To a great Festive Season!
2007 is almost over. I hope we can all look forward to a better year, with some level of normality returning to equestrian activities and everything that is connected to it. Right now, we must not become careless and endanger what has been achieved with the effort to contain and eradicate Equine Influenza. Signs are good for an end to the crisis in the near future but with a volatile virus, good work can be destroyed quite easily. We will be meeting with new Federal Ministers for Agriculture and for Sport early in 2008 in a renewed attempt to get further funding for our industry, particularly for the re-establishment of equestrian events. We are also still receiving reports from people, whose main income has clearly been based on equestrian events (e.g. specialist equestrian photographers), that their funding applications have been refused. The meetings with the Ministers should happen in January, well before the EFA National Forum on Sunday, 10 February 2008, at which the future of the sport after Equine Influenza will be the main topic. The EFA will need to outline its high performance plans for 2009-2013 to the Australian Sports Commission later in February. Since the last e-news, quite a few things have happened. I will only mention some:
A few more words about Equine InfluenzaWhile situation reports indicate that the crisis might be over soon, the next few months will still be full of restrictions, protocols, conditions and other requirements that make it hard to organise activities, particularly for horses from different zones and from interstate. Last Wednesday, the National Management Group (NMG) endorsed minimum conditions for the movement of horses across zones and interstate. This is a great step forward, and we have already agreed with DAFF, AHA and NSW DPI on protocols for the Regional Olympic Dressage Team Assessment taking place at SIEC in early February. At least I think we have agreed. Conditions are a moving feast. For example, today, I found out by accident about planned changes to purple-zone arrangements in NSW coming into effect in mid-January 2008. I wished we had been told about this .... In spite of the uniform national framework, there are unfortunately still differences in the way the new "minimum conditions" are applied in the various State "jurisdictions". The detailed interpretation of particular conditions is often left to officials who sometimes are, I am told by organisers and riders, difficult to deal with. As a result, many simply give up any plans they had. Maybe many of us are too often thinking of all the things that could happen. Yes, bad things can happen but often they are just in our imagination. They must not let us stop from trying to do things that we can handle ourselves or with the help ot others. For example, conditions for events in areas far removed from the infected zones and involving horses from the region should be hugely different from those applying to events in the purple zone or to events involving horses from various zones. So why do we not have more events in low-risk areas? Conditions must be based on scientific risk assessment and risk management. This includes an assessment of the likelihood of any failures of a control system and the ability to respond to it. Because of the experience they have had so far, "combatant" States (NSW and Queensland) sometimes take a different approach to that followed by "non-combatant" States. Maybe EI is a different issue to physical safety so it may be unfair to make the following analogy, but when motor vehicles were first allowed on public roads, committees decided that a man waving a red flag should be walking in front of them. The point I am trying to make is that one can always go to extremes but the "right" decision needs to take into account the overall situation, including economic impacts and the need to get the industry going again. So let's hope all this will be behind us soon. In the meantime, we need to work together even more closely to enable riders to actually get to events and back into their state of origin. Example: a rider who needs to go from a green zone in NSW to a Paralympic selection event in Victoria. Are there suitable quarantine facilities?I have had a look at the checklist for post-arrival quarantine (PAQ) or post-arrival isolation (PAI) applicable to Victoria. I wonder whether it is actually possible for a private property to comply with these conditions without incurring prohibitive expenditure. In particular, are there such facilities for horses that need to be kept in work? I was told that if there was an arena available at an approved facility, this arena could not be used (at separate times) by both resident and quarantined horses, even if these groups of horses maintained at least 100 metres distance, any manure was removed and other "biosecurity measures" were in place. If you have a property that might be suitable as a PAQ/PAI facility in Victoria or in green zones, we would like to hear from you. We are expecting a number of interstate riders to come to NSW for Olympic qualification events. Going there is relatively easy, but will they be able to get back? 2008Yes, we have great plans for 2008 and beyond, but so we had for 2007 until large portions were shot to pieces. Next year is a big year in sport:
And there will be more surprises, I am sure. Supporters and SponsorsI would like to thank our funding agencies, sponsors and supporters for their continued assistance. In particular, we would like to mention
A special THANKS goes to all the officials, organisers and volunteers, who have been trying to get the sport going again, and to all those who have been affected by the crisis in one way or another. For more news and other information, please visit www.equestrian.org.au or your State Branch web (www.[state].equestrian.org.au). Make it a great Christmas and a happy, healthy and successful 2008! Franz Venhaus | ||
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