March 28, 2005 — The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) Judicial Committee on March 27 determined that there had been a breach of FEI General Regulations Art. 146.2 at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens relating to the presence of the prohibited substances in the horse Waterford Crystal ridden by Cian O’Connor of Ireland. The forbidden substances were fluphenazine and zuclopenthixol.
O’Connor and Waterford Crystal finished first of the individual jumping competition of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. The Silver medalist was Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil on Baloubet du Rouet.
The consequences of this decision are:
- Disqualification from all competitions of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens pursuant to General Regulations Art. 146.2 and 174.7.1.
- The Person Responsible shall make a contribution to the costs of CHF 5000 (approx. $4,100 U.S.) pursuant to General Regulations 174.12.
- Suspension for the period of three months commencing at the date that is 30 days after the receipt by Equestrian Federation of Ireland of the full written decision of the FEI Judicial Committee.
The Judicial Committee is satisfied that the Person Responsible has established that he was not involved in “a deliberate attempt to affect the performance of the horse …” as referred to in General Regulations 174.7.3.
Appeal
The Person Responsible may file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 30 days of the receipt of the formal decision, in accordance with Article 170 of the General Regulations of the FEI.
For more information, visit the FEI website at www.horsesport.org. The FEI list of prohibited substances is in the section under veterinary–medication control, and the FEI complete legal procedure for positive medication cases is published in the section legal–legal procedure.
