At the Europeans; http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/shock-german-event-star-tests-positive-europeans-637002
Is it just me or do others think these test are ridiculously sensitive?
It seems as if someone wearing cologne could walk by a horse who is taking a deep breath and cause a positive drug test. Maybe there is something in the paint that is on the walls of the stalls in the stabling area and if a horse bites or licks it, it could test positive. What if there is something in what is used for tack cleaning? Maybe it is the material the sponge is made out of that is used to wash the horse off. What if there is a chemical in whatever is used for bedding? What if it is air pollution?
Is it time to rethink these tests?
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The horse had a decent amount in his system per the article. How do you watch every minute is the issue. Either explanation is bad, the horse’s team lying as first possible or someone else with malice administered it as the other.
If the amounts suggest that the drug was administered after Dressage but before XC, why would anybody do that? It’s too easy to get caught.
How difficult would it be for someone to do this maliciously?
No idea what happened here but it seemed pretty clear that this was a therapeutic amount, not just a trace from licking the wall or some such. But there could be a million theoretical reasons to do it - maybe horsie got cast and was a little muscle sore; maybe he clocked himself, maybe his back was a little sore after D - who knows? But if it’s a question of running or not I can see someone rolling the dice, esp if it was clear that the horse was fine, just not at the tippy top of feeling good. Again, not remotely suggesting that’s what happened here. Just waiting for the results of an investigation. Very sad whatever they are.
ETA re. someone rolling the dice: it’s not as if 100% of horses are tested. https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2017/11/09/doping-tests-horses-positive-2016-figures/
Update;http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/…r-medal-637207
Easy to see why Mr Nicholson gets steamed.
BTW - the drug involved is available over the counter in Europe.
Hard to say until we get some answers, on one hand someone could have sabotaged, but why her and that horse? Lance Armstrong lied through his teeth for years about doping, so its possible she is too. Really unfortunate for her if it was sabotage. Guards are going to be needed in the future.
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or at least cameras.
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I’m kind of surprised that using game cameras at stalls in high profile competitions isn’t SOP. They are cheap and cut in with motion sensors and have night vision.
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Broadband may not be up to it in Poland. (Strzegom pop. 17,004)
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Couldn’t you have it recorded onto a small drive (not live) - no need for broadband?
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What do you mean with respect to Mr. Nicholson?
Most doping positives come from humans using prohibited substances thinking they can get away with it. In high-performance sports, this is often done with the complicity (tacit or otherwise) of their HP director and/or NSF. In many, many doping cases - and not just in Russia - doping positives in domestic competitions or out-of-comp testing are swept under the rug by the NSF (USATF has a looooong history of this).
The German team horses have a history of adverse analytical findings at championship competitions. Ludger Beerbaum and Bettina Hoy at Athens, for example. Or Marco Kutscher and Christian Ahlmann in Hong Kong.
The most likely scenario here is that the horse was intentionally given the substance by the rider and/or team. That is far, far, far more likely than sabotage. And if you say ‘But the rider denies it!’, so what? Everyone denies it. Everyone who gets caught doping will tell you that they’re the ‘last person who would dope’. Funny how the ‘first person’, whoever they are, never gets caught.
There’s a lot on the line at championships. $$$$$ for examples. Programs that receive government funding (as in Germany) have to make their target results or risk funding cuts. That’s real pressure for the entire team, support team and NSF.
I’m saying this as someone who routinely sees the effects of doping on the results table. It sucks. You see these people who are clearly doping and there’s nothing you can do about it. Every now and then, someone does get caught, but the more common occurrence is for an obviously-doping athlete to get caught at home by their NSF and then there’s a hearing and the NSF makes all kinds of bogus excuses and the athlete returns to the sport after a two-month ‘suspension’ during the off-season. The US NSFs do this as much as any other nation.
(As for broadband in Poland - who’s been to Poland lately? I’ve been twice this year and it’s booming there. Massive growth. At another rural training centre similar to Strzegom, there’s great wifi all over the grounds.)
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He threw a wobbly at the NZ team for leaving his horse unattended while he was receiving IV fluids, and it ultimately led to them parting ways.
Are all horses tested at European Championships? I’m guessing so.
I have to agree with JER here. The horse had what sounds like a therapeutic amount in his system, not just a trace contamination due to a shared bucket or something. That means it was intentionally administered to the horse at the competition by somebody … and sabotage just seems unlikely.
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I think I understand what you are saying, but to put it in my terms:
This German horse was doped through sabotage while it was unattended (so the theory goes)
Mr. Nicholson’s horse was unattended
Therefore Mr. Nicholson’s criminal behaviour is understandable
The problem with this is that the stated reason he was unhappy was that the horse was unattended by a vet while on a drip.
There would have been a groom with the horse. Nicholson’s concern was not that the horse or its drip might be sabotaged.
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For some reason, every time I try to follow one of the H&H links there is so much spam on the site that I can hardly read the article (and I’m on a Mac). What was her explanation for the substance?
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In case anyone here remembers the shocking and tragic case of Polly Phillipps, she also claimed ‘sabotage!’ and had taken to - or at least claimed to - sleeping in her horse’s stall at big events so that it wouldn’t happen again.
BTW, Ms. Phillipps was a qualified equine vet.
What a friggin’ pantomime that was. She was crying sabotage when she knew that she’d drugged her horse at WEG and also knew that she’d tricked the team vet into also drugging her horse (but beneath the threshold level) so that if she got caught doping, she could pass it off on the team vet.
The team vet got fired for the doping offense. The esteemed vet and team rider Ms. Phillipps was disqualified (as was her team), although she planned to appeal despite the copious amounts of evidence against her. Reality wasn’t her strong suit, I guess.
She didn’t live to see her hearing date, as she was as reckless on the horse as she was in the stables.
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Those are YOUR terms.
IV fluids require Vet Form 3.
Article 1052 Designated Treatment Boxes
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Any treatments authorised using the Veterinary Form 1, 3 or 4 must be performed within the Designated Treatment Boxes. Exceptions will only be permitted by prior agreement by the VC/ VD (for example fluid therapy) or in a clear emergency situation. Administration of non-prohibited substances by nebulisation or orally can be done in the Horse’s own stable. Any person in violation of this rule will be reported to the GJ and sanctioned accordingly.
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At all times the FEI Veterinarian administering the treatment(s) must be able to provide a copy of the authorised Veterinary Form for the treatment(s) and their FEI Veterinarian ID card, if requested by the VD/ VC or other FEI Steward.
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Any Person other than FEI Veterinarians, as specified in these VRs, found in possession of syringes, needles or similar equipment within the FEI event site will be reported to the GJ and sanctioned accordingly. Any Horse present in the vicinity of a Person in possession of such items as described above, or for whom such Person is responsible, will be subject to EADCMP testing. The costs of the respective EADCMP testing are to be borne by the Person found in possession of syringes, needles or similar equipment.
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For any International Pony Competition, all Pony farriery may only take place within a Designated Shoeing Area; failure to comply with this regulation will result in Disqualification from that Event
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There is a really documentary on Netflix right now about the Russians and what they did to get away with doping. Its a good watch for anyone interested in this sort of thing.
Just like everyone caught before - like Armstrong - nobody ever admits it at first unless they did it by accident and weren’t aware.
I see BNRs already posting about how unfair, and that clearly she was sabotaged. Not sure why they are all leaping to that conclusion.
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