Horse news: briefs

ABOVE: A rally will be held in Melbourne to voice welfare concerns over Brumby culling. Picture: FELICITY CLAY

SUPPORTERS for the protection of heritage Brumbies will stage a rally on the steps of Parliament House in Melbourne tomorrow, Wednesday June 8, at 1pm.

The “Stop the war on Brumbies” event has been organised by the Brumby Action Group in response to growing concern over government methods of controlling the population.

Shadow Minister for Environment James Newbury, National party leader Peter Walsh and MPs Wendy Lovell and Beverley McArthur will speak to Brumby supporters.

Brumby Group representatives from Victoria and New South Wales will also address the rally.

For more information go to the Brumby Action Group’s Facebook page.

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Victoria has lost another great lady, with the death of Barbara Ivill age 89.

Many people in the racing and showjumping world know the Ivill family, especially in Victoria. An amazing woman, she was involved in the show world for decades, originally as a very talented rider herself but then as mother of John , a prominent show jumping rider.

The family was involved in breeding, breaking, training and preparing racehorses at their Little Plains Stud at Laceby near Wangaratta. Her granddaughter Grace is competing with success in the showjumping world.

Barbara's funeral will be 11am on Wednesday June 15, 2022, at the Wangaratta Turf Club. It will be live-streamed. For the link, please contact Mason Park Funerals Wangaratta (03) 5721 5060 or via masonpark.com.au

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Two New Zealand eventing teams are heading to Australia this week to ride in the Trans-Tasman clash at the Oceania Championships being run in conjunction with the Melbourne International Three-Day Event.

It was last won by the Aussies three years in Taupo, and the kiwis want to take the title back home.

The senior team is Christen Lane, Donna Edwards-Smith, Matthew Grayling and Monica Spencer. The all-girl young rider team is Charlotte Treneary, Charlotte Penny, Mackenzie Marlo and Brittany Fowler.

The senior team chef d’equipe, Blyth Tait, is well known to Australians and has competed at four Olympics and has won four medals, one of only four New Zealanders to do so.

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A three-member International Equestrian Federation (FEI) tribunal panel has dismissed an appeal from the Federation of Equestrian Sports of Russia against the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes, horses and officials at FEI events.

The FEI announced on March 2 that both countries would be unable to participate in its events until further notice, effective from March 6.

This followed the widely condemned invasion of Ukraine, which has led to Russia and Belarus being largely frozen out of international sport.

Russia has pursued legal routes in an attempt to overturn sanctions imposed by several International Federations. The overturning of an International Luge Federation ban on its athletes, coaches and officials by the FIL Court of Arbitration currently represents a rare victory.

This decision was referenced by the Russian equestrian federation in making its case to the FEI Tribunal panel. It said there was “no evidence of a war in Ukraine”.

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Dressage NSW Inc and Equestrian NSW have provided an interesting educational opportunity for all coaches, judges, riders and members.

FEI judge Katrina Wuest, of Germany, was instrumental in developing the children tests which evaluate both the quality and the technical criteria of the test.

The aim is to place more emphasis on the quality of the riding and less emphasis on the quality of the horse helping to remove the financial aspect of having to purchase a good horse in order for a child to be in the ribbons.

People can watch Ms Wuest work with our Australian combinations in a masterclass following the 2022 Sydney CDI.

The Dressage NSW website will be releasing a video of each level every couple of days.

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The Queensland Off-The-Track Program has announced new support for not-for-profit organisations and charities that provide a lifelong safety net for retired racehorses across the state.

Grants will be available to support not-for-profit organisations and charities that provide equine rehabilitation services for retired racehorses that have previously transitioned from the racing industry into the domestic horse community.

The grants support retired racehorses that have become vulnerable or at risk at later stages of their lives and require veterinary treatment and/or professional retraining services to assist with their placement into suitable, long-term homes.

The program will also support not-for-profit organisations and charities that utilise retired racehorses as therapy aids to provide professional therapy or rehabilitation programs to community groups or individual persons.

It will complement the various aftercare initiatives the QOTT program has introduced over the past 12 months, including the Subsidised Lessons Program, Acknowledged Retrainers Program and Event Sponsorship Program to help improve the long-term wellbeing of retired racehorses in Queensland.

Applications from eligible organisations are now open, and close at 2pm Friday, June 17.

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