Hundreds of horses hit Henty

THE first horse event in regional NSW since the outbreak of equine influenza last August went off without a hitch at Henty at the weekend.
Horses as far as the eye could see lined the football oval to compete in equestrian events at the 104th Henty Show and the owners couldn’t have been more pleased.The Lavelle family, of Temora, had been locked down in the red zone since before Christmas.“Our horses have been through the vaccination program and it’s great to have them back out competing again,” Gary Lavelle said.“It’s like a big horse fraternity here as people have been catching up with one another from all over the district.”Although there were no quarantine measures in place, horse owners were required to carry their travelling horse statement issued by the NSW DPI.A vet was also on stand-by should an outbreak have occurred.But Mr Lavelle had no hesitations about taking his three horses to the event.“If there’s one thing that the equine influenza outbreak has done, it’s made horse owners more aware of things,” he said.
“If an owner’s horse has even the slightest sniffle than they are going to keep their horse away from the event and other horses.”
Thurgoona’s Debbie Dowell also didn’t think twice about letting her horse compete on Saturday.
“I am completely confident the horse flu situation is under control now,” she said.
“Everyone has been conscious about the equine influenza rules and everyone is just so glad to be back competing again.”
Show secretary Lorri Roden said they had been flooded with horse entries from places as far as Bega, Nowra and Canberra.
“We took 250 entries, that’s about triple the usual amount of entries we get here,” she said.
“We had one dedicated woman, 83, who brought her horses all the way from Perisher Valley.”

Fear of bankruptcy forces Heath Ryan to rethink Games

OLYMPIAN Heath Ryan is likely to forsake the chance to compete at the August Beijing Olympics - for fear of going bankrupt.

His decision is clear: Either he salvages his coaching, breeding and equine trading business, devastated by the horse flu epidemic, or he competes in the Games.
"I should be on top of the world and heading to the Olympics, but reality says I am facing a financial crisis that will prevent that," Ryan said.
Ryan has been involved in eventing as an Olympic team coach and a professional rider for many years. He saw Beijing as a highlight, as he would create history by performing in both the dressage and three-day team events.
But he concedes that if the team's preparation, which has been devastated by EI, requires him to go to the Northern Hemisphere in March, he will have to make the hardest decision of his riding career.
"If the selectors demand we go north, I wouldn't be able to go. I would go under financially," he said.
"I am a coach and earn about $120,000 a year from that, but because of EI I didn't earn a cent. I am a breeder. The annual income from that is about $600,000, but you can forget all of that, too. I sell horses, but I can't earn income from that either because the horses can't leave the property.
"So you work it out. It's either save my property and business or go to the Olympics," he said.
Ryan is the No. 1 dressage rider in the nation and also would make the three-day event team - something that has never been done.
"It has taken an entire lifetime to get here, but I may not be going to the Olympics. I have been severely sabotaged. We are getting slaughtered in so many ways," Ryan said of the EI impact on non-racing people.
"If the government does not provide financial help there will be an almighty crash in the horse industry, the third- largest in the nation.
"There are people losing their homes, their properties, their businesses.
"The government has provided $200 million, most of which has gone to the thoroughbred industry.
"Yet the majority of horse people cannot get a cent.
"It is un-Australian.
"It has been a case of the government looking after the fat cats and walking all over the top of the little Aussie battler.
"The people who are going down in this catastrophe are the backbone of the horse industry, but they don't have a public profile.
"The ramifications will be horrendous. I think we are heading towards a national crisis which is yet to be considered by the government.
"I have seen specific cases of people losing everything.
"It's about time the government listened to the silent majority and stopped thinking that only thoroughbred racing has suffered at the hands of EI," Ryan said.
20th Jan 2008.

British athletes fuming over Olympic gag order

BRITISH Olympic chiefs will force athletes to sign a contract promising not to speak out about China's appalling human-rights record - or face being banned from travelling to Beijing.

The move, which raises the spectre of the order given to the England football team to give a Nazi salute in Berlin in 1938, immediately provoked a storm of protest.
The controversial clause has been inserted into athletes' contracts for the first time and forbids them from making any political comment about countries staging the Olympic Games.
Most other countries, including Australia, will not order their competitors to keep quiet but will urge them to concentrate on their sport rather than get embroiled in political arguments.
To date, only Britain, New Zealand and Belgium have banned their athletes from giving political opinions while competing at the Games.
From the moment British athletes, likely to include the Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips and Paula Radcliffe, sign up they will be gagged from commenting on China's politics, human-rights abuses or illegal occupation of Tibet.
Prince Charles has already let it be known that he will not go to China, even if he is invited by Games organisers. The Prince is also a long-time supporter of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader.
Yesterday, the British Olympic Association (BOA) confirmed that any athlete who refuses to sign the agreements will not be allowed to travel to Beijing.
Should a competitor agree to the clause, then speak their mind about China, they will be put on the next plane home.
The clause, in section 4 of the contract, simply states: "(Athletes) are not to comment on any politically sensitive issues." It then refers competitors to Section 51 of the International Olympic Committee charter, which "provides for no kind of demonstration, or political, religious or racial propaganda in the Olympic sites, venues or other areas".
BOA chief executive Simon Clegg said: "There are all sorts of organisations who would like athletes to use the Olympic Games as a vehicle to publicise their causes. As a team we are ambassadors of the country and we have to conform to an appropriate code of conduct."
However, human rights campaigner Lord David Alton condemned the move as "making a mockery" of the right to free speech.
Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said: "What we will be saying to the athletes is that it's best to concentrate on your competitions. But they're entitled to have their opinions and express them. They're free to speak."

Hearse overtuns as funeral horses stampede

A hearse overturned when the horses pulling it to a south London cemetery stampeded, dragging the carriage and coffin past appalled relatives and sending floral tributes flying.
"It was dreadful," a mourner told the South London Press. "The horses dragged the carriage to the cemetery on its side, tossing the coffin all over the place and destroying all the flowers inside.
"Some people got very angry and had to be restrained by other mourners... it is understandable given the circumstances. I'm horrified that something like this could happen."
Police were called to calm angry mourners so that the funeral last month could go ahead.
The carriage appeared to have clipped a mini-roundabout as it entered Lambeth Cemetery for the funeral, the local council which administers the graveyard said today.

Govt extends national EI assistance

The federal government has extended assistance to people affected by equine influenza (EI) horse movement restrictions.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister Tony Burke extended the package to March 14 or until movement restrictions were lifted.
He said many businesses and individuals still facing hardship due to the continuing standstill.
"After consulting with horse industry stakeholders, I have decided to extend the Equine Workers Hardship Wage Supplement Payment, the Business Assistance Grant and the Commercial Horse Assistance Payment," Mr Burke said in a statement.
Mr Burke said the package had gone a long way to reducing the overall impact since the outbreak occurred in August last year.
"I am sure the decision to extend this assistance will be welcomed by people doing business in the areas affected by the continued movement restrictions."
An inquiry into the outbreak, that began in August last year, is being conducted by retired High Court judge Ian Callinan.
The first case of EI in Australia was detected at Sydney's Eastern Creek quarantine facility on August 23 in a thoroughbred stallion which had travelled from the northern hemisphere and was awaiting release.
The outbreak, which brought horse racing to a halt in NSW and Queensland, is estimated to have cost the industry more than $500 million.

Staffing crisis threatens Victorian racing

Racing in Victoria is facing a major staffing crisis that poses a greater long-term threat than the equine influenza virus and is undermining the future of the sport, according to leading trainers Colin Little and Ian Hutchins.
Hutchins believes if the numbers of grooms and track riders continue to fall then the amount of races staged will have to be cut. Meanwhile, Little has criticised Racing Victoria for failing to properly promote jobs in racing and to provide adequate training for those who do choose a career on the track.
Hutchins, the leading trainer in Gippsland, is considering drastically cutting the number of horses in his stable because of recruitment problems and believes the current level of racing in Victoria cannot be sustained without a drive for new workers.
"It's impossible to get competent staff to get the horses exercised every morning - the people just don't seem to exist," he told The Sunday Age. "I'm weighing up if I can carry on with the 30 to 35 horses I have in my care - or cut the numbers in half. And that's because of the difficulty in finding staff.
"I believe lots of workers quit when the EI crisis hit and have found other jobs that don't start so early. They may never come back to the sport.
"Racing Victoria has increased the fixture list so there's racing seven days a week and on nights and it's making the job for stable staff far more demanding.
"It's the trainers and the staff that are putting on the show all the time but we need a real helping hand from Racing Victoria otherwise I don't think things will be able to go on as they are."
Racing Victoria will next week announce new measures, in conjunction with Racing Minister and deputy Premier Rob Hulls, to address staffing recruitment and retention.
Little, who trains Cox Plate winner El Segundo, called for more investment in the industry.
"There needs to be a real push from Racing Victoria to pull people into the sport. There have been sporadic efforts in the past but these have petered out.
"To safeguard the future of the sport a lot of money needs to be found for promotion and training of staff," Little said.
The lack of track riders is particularly acute. England, Ireland and the US have also faced shortages, but have been able to rely on migrant labour to keep the sport running.Karen Bromham, who specialises in finding foreign workers for the racing industry, told of the unique situation in which Australia finds itself.

NSW Hot-Spots Cleared To Join EI-Free Zone

NSW Minister For Primary Industries Ian Macdonald announced several areas "previously known as Equine Influenza hot spots have been given a clean bill of health for the contagious horse flu". He confirmed: "Exhaustive testing has failed to identify horse flu at Armidale, Narrabri, Gunnedah, Dubbo, Wellington, Parkes, Forbes & Grenfell. I am pleased to say this means these areas have joined the other 91% of NSW considered EI-free & are now part of the White Zone, previously known as the protected area Green Zone. At the height of the outbreak hundreds of horse properties in these areas were quarantined. Now the gates are open & they are free to move, provided they have a Travelling Horses Statement. Horses within the White Zone can be moved over state borders more easily following the down-grading of the Green Zone to the same level of risk as interstate EI-free areas." Macdonald also noted: "In another significant move, all of the Red Zone north of the Hawkesbury River has been down-graded to Amber, with a small area south of the Hawkesbury (near Wollongong & Camden) & the Blue Mountains remaining in the Red Zone while more testing is undertaken."

ACT officially horse flu free

Chief Minister Jon Stanhope today declared the Territory a white zone.
Movement restrictions within white zones are the same as those for green zones but the revised status makes it easier to move horses between the ACT and Queensland and New South Wales, which have also been declared free of the disease.
Mr Stanhope urged horse owners to remain vigilant to prevent any recurrence of equine influenza.

Horse flu battle almost won

MARK COLVIN: The battle against horse flu in Australia appears to be almost won.
95 per cent of New South Wales is now free of the equine influenza which crippled the racing industry for months.
And today is the cut-off for any applications for funding assistance.
Millions have been paid out but racing organisations are asking for an extension.
Lindy Kerin reports.

LINDY KERIN: After months of cancelled races, millions of dollars in lost revenue there's finally some good news for the horse industry.
Today another eight regions in New South Wales have been given a clean bill of health and declared free of equine influenza.
The New South Wales Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald says that leaves just 5 per cent of the state affected by horse flue.
IAN MACDONALD: They've now been cleared through testing and added to our percentage of the state that is now completely EI free which is probably in the order of around 95 per cent of the state.
LINDY KERIN: It's welcome news for residents in the central west town of Wellington.
Horse flu restrictions had threatened next month's Wellington Boot Race Carnival - an event that attracts people from around the country
The Secretary of the Wellington Race Club Ian Giffin says the race meet can now go ahead after restrictions have been lifted.
IAN GIFFIN: It's fantastic news, also for the community, I've just been in with the tourism officer doing some work on a brochure to be sent out for The Wellington Boot and she tells me that the Boot is worth a million dollars for the Wellington district.
(Sound of phone dialling)
RECORDED INFORMATION: Welcome to the equine influenza information line.
LINDY KERIN: The equine influenza hotline will continue for some time but the deadline for assistance from the Federal Government officially ends today.
Brian Judd is the acting CEO of Racing NSW.
BRIAN JUDD: In a time of crisis the Federal government's various assistance grants have been a tremendous help. They were really a lifeline to the thoroughbred industry in New South Wales and even also in Queensland.
The main grant, we've been calling the CHAPS, which is the Commercial Horse Assistance Payment Scheme, and it entails a daily payment to both trainers and owners for horses that are in work in racing condition during the period of EI.
So those payments benefited trainers in keeping their stables open and owners to continue in the racing industry, and to meet their costs and continue to operate.
So they've been a tremendous boost and really in a time of crisis, I'm not too sure how the thoroughbred industry would have come out of it financially if those grants, particularly the CHAPS, had not been available.
LINDY KERIN: The Federal Government's inquiry led by Justice Ian Callinan, set up to find out how equine influenza entered Australia, is expected to continue hearing evidence until the end of the month.
Only then will it be clear how big the compensation bill will be.
The New South Wales Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald says he wouldn't be surprised to see many of those affected seek compensation
IAN MACDONALD: They have every right to be annoyed and angry because from what I've read of the lapses in bio-security at Eastern Creek, it's quite a horrifying story.
If the Commonwealth can review this area and really build it up, so we do go back to having a very tight system in place, and I hope the Callinan inquiry does point in that direction, because this has really been a shot across the bow for Australia.
We've always prided ourselves on having very clean, green and exotic disease-free livestock and agricultural product and to keep that in place, we really need to make sure that our quarantine services can handle and thereby handle this and make sure that we can in the future protect those industries.
Click here and go to the PM Website to listen to the Audio

Qld properties surveyed in effort to speed EI-free declaration

A six-week surveillance operation is to be conducted aimed at accelerating Queensland being declared free of equine influenza (EI).
Queensland's chief vet Ron Glanville says no new cases have been discovered since Christmas Day.
He says at this stage there are no equine influenza infected properties in Queensland and the state should be declared free of horse flu quite soon.
"The longer we go without any new infections the more confident we get, but we're hoping to have all this work completed by mid to late March," he said.
Just over 1,000 properties will be sampled throughout the Amber and Red Zones in southern Queenland.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says it is a major milestone in the ongoing program to control and eradicate the disease.