Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Steph Teeter

 

But Zakah Zahara tested positive for a medication offence...

 

There is no suggestion that Zakah Zahara was doped to gain an advantage.

..."Competition horses should not be taking any medication and this rule is in place to stop horses competing while ill or recovering from illness. In this case there was still some medicine in the horse's system."

 

This seems to have been known for at least a month.

The FEI's Table of Administrative Sanctions (which I had

the dickens of a time finding) was last published on

December 21, 2007.  Zakah Zahara and bin Shafya are

on the list.  See:

 

http://www.fei.org/athletes_and_horses/medication_control_and_antidoping/Documents/TableofAdministrativeSanctions21.12.07.pdf

 

It appears that they only classify findings as Class A

or Class B (analgesics of some sort), and then Doping.

And this sanction is a Class A. 

 

However, the more I look at this the less I understand it.

This Table says (my bolding): 

Administrative proceedings apply to Medication Class A and Medication Class B

offences if it is a first offence and not a Major Event as defined in Art. 25 of

the FEI Internal Regulations effective 1 January 2008.SE

Huh?  The Qatar Challenge was not a major event?  Even

though it was held as the same race as the European Championships?

(Note on the page that the race is listed as being the EU Open 4*.

And they are applying an article that isn't going to go into effect

until 1 January 2008?  And how am I supposed to look up

an FEI Internal Regulation that isn't even in effect yet?

I did find the Internal Regulations of the Tribunal last updated April 2007:

 

http://www.fei.org/Athletes_AND_Horses/Tribunal/Documents/TRIBUNALRegulations23May07.pdf

 

And the FEI General Regulations--but they don't seem to be the

Internal Regulations because the numbers don't line up.  There

is no Article 25; all Articles are numbered from 100.  Moreover,

the controlled substances detailed regulations appear to

be in some third document.  And there's even more Regulations,

this time callled Statutes, but these don't seem to be what

is referred to, either:

 

http://www.fei.org/Rules/Documents/Statutes_22nd_edition_effective_15_April_2007_000.pdf

 

Curiouser and curiouser.

 

And I agree with Leonard--this would have seemed to have merited

a press release, if nothing more than "FEI President and Queen of Dubai

Disqualifies Husband's Horse."

 

 

Linda Marins