsthataction

couldbetakenoncompetitors

whotravelponiesexcessively

whilechasingqualifyingplaces.

TheNationalPonySociety

(NPS)issueda warningtoanyone

whosetravellingtoshowscouldbe

tothedetrimentofequinewelfare.

“Thisis a warninganda

reminder,butsomethingwedon’t

wanttoseebecominga trend,”an

NPSspokesmantoldH&H.

“Mostpeoplearesensible,but

oneortwoneeda reminder.”

Thespokesmansaidthe

societywas“unofficially”awareof

people,mainlychasingHorseof

theYearShow(HOYS)qualifiers,

travellinglongdistances,

sometimeswithoutrestdays.

“Wefeltweneededtoremind

peopletomakesurethey’retaking

welfareintoaccount,”sheadded.

“Ifwehadevidencesomeone

wasfelttobetravellinga ponyto

thedetrimentofitswelfare,we

wouldlookattakingaction.”

Sanctionscouldinclude

suspensionorrestricting

someone’sabilitytocompete.

“We’rejustonesocietybut

societiesarecomingtogether

andworkingwiththeShowing

Council,soit’ssomethingwecan

bringup,”thespokesmansaid.

“WeworkcloselywithHOYS

soif wehadanissue,we’dbringit

upwiththem.”

Manyintheshowingworld

praisedtheNPSforitsstance.

JudgeBrianWilliams,who

ridesnatives,toldH&H: “Iagree;

travellinglongdistance,especially

insummer,isn’tgood.

“If you’re desperate to get to

Asocietyhastoldcompetitorsit maytakeactionif excess

travel is thought to be having a negativeeffectonequines

HOYS,there’sCheshire,theRoyal

HighlandandLincolnshowsall

withina week.I tookdifferent

poniesbutsomepeopledothem

all,sometimestwoclassesateach.”

Briansaidanissueis that

qualifiersare“bunchedup”in

a shorttimeframe,andshows’

locationscanposea challenge.

“Mynearestqualifieris about

threehoursaway,”hesaid.“Idid

qualify,atNPSArea25,luckily,

butit wasa four-dayscenarioand

if I hadn’t,I’dhavelefta longer

gapbeforeI triedagain.

“Somepeopledogofromone

toanotherwhichisn’tfaironthe

ponies.Peopleneedtofollow

NPSguidelinesontravelling,but

I thinkclassesneedtobespread

more,geographicallyandintime.”

WorldHorseWelfareCEO

Roly Owers said ponies’ welfare

mustalwayscomefirst.

“Cartingit upanddownthe

countrychasingqualificationis

certainlynotthat,”hetoldH&H.

“Awin-at-all-costsmentality

canalsobeviewedasa qualify-

at-all-costsmentality,andthis

is unacceptable.Transportis

stressfulforthevastmajority

ofhorsesandlongjourneysare

especiallytiring.Dehydrationis

a keyrisk,evenonmilddays,so

ownersneedtobeextravigilant

whentransportingintheheat,or

withoverweightponieswhoare

morelikelytoproducemoreheat

andsweatmore.

“Hightemperaturesalso

increaserisksassociatedwith

travelling.Isit faironyourhorse

totravelthemonthehottest

dayoftheyeartoa qualifieror

competition,especiallywhenyou

mightgetstuckintraffic?”

HOYSorganiserGrandstand

was unavailable for comment.

ByELEANORJONES

Welfare warning as

owners chase tickets

US law on soring takes step forward

THEwalkinghorsesofTennessee

area stepclosertoenjoying

enhancedprotectionastheUS

governmentvotedinfavourofa

legislationamendment.

MembersoftheHouseof

Representativesvoted 333 to 96

infavouroftheUSsenatorJoseph

DTydingsmemorialPreventAll

SoringTactics(PAST)Act.

Thebillis namedafterthelate

Maryland senator who saw the

1970 HorseProtectionAct,which

thePASTActwouldamend,

throughCongress.

Itsaimis toendthepractice

ofinjuringthehoovesandlegs

ofTennesseeWalkingHorsesto

producethehigh-stepping“big

lick”gait.AccordingtotheAnimal

WelfareInstitute(AWI),it is the

“mostsignificantprotectionsfor

TennesseeWalkingHorsesand

related breeds since passage of the

HorseProtectionAct”.

Underthecurrentsystemof

industryself-policing,thosewho

abusehorsesoftengounpunished,

butit is hopedtheamendment,

withitstougherpunishmentsand

banningincentivestosorehorses,

willhelpstopthepractice.

Thebillmustnowbepassed

bytheSenate,andapprovedby

presidentDonaldTrump, before it

becomes law.EJ

IN BRIEF

FORMERJOCKEYS

BACKONBOARD

TENtopformerjockeysare

toreturntothesaddlenext

month,inthePatSmullen

ChampionsRaceforCancer

TrialsIreland.

APMcCoy,RubyWalsh,

KierenFallon,Johnny

Murtagh,RichardHughes,

CharlieSwan,JosephO’Brien,

TedDurcanandPaulCarberry

willjoinPatattheCurragh

RacecourseonSaturday,

15 September,duringthe

LonginesIrishChampions

weekend.

Pat,whoretiredfrom

racingonmedicalgroundsin

May,afterfinishingtreatment

forpancreaticcancer,said:

“Thesefellasareheroesto

somanyandI amhumbled

bythewaytheyhave,without

anyhesitation,thrown

themselvesintothisproject

andaresupportingthisrace.”

POINTINGFIXTURE

ENDSASLANDSOLD

THEAtherstonewillnotbe

holdingitspoint-to-point

inthe2019/20seasonas

thecourseatClifton-on-

Dunsmorehasbeensold.

Thehuntwillremain

affiliatedtothesport’s

Midlandsareaandwill

continuetoissuehunter

certificates.

Thefinalmeetingatthe

Warwickshirecoursewas

heldinDecember2018,

withwinnersincludingthe

pointingandhunterchasing

starRoadToRome,riddenby

TommieO’Brien.

ThePytchleywillholda

jointmembers’raceat its

meetingin2020.

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Actioncouldbetaken

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