Doping Drama in Show Jumping

The 2008 Olympic Games are tainted by major doping dramas in the show jumping discipline. German Christian Ahlmann’s Cöster was caught on capsaicin. He has been immediately eliminated from competition.

Other horses probably caught for doping are Chupa Chup of the Braziliaan Bernardo Alves, Latinus of the Irishman Dennis Lynch and Camiro of the Noor Tony Andre Hansen. If Camiro proves to be positive, Norway will loose its team bronze medal.

Furthermore, Will Simpson has also been mentioned in this new doping affaire.

There is a press conference today at 12h GMT explaining what has been going on.

Wow, what a mess. It will be very interesting to see how this shakes out.

IOC is just going to LOVE equestrian sports now. Between the judging controversy in dressage and now a doping scandal in show jumping, I wouldn’t be surprised to see IOC make a move to drop equestrian completely from future Olympics.

The four top names have been confirmed as tested positive. Simpson not yet… so there might be no issue with him. We’ll see.

[QUOTE=DownYonder;3460800]
I wouldn’t be surprised to see IOC make a move to drop equestrian completely from future Olympics.[/QUOTE]

Princess Haya of Jordan wouldn’t let them dare drop Equestrian. Implement changes? Boy, howdy. But not drop.

Text of BBC report

Edited to add: text of NBC (AP) report

Well I hope they fire all those grooms or whoever fed the horses because we know those riders would never be so stupid:lol::lol::lol: tongue firmly planted in cheek.

There are no positive tests from the 20 event horses and 20 dressage horses tested in Hong Kong.

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

[QUOTE=eurodressage;3460796]
The 2008 Olympic Games are tainted by major doping dramas in the show jumping discipline. German Christian Ahlmann’s Cöster was caught on capsaicin. He has been immediately eliminated from competition.

Other horses probably caught for doping are Chupa Chup of the Braziliaan Bernardo Alves, Latinus of the Irishman Dennis Lynch and Camiro of the Noor Tony Andre Hansen. If Camiro proves to be positive, Norway will loose its team bronze medal.

Furthermore, Will Simpson has also been mentioned in this new doping affaire.

There is a press conference today at 12h GMT explaining what has been going on.[/QUOTE]

Where was Will Simpson mentioned? It is not in any of the reports I have read on the internet.

[QUOTE=Bluehorsesjp;3461356]
Where was Will Simpson mentioned? It is not in any of the reports I have read on the internet.[/QUOTE]

I was wondering the same thing, I don’t see it either — perhaps his horse was the random pick as each team had one horse tested. We will try to
get an email to him.

Ditto that. Where did you hear that Will was implicated?? How disappointing about the rest… odd that they are all testing positive for the same substance.

A report on Horse and Hound says Denis Lynch admitted to using Equiblock on his horse and this, apparently, contains the substance. It says he commonly applies it to his horse’s lower back before exercise.

Will’s name was mentioned online… But nothing further so the test was probably negative :slight_smile:

Really?!?

I would have thought every single horse there would be tested.

They don’t feed it, capsacain is used for hypersensitization

Not that I’m questioning the result of the drug tests, but if they were indeed using the EquiBlock products and that’s what caused the positive test, maybe the website should change it’s advertising. The following is from a website that sells equine supplies:

[i]"Racehorse Strength Equi-Block is the number one equine topical pain reliever sold worldwide. The reason for this is simple, effectiveness and results! Racehorse Strength Equi-Block blocks more pain, decreases more inflammation, works faster, lasts longer (most horses receive up to 24 hours of pain relief), requires less product and less applications to achieve desired results! Racehorse Strength Equi-Block will not scurf or blister and will absolutely not test positive.

Racehorse Strength Equi-Block has proven itself to be extremely effective on several kinds of degenerative joint disease such as arthritis, bursitis, bone chips, etc. in the knees, hocks, fetlocks and stifles. It is also very effective at relieving soft tissue soreness such as strained suspensories, bowed tendons, bucked shins, splint and curb problems. Equi-Block is very effective on hoof pain; it has the unique ability to decrease hoof inflammation when applied to the coronet and pastern. Before using Equi-Block on hoof problems, please consult your Veterinarian for proper evaluation of the hoof.

DIRECTIONS Apply just enough Racehorse Strength Equi-Block to cover the affected area evenly by hand. Apply to both sides of a joint where applicable (i.e. if applying to hock rub into front, sides and back of hock). This gives maximum pain relieving results as nerve endings can pick up pain signals from several different angles. Always slick the hair down in its natural direction. Remove any excess. Do not wrap the area, as this will most likely cause unnecessary discomfort for your animal. Do not apply more than 3 to 4 times daily."

Contains: Capsicin and Levvonemol. Will not test, blister or scurf.[/i]

Interesting.

Which is why you never believe the advertising on what will and won’t test positive.

You know, I’m not sure exactly why capsaicin should be banned. Unless it’s applied at levels that cause blistering and skin irritation, I’m not clear that it is performance enhancing or cheating or detrimental to the horse any more than applying ice is.

And I’m pretty sure it’s legal for human athletes, or else people from several countries would have to give up their native diets.

It’s listed as a class A painkiller–while it doesn’t have that effect when eaten, it IS used in a lot of topical OTC painkiller ointments. Whether it’s banned for human topical use, I don’t know (I’ve never sat down and read the entire IOC drug list) but in horses it’s considered a topical painkiller in addition to a potential performance enhancer (the soring/blistering part.)

[QUOTE=danceronice;3462194]
It’s listed as a class A painkiller–while it doesn’t have that effect when eaten, it IS used in a lot of topical OTC painkiller ointments. Whether it’s banned for human topical use, I don’t know (I’ve never sat down and read the entire IOC drug list) but in horses it’s considered a topical painkiller in addition to a potential performance enhancer (the soring/blistering part.)[/QUOTE]

I understand why they’ve classified it that way, I just don’t agree with it. In my personal experience, the painkilling effect is similar to that of ice, which is to say small, temporary, and not likely to cause harm to the athlete unless visible blisters or skin irritation is present.

I mean, I suppose you could set a horse’s mouth on fire with it, which would be abusive, but that would not be performance-beneficial.