Derby de Mongolie: massacre annoncé de ces petits chevaux

Je viens de recevoir un mailing de Linda Tellington Jones, grande spécialiste des chevaux, qui relaie le courrier adressé au Président de Mongolie et une pétition internationale .

Ce courrier étant en anglais, j'ai trouvé un site ( http://hyppoblog.blogscheval.net/archive/2009/07/27/fei-mongolie.html ) qui résume bien le scandale de décisions purement politique et financières au détriment des animaux:
"Dans un très très très long mail intitulé An alarming alliance (Une alliance alarmante, en français moderne), « The Long Riders' Guild », sorte de manifeste éthique des randonneurs de longue haleine, si je puis traduire ainsi, dénonce un scandale planétaire lié au « Derby de Mongolie ». Pour rester concis, ce qui ne va pas être simple comme vous le constaterez, il s’agit d’un raid de mille kilomètres, à parcourir cet été par vingt-cinq cavaliers sur huit cents « petits chevaux » locaux. Oui, j’ai bien relu la phrase précédente. La course est organisée par un voyagiste anglais, Tom Morgan. Or, d’après un cavalier d’endurance canadien, Bonnie Folkins, les organisateurs d’une course traditionnelle mongole, la « Nadaam », en ont cet hiver réduit la distance de « plusieurs miles », vu qu’ils comptaient déjà dix-huit morts parmi les chevaux – montés, de surcroît, par des « enfants de 10 ans », qui pèsent donc trente fois moins lourd qu’un adulte après deux semaines de vacances dans un fast-food du Texas. Aussi, sous l’impulsion de l'entraîneuse (en Français on a le droit) équestre Linda Tellington-Jones, qui a immédiatement condamné l'événement, une pétition a commencé à circuler, et depuis tous les Américains de la Tevis Cup portent un brassard orange en signe de solidarité – « avec les chevaux de Mongolie ». L’histoire pourrait s’arrêter là, mais non. Parce que, et là je vais commencer à utiliser les conditionnels de circonstance, Ian Williams, responsable de l’endurance au sein de la FEI, après deux mois de silence malgré les condamnations unanimes, devait se rendre, vendredi dernier, chez M. Morgan, l’organisateur du fameux Derby donc, pour établir les conditions d’un « appui financier » (salaires, dépenses diverses et billets d’avion pour les vétérinaires) – sachant que chacun des 25 cavaliers paye par ailleurs environ cinq mille euros d’inscription. Et tout ceci en vertu d’une raison simple, pour la fédération internationale le « Derby de Mongolie » reste une course d’endurance. Réponse immédiate de la « Long Riders' Guild » : « la FEI ne peut pas s'engager dans une course qui viole la règle principale de l’endurance qui est de ne pas excéder 160Km ». D’autant que la Mongolie n’aurait pas acquitté son « dû » annuel à la FEI. Ça fait beaucoup pour un pays totalement annexé par la République au plus fort taux de croissance du Monde… Que nenni, aurait répondu M. Williams, toujours jovial. Non seulement la FEI reste sur ses positions, soutenue de toute son aura par sa Présidente la Princesse Haya, mais en plus le « gouvernement des États Arabes Unis » la soutient dans cette initiative, en effectuant pour elle l’indispensable travail diplomatique préliminaire avec les acteurs locaux. Là, je m’interroge. Que viennent faire les EAU dans cette histoire – hormis, bien entendu, lier une amitié sincère et virile avec les autorités chinoises, pardon, mongoles ? Et quel est le rôle, dans ce cas de figure, de Sheikh Al-Maktoum qui, champion international d’élevage, organisateur à Dubaï de « la course de chevaux la plus lucrative du monde », et accessoirement marié à la toujours charmante Princesse Haya, aurait « contribué à la fabrication de l'offre de Tom Morgan » ? Auquel cas, comme le souligne la « Guild », un problème épineux se pose : en agissant ainsi, la FEI octroie à des acteurs extérieurs le droit d’organiser de vraies course d’endurance, au mépris des lois qui gouvernent une discipline longtemps décriée pour sa brutalité. Des acteurs extérieurs peu respectueux des sanctions prises officiellement à leur encontre, notamment pour des affaires de dopage, et dont le but serait de tenir les rênes de l’équitation mondiale – toutes disciplines confondues. Une sorte d’OPA globale, donc. Très pratique, par exemple, pour exister auprès des 42 milliardaires chinois recensés l’année dernière. Un dernier détail avant de prendre un cachet d’aspirine (détail qui émane d'un journaliste américain...) : le règlement FEI, dont la mission reste de coordonner les fédérations nationales qui la composent afin d’ouvrir l’équitation au plus grand nombre, stipule qu’un vote positif de deux tiers de ses membres autorise sa dissolution."

pour la pétition: http://www.voicesforhorses.co.uk/surveys/survey_18_Petition-to-halt-the-World%27s-largest-Outlaw-Endurance-Race.html


Dear TTouch Friend,

I have become involved with the Long Rider's Guild to gather support to stop a 1000 kilometer race in Mongolia. Even if you are not a horse person, please read this press release and consider speaking out for the spirit of these hardy Mongolian horses and help prevent this race from taking place August 22.

This week this press release and the following letter from Kate Riordan will be presented to the new president of Mongolia and we are hoping to appeal to his good sense to prevent the negative publicity that will happen if horses and riders are killed or injured. Join me in signing the petition and lets hold the intention together to protect these horses.

Aloha and Blessings, Linda



Press Release from the Long Riders' Guild

An Alarming Alliance
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 organization 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.

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 Organizing 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.

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



Letter from Kate Riordan to President Elbegdorj

26 July 2009
President Elbegdorj
Mongolia

Dear President Elbegdorj,

Thank you for the opportunity to allow me to address you with regard to the proposed Mongol Derby.

I have been involved with the sport of endurance and long distance riding for over 40 years. For 20 years I have been on the Board of Governors for the Tevis Ride, the oldest organized endurance ride in the world (started in 1955) which traverses 100 miles in the rugged Sierra Nevada mountains.

Over these years the sport of endurance riding has allowed us to scientifically understand the physical requirements of the horse that is ridden long distances, carrying weight, and traveling at speed. The horse that is unprepared for this sport is in peril of dying.

And that is my fear.

This event is being administered by people who want drama and exploitation in their Derby, at the cost of your country's reputation and at the cost of the lives of these horses. They are NOT horse people, and the welfare of these animals is not of concern to them, nor is it of concern to them the welfare of the riders — it is very possible that these contestants will sustain serious injuries or even death.

Many of these horses, who are in a weakened condition already because of the perils of the past winter, will suffer and predictably die from this event. They are not of the size necessary to carry European and American riders. They are not conditioned physically to endure these distances. They are not prepared nutritionally. The riders are not qualified to enter this ride (to enter the Tevis, the rider must have ridden 300 competitive miles). The horses will undoubtedly die or suffer from conditions that they will never recover from.

Please do not allow this event to happen. You have all the power to cancel this Mongol Derby. Please use it.

Thousands of horse people around the world, including those who have visited your country and have brought tourists there, are anxiously awaiting your decision. Your country's best interest is at stake.

We must all make decisions in life, based on what we think is the right thing to do. Buddha thought of animals as sentient beings, capable of feeling suffering, and having the potential to becoming enlightened. One cannot, therefore, make a hard distinction between moral rules applicable to animals and those applicable to humans; ultimately humans and animals are all interconnected.

Please, dear President Elbegdorj, do not allow this Mongol Derby to put Mongolia and its people in a negative light, and do not allow these Derby administrators to kill or harm these wonderful horses by staging this event.

With sincere best regards,

Kate Riordan

décidément je ne comprendrai jamais les hommes ....
signé et transféré...

Je suis dégoûtée ! J'ai signé bien entendu... Ces admirables petits chevaux mongols ne méritent pas d'être sacrifiés pour le profit de quelques ignobles gros-pleins-de-fric !