Personally, I associate the word ‚fairness‘ with terms such as ‚èqual opportunity‘, ‚equality‘, ‚honesty‘, ‚using honest means‘ or ‚justice‘.
‚Fair -Endurance ‚– sounds to me like ‚honest, clean endurance sport‘. To me, the name ‚Fair Endurance‘ has, up to now, had a positve ring to it, which has unfortunately been lost. This name is a domaine and a facebook group which claims to represent ‚fairness in endurance riding‘. ‚Fair-Endurance‘ was founded after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were banned from the World Championships in endurance riding 2016, in Dubai. Fair-Endurance does not think this is fair. But what, indeed, does ‚Fair-Endurance‘ find fair ?
‚Fair-Endurance‘ finds it fair to start a campaign to disparage endurance outside the UAE. ‚Fair-Endurance‘ thinks it is fair when it circulates a large number of photos of dead horses to create the impression that endurance outside the UAE is a sport for animal abusers. Moreover, ‚Fair-Endurance‘ believes that it is hypocritical , on the one hand to punish the UAE by banning them from the World Championships, yet, on on the other hand, to gratefully accept the money that makes such great endurance events, as , for example, in Brussels, Rio Frio, Nègrepelisse etc., possible.
It is no doubt correct that the UAE promote elite endurance with generous funding. There is no question here of critizising the UAE in general. However, the reasons why the UAE were banned from the World Championships are NOT mentioned by ‚Fair-Endurance‘. The fact that there are ‚black sheep‘ in elite endurance, responsible for the bad name of this sport in many countries, is nowhere mentioned. It is high time to fight against the causes and to find solutions !
Honest, clean endurance can only mean that every country builds up and trains its horses without overtaxing them. Elite sport ok, but NOT when the horses have to pay the price. The world does not want to see dead horses, just as it does not want to see doped horses. At the moment we are in a cul-de-sac and can only move out of it backwards. The aim to which we should commit ourselves is the fight against the causes of these grievances.
‚Fair-Endurance‘, you great stranger! Show your true face and commit yourself to fair endurance! Because as things are at the moment, you are the reason why the press pounce on and condemn endurance as a deadly sport which is why the reputation of endurance is suffering and THAT is NOT fair!