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Drugs corrupt any sport. Can drugs get into an athlete without their 
knowledge or in the case of a horse without the owner's knowledge - it's 
possible. However, drugs still corrupt and the corruptions still takes 
its toll on the sport no matter how they get there. Drugs in endurance 
corrupts our sport and to some extend all that participate.

Did Rafeal Palmerio really not know he was taking steroids (after he 
wagged his finger at congress proclaiming he never took steroids)? Did 
Barry Bonds really not know he was taking steroids? Does that even pass 
the "laugh test?"

For my money there has to be enforcement. If there is an incident where 
the physical evidence points to drug use then first there is an 
immediate disqualification of the horse. There is a three month 
suspension of the owner for an investigation. If it tuns out that the 
owner did not give the drug they can be reinstated. If the evidence 
points to the owner - and physical evidence is very strong - there some 
be punitive sanctions levied.  However, I would contend that there 
should be a very high burden of proof required to overrule the physical 
evidence.

Today there are all sorts of AERC "banned" substances floating around in 
supplements and even in some commercial feeds. It is the responsibility 
of the owner to know what is going into the horse.

On the other side of this coin, I don't feel the AERC drug rule is 
sufficient for this type of enforcement. It is not precise enough and it 
does not contain the safeguards necessary for investigation and 
protection of the basic rights of the accused. On the other hand the FEI 
drug policy doesn't suffer from these problems.

Of course any type of enforcement assumes that the enforcing agent is 
above reproach and is itself not corrupted. However, that's a different 
discussion.

Truman



Tracey Lomax wrote:

> Oops, forgot to hit "reply all".
>
> Regards,
> Tracey
>
>  
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Tracey Lomax [mailto:bandipops@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> > Sent: 01 April 2006 03:50 PM
> > To: 'Truman Prevatt'
> > Subject: RE: [RC] WEC Doping
> >
> > Truman wrote:
> >
> >    
> >
> > > An owner claiming that "someone else did it" holds about as much
> > >      
> water
>  
>
> > > as Barry Bonds claiming "someone slipped me steroids - it wasn't my
> > > fault."
> > >
> > >      
> > Recently, one of our showjumpers was found guilty of competing on a
> >    
> banned
>  
>
> > substance.  I forget what it was, unfortunately, but although the
> >    
> horse
>  
>
> > was found to have the substance in his system, and although he
> >    
> admitted
>  
>
> > giving it to the horse, he got off because it was found that it was
> > contained in a (legal) supplement which had become contaminated at the
> > manufacturer's.  The manufacturer admitted as much and pulled its
> >    
> product
>  
>
> > for a while.
> >
> >
> > So it's not as easy as it sounds.  I know the competitor in question
> >    
> and
>  
>
> > he will, in all likelihood and disaster not interfering, be competing
> >    
> in
>  
>
> > the WEG in Malaysia later this year.  It would have been a tragedy if
> >    
> he
>  
>
> > were to be eliminated on the basis of a "no fault" clause to be
> >    
> included
>  
>
> > in the rules, IMO.
> >
> > Tracey
> >    
>
>
>
>  


--

"Mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what 
we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true."  - 
Bertrand Russell




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