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Tuesday 19 February 2008

Barastoc Horse of the Year 2008

Horse Deals would like to pay tribute to all the tireless work that has gone into another successful Barastoc Horse of the Year 2008!
Organisers and volunteers have worked hard to ensure a successful show after what has been a very difficult season.

Congratulations to all those competitors, the hard work that has been put into the beautiful mounts was evident, especially with such a limited lead-up for some.

Well done for all the brave souls who dared cross the border, with over 2500 horses there was barely a sneeze and the opportunity to compete far out-weighed the fear of EI.

Horse Deals was proud to yet again be associated with this wonderful show and are pleased to offer 4 days of coverage and results plus a very cute Shetland in Sidesaddle on the Horse Deals Gallery!

Well done to everyone involved!

EI eradicated too late for Mudgee Show

In spite of an early clearance for equine flu in NSW, the call has come too late for the Mudgee Show.
Local horseman, Arnold Benson said it is too late to start training a horse to go into the Mudgee Show and there are too many problems still associated with EI for the show to take on horses.
Mr Benson said apart from Blayney Show, there will be no show horse events at regional shows until the Orange Show, which will be after the Royal Easter Show in Sydney - none for Rylstone, Gulgong, or Binnaway shows, and Dunedoo had no horses at their recent show.
Mr Benson said the Sydney Royal Easter Show is having 1200 horses, but they have a strict protocol of every horse being vaccinated and micro chipped, which costs around $200 per animal.
He said the paperwork alone to check clearance protocols would be enormous.
Mr Benson said the government should have vaccinated all horses when they had the chance, but some were vaccinated and not others.
He said although the 13 horses stabled at Mudgee Showground were tested, the blood tests came back clear and the horses were not vaccinated.
“In my book they should have all been vaccinated,” he said.
Mr Benson said the cost of EI to the horse industry is the fault of the government for its lack of surveillance and protocols at the quarantine station in Sydney.
“They let it come in,” he said.
Although there is an inquiry into the issue, Mr Benson said he is not confident anything will come of it.
In the meantime, Mr Benson is considering whether he will be too old to train up his horses for next year’s shows and if vaccination is still required, whether the cost will be too much for a country show.

Runaway Amy the teen bride – and her new life with Egypt's dancing horses

The teenage schoolgirl who ran away to Egypt and married an internet cafe owner there is planning a new life – hiring out dancing horses to tourists at the Pyramids.

Amy Robson has persuaded her 30-year-old husband Mohamed El Sayed to buy two pure Arabian horses, which she hopes will earn them a living in the desert near Cairo.
The 18-year-old is training the animals to "dance" so they can become a tourist attraction.
It is a world away from her old life in Beaumont, Cumbria, where she lived with her parents and was considering a future working in a nursery.
Amy persuaded Mohamed – nicknamed Noby – to buy the animals after becoming enchanted with the Egyptian tradition of horses appearing to "dance" by moving in time to Arabic music.
Giggling excitedly, she said: "I love the horses – they're amazing. I've loved horses since I was little.
"I told Noby I wanted one and he bought me two from one of his friends. One is older and we're training it to behave properly so we can sell it on for more money, or hire it out.
"The little one is going to take tourists to the Pyramids in a few months' time when it's old enough. She is gorgeous."
Noby added: "I did not want Amy to work because I do not believe work is for women but I don't want her to be sad. If she enjoys being with the horses, that is good."
Amy married Noby in December after meeting him in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada last April. She had run away from home in search of another local man with whom she had become smitten on a family holiday the year before, boatman Tamer Hossney.
Since their wedding the couple have lived at the El Sayed family home in Banha, 18 miles from Cairo, with Mohamed's parents and brother.
They pay the owner of a stable close to the Pyramids to look after their horses and Amy travels to Cairo with Noby a few times a week to work with them.Noby has rented a shop and intends to fix old computers and sell them.
But once they begin hiring out the horses, the couple hope they may turn the venture into a full-time job for both of them. That would enable them to move out of Noby's parents' small home, where they lack privacy, and rent a flat.
Despite the worries of her parents, James, 42, and Janet, 33, Amy says she is enjoying every moment of married life.
"I'm really happy. I'm getting a bit better at Arabic now and Noby is getting a bit better at English, so it's easier for us to talk," she said.
"His family have been really kind to me and looked after me so well. His mum is teaching me how to cook Egyptian dishes – at first I hated the food but I'm used to it now. Noby and I are still very much in love – more than ever."
Asked if she was planning children, she laughed and said: "Not yet. In the future. I am just enjoying being with Noby."

Horse events back for Bombala show

The south-east agricultural circuit is slowly returning to normal after all horse events were cancelled during the equine influenza lock-down.
Next month's Bombala show will be the first to hold equestrian events with the lifting of restrictions at the end of the month.

Event secretary Graham Rumph says the show will give riders the opportunity to compete and collect points in preparation for the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
"We decided that because we're outside the end of February ASC cancellation of horse events that we would run our horse schedule, so we'll have a full range of lead and ridden classes and show jumping," Mr Rumph said.
"We'd be pleased to see anyone from down the coast that wants to give their horse a run, we'd love to see them."

Ryan Wood injured competing in the US



Wendy Cohen, Tuesday, 19 February 2008

Popular elite eventing rider and EFA NSW member, Ryan Wood, has been badly injured in a fall while competing at the Ocala Horse Trials in the USA. From a post on The Chronicles of the Horse forum, "He had a minor rotational fall at the water jump, and was thrown clear of the horse, landing in the water relatively unscathed, but when the horse scrambled to its feet, it stepped on Ryan's face and did some significant damage. He will most likely have to have plastic surgery to repair his nose, eye socket, and jaw. But he was conscious and talking to the EMTs when they took him off the course to the hospital. He had been in great spirits all day long prior to this fall (which occurred at the end of the day), and was a delight to have in the showjump arena on his multiple rides."

Ryan did not lose consciousness and that although his facial injuries are very severe they are not considered life threatening. He has a punctured lung but is not in immediate danger. He will be re-assessed today and initial surgery performed. He will need re-constructive surgery on his face.

His mother Joan will leave Sydney today due to the generousity of one of our members. She will be with Ryan on Wednesday Sydney time.
Claudia Graham and Dom Shrand were with Ryan yesterday and will keep us all in touch with the situation today.

Pit bulls' owner charged over horse attack

The owner of two dogs which attacked a horse in Mandurah last month has been charged and the dogs destroyed.
It is alleged the dogs attacked and severely injured the pony which was later euthanised because of the extent of its injuries.
The owner of the dogs has been charged with four offences relating to the attack.
The two pit bulls had previously been declared dangerous after they killed a cat last year.