The USEF found Stewart, who runs Rivers Edge in Flemington, N.J., in violation for exhibiting Krista Weisman’s Reality during Week 7 of the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Fla., Feb. 20-24, after he’d been administered an excess amount of flunixin, aka Banamine. He was fined $2,500, and Weisman was ordered to pay $300 to WEF and return prize money and prizes.
Stewart explained that Reality had been administered a dose of Banamine paste by a Rivers Edge employee. He also noted that Reality has been treated for laminitic symptoms, which affected his metabolism.
“He was originally on Pergolide, which we withdrew him from when he showed,” said Brigid Colvin, who helps manage Rivers Edge horses at competitions. “He had another laminitic episode, and his veterinarian changed medications and put him on metformin, 8000 mg a day, which is a medication also given to humans for diabetes. We saw a big difference in him when he was on that—his metabolism was completely different.”
Colvin said that per USEF rules, they withdrew Reality from metformin before he showed.
Stewart incurred two other medication violations in 2011.
“We know when we’re going to the ring every day we’re getting drug tested,” said Stewart. “We’re tested regularly, probably 120 tests [during the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival], and we’ve had horses tested multiple times a day. This was an overage of a legal substance. We have a big barn with excellent staff, but there’s always a possibility for human error.” *
I know this is from 2013, but it goes to show that both SS and BC were pretty open about the fact that she helps manage the horses and their medications directly. So for her to say she has absolutely nothing to do with any drugs that may get administered to TC’s rides seems pretty false if you look at her own past interview quotes, along with what SS also has to say about BC’s role in the daily workings of his farm.
Now I get that this is a couple years later and maybe at this point they are trying to put BC in the position to take the fall for Inclusive’s recent positive drug test when in reality someone else may have been involved at least if not actually responsible. But there is no credible way that BC can say she has never medicated the horses in their care due to her shaking hands or whatever the heck else she wants to say prevents her. I don’t buy for a minute that she could only do an injection IM if a horse was dying. She said herself clearly that she helps run the horse’s medications and she clearly also knows exactly what meds are what here.
