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Just a little background, we were not allowed to place any remote cameras in the ring (a practice that has become common place at major competitions) so in a moment of brilliance that I can only believe think I intercepted from someone else’s brain cells, it occurred to me to place my remote under the trainer’s platform. The last fence of the class, the first round of the Nations Cup, was a big oxer on a long distance from an airy combination (if memory serves.) It proved to be a heart breaker for quite a number of riders/teams all day.

In the morning session I watched group after group on the platform “ride” the course, gyrate and react with each clear jump and error. Some time in the middle of the morning it just hit me, and then I believe I hit my dear friend Sue Stickle in the arm! I had to get permission from out Photo Chief David Porter at lunch for the camera placement, which he had no issue with as it was off the “field of play,” below the edge of the platform and hidden in some decorative shrubbery and thus out of the way of the almighty television cameras. My biggest concern was that someone would fall off and damage the equipment/injure themselves.

The howling from me and my fellow photographers as I did my first run through the card of images will be one of my favorite memories of WEG. By the fifth of October, the day this was shot, most of us had been shooting for 1.5 weeks with only a few hours of sleep per night. Tempers were getting short, dark circles were appearing under eyes, and many of us swore we would not be eating a cheeseurger again for a very long time. This evening of editing sent me on the search for some crazy music to set the slide show to, but the laughter, tears and side stitches from our little corner of the tent were the best sound of all.

The fun thing (and many times most frustrating) about the remote is not knowing what you have. So many things can go wrong, and most do all at once. You don’t focus well, your exposure is wrong (and shooting into the sky makes that something you have to take into account), your remote doesn’t fire because you have forgotten to turn the camera or the remote on, you are on the wrong channel, or the radio signal is blocked by some unforeseen force. You can never make your remote the entree, it always must be the icing on the cake you don’t know if you will have room for at the end of the meal. I got lucky on all counts. I will say the reactions the first half of the day were a bit stronger because the riders figured out the striding by the afternoon and the stronger riders went later in the day. But I am my biggest critic, and I always know it could have been a little bit better.

I will admit, I never thought this image had a chance in the contest. There isn’t a horse included and the venue/signage doesn’t jump out as a dominant portion. But it just screamed to me!

AK Dragoo Photography, LLC

610.656.0258

www.akdragoophoto.com

amy@akdragoophoto.com

AK Dragoo Photography on Facebook

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Cealy Tetley of St-Lazare, QC, has been named as the recipient of the 2010 Susan Jane Anstey Media Award.

Created in memory of Susan Jane Anstey and in recognition of her invaluable contributions to Canadian equine interests, Equine Canada presents the Susan Jane Anstey Media Award to an exceptional individual who has delivered outstanding media coverage, which served to enhance the image of Canadian equine interests to the Canadian public.

The photographic work of Canada’s Cealy Tetley has been featured in countless national and international print and online media for over 20 years. A regular contributor to Equine Canada’s marketing and communication vehicles for many years, Tetley has captured the finest moments of our athletesââ?¬â?both horse and humanââ?¬â?at every level of competition.

Highly respected in the equestrian community, Tetley has established herself as an official photographer at venues such as Pepiniere, Bromont, Blainville, Spruce Meadows and The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

From a major games perspective, Tetley began delivering high quality coverage beginning with the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Since then, she could be found, camera in hand, at multiple Olympic, Pan American and World Games.

“I am honoured to be chosen, especially since Susan Jane Anstey’s name is attached to this award.   I am touched the Canadian Eventing Committee took it upon themselves to nominate me,” said Tetley. “In particular Charles Baudinet, the vice-chair of the Canadian Eventing Committee, who secretly recruited my daughter to extract pertinent information about my career from me.”

Open to all types of Media (print, television broadcast, internet and photography), the Susan Jane Anstey Media Award is given for a specific event or story, an ongoing event or story, or an outstanding effort throughout the year.

Susan Jane was a valiant champion of Canada’s development in international sport and long-time supporter of the Canadian Equestrian Team. As both a talented publisher and working journalist, Susan Jane provided a dedicated Canadian journalistic presence at World Equestrian Games and Olympic Competitions from 1984 through to Greece in 2004. Through publications such as Horse Sport, Horse-Canada and Canadian Thoroughbred, Susan Jane provided a national voice for the Canadian equestrian community, and a forum for a national dialogue on the issues that have affected and defined our sport. Equine Canada is proud to present this award in her honour.

At the Equine Canada Annual Awards Gala, on Saturday January 29, 2011, in Ottawa, ON, Tetley was awarded with the Susan Jane Anstey Media Award.

Fran Edwards in Press Operations, has provided the following, but notes that this information is a work in progress and still subject to change.

ACCREDITATION

Firstly on accreditation, the process is the same as previous Games. Press and photographers wishing to have accreditation must go through their respective National Olympic Committee (NOC). Those approved will receive an E (or EP in the case of photographers) pass. Specialist accreditations (Es and EPs) are available for equestrian journalists and NOCs have been asked by the IOC to keep some accreditations aside for recognised specialists in the sport.

VENUE MEDIA CENTRE

The venue media centre for the equestrian is located in the library of the Maritime Museum at Greenwich. We are doing detailed planning of this space so we can’t provide definitive answers to your questions but are working to provide, among all the other services and facilities, 150 press and 50 photographer workspaces. These capacities have been discussed and agreed with the IOC. The Media Conference Room will be located nearby, with a capacity of 100.  

We are also working on the capacities in the tribunes and are planning for 150 tabled seats and up to 200 non tabled seats.  

INTERNET

Note that every work desk in the venue media centre and on the tabled tribunes will have a cabled internet connection. Various internet options will be available to order from the Press Rate Card, with prices and services ranging from Ã?£90 (1Mbps) to Ã?£150 (8 Mbps up and down and myInfo+ account included).   In February 2011, LOCOG will send the link to the Press Rate Card online ordering website to the NOCs, to be forwarded to accredited press organisations.

ACCOMMODATION

LOCOG has reserved press accommodation in the Bloomsbury area of London, ranging from four-star hotel accommodation to university rooms with shared facilities. In February 2011, LOCOG will send the link to the online reservation site to the NOCs, to be forwarded to accredited press organisations.  

As the accommodation is in Bloomsbury, there will be a media transport hub at Russell Square, within walking distance to many press hotels (and hotel to hub shuttle service for hotels not in walking distance). This hub will service the Main Media Complex in Olympic Park and the competition venues, including Greenwich Park.  

MEDIA MANAGER

We hope to begin the recruitment for all venue media managers early next year however staff won’t be full time until 2012. It’s likely that the equestrian role will begin around three months out from Games time. All paid positions will be advertised on the London 2012 website. Locog response to queries raised about internet:

A note in the Press Rate Card indicates that the 1 Mbps internet service is not suitable for filing photos, but may be useful, for example, for those who simply need to check emails. Regarding the 8 Mbps service, at 1/20 contention, please note that this is both up and down speed. We’ve had positive feedback thus far on this from our photo manager, the IOC and after consultation with sports photographers. The expectation is that most media will take the 8mbps option which has the capacity to cope with significant users (photographers and journalists alike, without the need to have a separate “pipe”). The 1 mbps option is simply another offer, just at a cheaper price for those who only need email to send smaller files like word documents.

Wifi will be offered as part of each internet package and is available in media conference rooms and media lounges. The decision was made to go for cabled internet in the workrooms and in tribunes to ensure we could deliver a reliable and robust service. As mentioned previously, every desk in the workroom and tabled tribune positions will be cabled ââ?¬â?? which is the first time at an Olympic Games.

Bob Langrish has been awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List in recognition for his contribution to equine photography and art. Langrish has published over 100 illustrated books on horses over the last 38 years. In addition, Langrish’s pictures have appeared in a number of magazines in more than 20 countries. Langrish will accept a medal for the honour from the Queen at Buckingham Palace early in the New Year.

This award has only been given to a handful of photographers but none that specialize in capturing the equine image.

Media accredited to cover any of the 12 Western European League qualifiers and the Final of the 2010/2011 Rolex FEI World Cupââ??¢ will have the chance to judge the quality of the working conditions in the series’ press offices. Journalists and photographers will be asked to evaluate the media facilities, the press conference set-up, the quality and speed of information provided to the media, including the event’s website, the services to photographers, and, of course, the efficiency and friendliness of the press office staff.

This new award for the Best Press Office of the Rolex FEI World Cupââ??¢ Western European League is being introduced to celebrate the hard work of the event organising teams and also to identify areas for further improvement and development.

The idea for this award, supported by the series’ title sponsor, Rolex, was first suggested at a press officers’ seminar earlier this year at the Rolex FEI World Cupââ??¢ Final held in Geneva. The winning press team will be awarded an especially commissioned prize presented by Rolex. And they will be able to celebrate victory in style as they will also receive a magnum of champagne.

“Providing the best possible service to the media is key for the success of any event,” FEI Director of Jumping John P. Roche said. “We are delighted that the press officers of the Rolex FEI World Cupââ??¢ Western European League are being so proactive, so eager to hear from those they serve and to learn from each. We are grateful to the media for helping us improve and to Rolex for supporting this new initiative.”

Bureau member Kim Kreling recently met with Andreas Kerstan, press chief, and Volker Wulff, organiser of the 2011 World Cup Finals to be held in Leipzig, Germany this spring. She was impressed with their attitude and professionalism and is convinced they will do all that they can to ensure the best possible working conditions for the media.

IAEJ information update

With five months to go before the World Cup Finals  in Leipzig, I hope the following will give you an idea of how things are going to be writes Kim Kreling.

Leipzig has been a very well organised event during the last few years. The event manager Volker Wulff who is supported by an experienced team has been in charge of many successfully organized shows. Therefore there is good reason to expect that the final in Leipzig is going to be of the same good quality with very good working conditions.

Apart from a spacious press room that we have already known for some years there is a dedicated room nearby for press conferences with 200 seats. There will be lockers in the press center in different sizes, big ones for the photographers, small ones for personal things.  Volker Wulff will also hire middle size lockers for laptops  etc. There will be special fast lines for sending pictures for use by the photographers and free internet for everybody. There are no worries about  Live results either as they are already a fixture at Leipzig.

A walk of a few minutes will take you from the press room to the main arena. Halfway to the arena you will find another working room for the press, next to the offices of the FEI. Directly opposite the main press center is the show office which easily enables us to get any additional information if we need it from either body.

Wulff says that there will be about 80 seats for the ringside press tribune with tables, but that area can be extended if necessary.  

There will be TV monitors  in the press center to watch everything that is going on in the arena. Additionally  from Thursday to Sunday there will be a daily one hour programme on German television station ARD, which of course also can be seen in the press room.  

I asked Wulff to think about a casual mixed zone for media and riders quite near to the arena, where you can have a coffee and meet and talk very easily. Wulff immediately agreed and will try to organise that.

Up to now there is one hotel in the middle of Leipzig for the media: Motel One. You can get more information by going to www.motel-one.com/de/hotels/hotels-leipzig.html. At the moment they are looking for a second media hotel. There is also a hotel very near the arena, but it is way out of town and the town is very nice, so this is why the organisers opted for a media hotel in town. They will organise an extra bus line for media, riders etc. for the time of the final as well as a car shuttle. It will be a ride of about 20 minutes from the hotels in the city of Leipzig to the arena at the exhibition halls.

Press chief Andreas Kerstan stated that there are already two media events planned.

The Accreditation process will begin in January. We will endeavour to keep you informed of any new developments along the way. If there is anything else you want to know ââ?¬â?? all you have to do is ask!

Kim Kreling, IAEJ delegate, Leipzig World Cup Finals

kimkreling@gmx.de

Dear Members,

Thanks to everyone who turned out for the IAEJ Annual General Assembly held October 3, 2010 during the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky. Aside from electing a new Bureau to the next four-year term, membership agreed to modernize the Bureau, reducing it from nine members to seven; a more workable arrangement, which also reflects the fact that Europe is no longer divided.   A huge thank you to departing Bureau members: Kit Houghton, (GBR) Gabriele Pochhammer, (GER) Julie Wilson (AUS) and Milena Dragisic, (HUN) who were so helpful and gave up so much of their time for the IAEJ throughout their many years of service.

Revision of Statutes

After some healthy discussion we also successfully voted with a two-thirds majority to approve the latest changes to the statutes. Previously using our online voting system members approved the changes to one paragraph describing who our members are. We voted to exclude the words “audio-visual press” in favor of “professional equestrian media, including all current and future new media”. What was left to do in Lexington was to finish that sentence. Members voted to change: “in charge of regular coverage of international equestrian sports, e.g. jumping, horse trials, dressage and driving” to: “in charge of regular coverage of all aspects of FEI sports”, in order to become more inclusive of journalists that cover non-competition elements, i.e. the industry.

Membership Categories

A vote to group membership into categories, depending on the type of work they do or the level of their activity, nationally and internationally, was deferred until such a time that criterion for each tier of membership could be defined. Categorizing membership is something the IOC was keen for us to do some time ago in order to bring our house in order and ensure membership was truly representative of professionals working in the industry. Times have changed greatly within the entire industry since this was first muted (at least 10 years ago) and with our stricter application system and adherence to membership criteria I think we have adequately addressed the situation. I would be interested to know how many members believe we need tiered membership before we progress this issue further.

FEI Associate Membership

There was very hearty debate on the subject of the IAEJ formalizing its collaboration with the FEI as an Associate Member along with other stakeholder groups like the riders clubs, organisers etc. Numerous voices were heard, the vast majority with the view that independence was vital and should never be compromised even if it were in “name only”. A vote was taken which made it very clear that membership was not in favor of any formal tie. However, it was proposed that we should approach the FEI with the idea of re establishing the Media Advisory Group (disbanded around five years ago). I would like to propose a reinstatement of the Media Advisory Panel or something similar, but not before we can come to the FEI with a solid idea of what we want this panel to achieve and what the benefits would be. As I see it, this panel could formally assist organisers of championships from the outset, even from the bid stage, to ensure media guidelines are adhered to and the credentialing process appropriate to the event. Please email any thoughts you may have on this to me at horseinternational@gmail.com.

Julia Rau (GER) mentioned that we should have the resources on the FEI website made available to us regardless of our status; a proposition I will also pursue with the FEI.

Mark Wentein’s (BEL) suggestion that the FEI should give IAEJ members’ free subscriptions to FEI TV is a very good one. I am glad to say that we have already made a proposal to the FEI regards this and have had positive feedback. We should have an answer as to how this can be accomplished after the FEI General Assembly.



WEG Review

Regarding our WEG experience, Chris Stafford, IAEJ Secretary is putting together a file to send to Normandy, the FEI and WEG Foundation (for their info) for the purpose of making sure of improvements for the next WEG, e.g. that hotels are not extortionate, and that live results are essential for journalists on tight deadlines. With regards to the lack of live results in Lexington; they were covered by Marty’s bid document but the OC determined they fell into the “nice to haves” and were too costly to provide. This is another thing we will ask the FEI to insist is a mandatory service to be provided by organizers.  Your input is needed on WEG in order to produce a full report so please do use the online forum (https://equijournalists.com/forum/list.php?2) or send Chris an email (iaejchris@gmail.com) with your views. Don’t forget to include the good as well as the bad.

Since the WEG, Karin Robinson has been terrier-like in her determination to get to the bottom of the reason why the individual dressage judges’ marks were not made available to us. It turns out that the GJ president either did not know the rules or decided to contravene them. Unfortunately, we were told that the results service would not provide them. Now we know that this is an FEI condition, we won’t let that happen again.

Rolex

I spoke to Rod Kohler and Merrick Hayden in Lexington about how Rolex could be more involved with the IAEJ; something Rolex is very keen to do. We talked about annual awards as a possibility but Alltech have indicated that they wish to continue with the concept started around the WEG. (see below).  I will keep in touch with Rolex on what we can do together; it may be that they would sponsor our membership subscription to FEI TV. I also wrote to thank Magali Dubois Vaucher at Rolex for the generous luncheon they gave for the media during WEG.

Alltech Awards

We are negotiating the format at the minute but the idea is to have Journalist and Photographer of the Year awards and possibly a broadcaster-podcaster-blogcaster of the year with a reception/presentation at World Cup Finals. We are working on figuring out all the ins and outs of how this will be judged, by whom etc so we can have something in place for 2011.

National Delegates

Our national delegate program seems to have fallen by the wayside just a bit but we hope to rectify this. I have asked Lotta Amnestal to be our point person in Scandinavia, and Anna Sharpley has agreed to take on this role for Australasia. If any members have any issues or problems with media services in these areas please go to Lotta or Anna first. Your Bureau can of course try and help with any specific problems in their own countries, so please do contact us too. Ideally we should have at least one person per continent to act as our representative so if you are interested in being a national delegate please let Chris or myself know. In North America, for example, we’d like US East and West Coast volunteers, same for Canada. Photographers please apply! The more active you are, and the more shows you go to, the more valuable you can be to the IAEJ in helping to ensure our standards are met.

In the meantime our representatives at forthcoming championships are:

    * Kim Kreling for Leipzig Jumping, Dressage and Driving World Cups * Candela Milan Dopico for the European Jumping Championships in Madrid * Claartje van Andel for the European Championships in Rotterdam * Eduardo Tame for the Pan Am Games in Mexico



Financial

The IAEJ is currently composed of 205 members. We have over 40,000 US$ in cash reserves to cover expenses which mainly consist of running the office in Canada, including book keeping, mailings and website maintenance and our now bi-annual lunch – of which over 100 availed themselves in Lexington – way over the number who went to the meeting! The Bureau proposes to use funds to send members to meet with organizers, and make site visits in advance of championships. I think in future we might also consider funding an IAEJ rep to attend the FEI General Assembly or an annual meeting with the FEI in Lausanne.

Normandy 2014

Finally, Chris and I all met individually with members of the Normandy team for the 2014 WEG in Kentucky. Xavier, of course, is all over this and will be a critical go-between for us. I think it might be best to leave aside our initial impressions and suffice to say that Normandy will be run by government officials (politicians) managed by Fabien Grobon, formerly MD of Marketing and Licensing for the French Open Tennis Championships. He said 60% of the 50M ââ??¬URO projected budget will be funded by the state, city (Caen), and region (Normandy). We can report that Alltech is likely to figure prominently as sponsor again and there seems to be no shortage of luxury goods sponsors in equestrian in this area of France, nor expertise in show organization. Based on his experience and expertise and (nationality!) the IAEJ is formally backing Pascal Renauldon in his bid to run the media service. I can assure you we will also be making site visits this time and checking out as many accommodation/transportation options as we can for IAEJ members.

Please keep an eye on the website, twitter and Facebook for updates. Until then, if anyone has anything they would like to discuss or bring to the Bureau’s attention, please email or start a discussion on the Forum.

On behalf of the Bureau,

Pamela Young

President

Attendance:

2006-2010 Bureau:

Xavier Libbrecht (FRA) President

Pamela Young (GBR) Vice-President

Chris Stafford (USA) Vice-President

Jennifer Anstey (CAN) Secretary & Treasurer

Kit Houghton (GBR) Photographers Representative

Gabrielle Pochhammer (GER)

Julie Wilson (AUS)

Plus 43 members

Lulu Kyriacou (GBR) and Caterina Vagnozzi (ITA) volunteered as voting scrutineers.

Incorporation of Public Relations Personnel into Membership

After some discussion on the role and place of public relations personnel in the organization and confusion over tiered membership it was decided to hold over the issue until criteria, levels and categories had been defined.

Ken Braddick (USA) made the point that the IAEJ should be very careful of the people that would be excluded citing that many members frequently cover horse shows in U.S. but rarely attend international shows.

ACTION: Associate membership – postponed by a 2/3rds majority pending further definition

IAEJ Bureau Membership Roster

Reconstruction from 9-7 members approved by a clear majority.

Extension of IAEJ Membership Criteria

To incorporate ‘regular coverage of equestrian sport beyond competition reporting’:  24/2 majority in favor.

FEI Associate Membership

Many members took part in the discussion. Overwhelming majority against any formal affiliation but in favor of re-establishing Media Advisory panel. Perhaps this would be a good way of involving ourselves from outset for all championship fixtures.

Alban Poudret (FRA)  noted: Independence is our major strength and must be preserved at all cost. He didn’t feel we had to be a part of the FEI to enjoy a good collaboration (which we have) with the FEI and IOC.

Julia Rau (GER) noted: the FEI should be providing the IAEJ with the benefits of associate membership regardless

Only one member from NZL voted in favor of FEI Associate Membership.

OUTCOME: FEI Associate membership opposed by 2/3rds majority

ACTION: propose to FEI but before we do that outline exactly what functions this panel would perform and who it would involve.

WEG 2010 Review

    * Results service totally unsatisfactory having to wait so long for results. Up to an hour. Live results not linked in to TV screens along with competition coverage, which is the answer.

    * Too few press releases on news and information. Daily alerts were delayed.

    * Format for results eventing, time penalties was totally confusing

    * Results, format, production is FEI and Organisers’ responsibility.

    * Poor website information

    * Food expensive and sometimes stale, restaurant not open as posted and closed when media working late

    * Internet spotty in media stands

    * Excessive number of amateur photographers

    * Media shuttles great except on the middle Saturday

    * Media hotel too far from venue: 40-45 min to the venue not good but not dissimilar to other WEGs. The same option is being discussed for WEG 2014 in Normandy. 

    * Nancy Jaffer (USA) suggested that IAEJ did site visits in future and strike our own deals/discounts with hotels

    * Opening and closing of main press center annoyed some people

    * Accreditation not at main venue annoyed everyone

    * Internet connections at hotels varied: that combined with early press center closings and 40 min ride to hotel made life very difficult for some.

    * Media attendance not as expected – a large number that were accredited did not attend

Ken Braddick (USA) complained that the IAEJ didn’t do anything about all the media problems at this event. It was pointed out that it was the IAEJ intervention, which saw hotel prices halved from what was proposed last summer at Windsor. He was also critical of the IAEJ for not making information available in the lead up to WEG. This was refuted as members were directed to the IAEJ website. It was also pointed out that it is members’ individual responsibility to equip themselves with this information.

Chris Stafford (USA) responded by explaining that she had formed and chaired a WEG Media Committee at the request of the WEG OC in 2007 but that following a change of CEO this had been disbanded.  Also, the IAEJ, FEI and WEG OC held conference calls during 2010 to discuss the IAEJ concerns and while points were raised, these were dismissed by the OC for logistical reasons, e.g. hotels and prices, accreditation venue, shuttles and parking.

Other Business

    * During the voting process and in addition to the hand out provided to members on London 2012 Olympic Games, Pamela Young (GBR) explained the details.

    * Chris Stafford encouraged members to utilize the IAEJ Facebook Fan Page and Twitter account to communicate.

    * Jennifer Anstey (CAN) reminded members that there is an open forum on the website for members to comment and share resources.

    * Chris Stafford noted that Media Guidelines were written for WEG 2010 before the Media Committee was disbanded and these templates could be reused.

    * The Bureau to consider including an RSS Feed

    * Alltech A+ Media Award – Phase 2 – July 1 – December 31, 2010 to be promoted to the membership

    * Chris Stafford to meet with Alltech to discuss their offer of a new annual media award in three categories for a three year term.

    * Pamela Young to discuss with the FEI creating IAEJ media advisors or representatives for the FEI.

    * Mark Weintein (BEL) proposed that the FEI should be giving members a free subscription to FEI TV.

2010 – 2014 Bureau:

Pamela Young (GBR) President

Chris Stafford USA) Vice-President & Secretary

Xavier Libbrecht (FRA) Vice-President

Jennifer Anstey (CAN) Treasurer

Anthony Trollope (CAN) Photographers Representative

Kim Kreling (GER)

Claartje van Andel (NED)