Fw: AP story

["Maryanne Stroud Gabbani" <gabbani@starnet.com.eg>]

Jasper Mortimer worked with one of the Pyramids stables teams on the day of
the 100 km race and reported the race for Associated Press. During the day,
volunteer stewards had noted that rider number 7 (as the story quotes me)
was wearing spurs and I both passed that on to FEI people and told our
stewards to inform the FEI of infractions, as that was their job to enforce.
After the race, I was asked to find out the proper procedure to file a
complaint about the spurs, so I emailed  the FEI and was told that the
Egyptian federation had to file a complaint with the international
federation. Since this ride had been held without input from the Egyptian
federation and without any involvement on their part, there was no one we
could ask there to file the complaint.
Locally, we dropped the matter, but apparently Jasper did not. As he notes
in his story, AP found that, in addition to plenty of photographs that were
taken and even published showing Maktoum wearing spurs (but which cannot pin
down whether he took them off as FEI says he did), they had videotape of the
race showing the spurs later in the day as well.
 In the course of his discussions with Michael Stone, Jasper gave Michael my
phone number here in Egypt and Michael called me. The FEI gave very mixed
messages regarding the complaint procedure throughout this issue. In an
email, we were told it had to go through official channels. Verbally, I was
told that anyone could file a complaint and apparently some people from
Egypt did, by email again. They were apparently told that they needed hard
evidence such as photos. No one has been quite sure what was going on,
except that everytime something regarding the issue came up in email
discussions here, there were reactions from Dubai. This is not a local issue
and our race is not the point. The subsequent handling of the matter is the
point. The AP apparently plans to publish a follow-up article today, since
the FEI says that they will not investigate in the absence of a complaint
(?).
This is probably worth following.

Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
Cairo, Egypt
gabbani@starnet.com.eg


> Maryanne, here is the story published Saturday June 3. You are welcome
> to pass it on to whoever. Have given it to Michael Stone. He told me
> Wednesday that they had dropped their investigation for lack of a
> complaint. We hope to publish Thursday.
> Many thanks again and all the best. Jasper
>
> ^BC-Egypt-Race Controversy<
> ^Crown Prince who won race to be investigated for wearing spurs<
> ^By JASPER MORTIMER=
> ^Associated Press Writer=
> CAIRO, Egypt (AP) _ Reports the crown prince of Dubai wore spurs while
> winning an endurance horse race in Egypt has prompted a preliminary
> investigation by the world equestrian federation, which bans spurs for
> such events.
> Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Dubai crown prince and
> defense minister of the United Arab Emirates, sponsored the event to the
> tune of dlrs 100,000 and cantered in first in the 100-kilometer
> (62.5-mile) horse race held May 19 across the desert at Sakkara, near
> Cairo.
> An aide reached at his office in Dubai Saturday said Sheik Mohammed was
> out of the country and unavailable for comment, and that no one on his
> staff could comment.
> The assistant secretary general of the Lausanne-based Federation
> Equestre Internationale, Michael Stone, said last week he had heard that
> the prince had removed his spurs after the first of the race's four
> stages after being warned by judges.
> But videotape shot by Associated Press Television News shows the prince
> wearing spurs in the second and fourth stages of the race. Informed of
> this tape, Stone said Friday he would refer the matter to the
> federation's judicial committee.
> Pictures of the prince riding with spurs have circulated on the
> Internet. A crew manager for an Egyptian team, Lesley Alford, said she
> believes officials did not enforce the no-spur rule introduced in
> January "because it was Maktoum, because he was paying for (the race.)
> If it had been one of us, I feel sure they would have told us."
> The head of the race's grand jury, Albert Dollinger of Switzerland,
> denied the prince wore spurs and dismissed suggestions he may have been
> allowed to because of his stature and sponsorship.
> The race's ground manager, Maryanne Gabbani, said she informed a juror
> that rider No. 7 was wearing spurs, unaware at the time that the rider
> was the prince. The juror replied that No. 7 had been told to remove his
> spurs.
> (jbm-db)
>