In the increasingly bizarre world of FEI press releases, this week we were told about a ground-breaking (pun intended, of course) footing study. Never one to shy away from self-aggrandizing, the FEI yodels across the top of its announcement that the ‘world’s most extensive equine surfaces study’ has been published. I recently mentioned the word ‘timing’ in regard to the FEI’s choice of moments to announce various achievements, and this one ranks right near the top of my ‘is this really the right time?’ list.
Here is the first sentence of the announcement: ‘The world’s most extensive study into the effect of arena surfaces on the orthopaedic health of sport horses in the seven FEI disciplines and in racing has been published by the FEI.’ Oh really? Since when did Endurance horses run around in circles on arena footing? I wonder if the orthopaedic health of all seven FEI disciplines was addressed through an intense scrutiny of desert sand.
I would like to clarify that I am in no way criticizing the dedication, expertise and hard work of those who participated in the research. I have no doubt whatsoever that the study will result in improvements of real value to ARENA footing. Unfortunately, the claim that equine athletes in all FEI disciplines will benefit, right in the very first sentence, turns my half empty glass of milk sour. And let’s cut right to the chase. Right now there really is only one FEI discipline the FEI should be concerning itself with improving. The horses competing in Lyon this week at the World Cup Final are all jumping and dancing around on the best footing the equestrian world has ever seen. On the other hand, I have heard from a reliable but unconfirmed source that there were nine fractures at a recent FEI Endurance race in the sandy region of the world. Yes, nine.
If it was so urgent to announce to the world that this footing study had been published – and presumably there was a need for the press release since a presentation on the study is the first item on the roster at the Sport Forum in ten days – why would the FEI choose to claim it benefits all seven disciplines? Why call attention, especially with the likes of me forever trolling for blog fodder, to the fallacy of making such a statement? All it takes is one little nugget of bunny doo to make an entire basket of chocolate eggs stink.
Happy Easter.
