European Information needed

["Maryanne Stroud Gabbani" <maryanne@ratbusters.net>]

For reasons that it would not be diplomatic to go into in public, even on
Ridecamp, I desperately need some input from some of our European endurance
riders as soon as possible.

1. When you want to participate in an endurance ride in your own country, do
you just sign up or is there any special procedure? For example, must you
belong to a club or organisation? Do you have to have your horse examined
and certified in any way? Do horses have passports that must be presented at
every ride and are these done once or each time?

2. Is there a different procedure if the ride is FEI sanctioned than if the
ride is not FEI sanctioned? Are the costs different?

3. Are all rides connected with an organising body at a national level;
local level?


We have had a locally organised ride that went well and was fun. Strictly LD
and training as it should be right now, but our national branch of the FEI
has $$$ signs in its eyes and is making life a bit difficult. Surely things
are not so regimented elsewhere. Unfortunately, for the EEI, the USA is not
considered an example because they say that there is no national branch of
the FEI there, whereas in Europe, at least theoretically, there is. These
guys are show jumpers for crying out loud...we are trying to introduce them
to reality.

TIA
Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
Cairo, Egypt
maryanne@ratbusters.net
www.ratbusters.net