Here’s an example of what I mean. BNT gets positive test & is immediately suspended for 60 days. BNT will lose clients expecially if they are trying to qualify for Finals. BNT will lose sales horses because sellers aren’t going to want to pay board and training on horses that cannot be marketed. BNT will be unable to meet financial obligation to maintain a barn. BNT will lose reputation in their chosen field (some people will shun). Ok, Sample B comes back negative, or USEF is notified by lab that chain of custody wasn’t properly maintained with Sample B, or Sample B comes back as false positive, or lab notifies USEF that refrigeration of Sample B wasn’t kept at the correct temperature, or Sample B comes back positive for some unrelated substance, etc. A good chunk of time has already passed. BNT is suspended for additional time. BNT chooses to hire legal reputation to present arguments and ask for re-examination of the results. More time passes. Finally, upon re-examination of circumstances and effective legal representation, USEF drops charges and re-instates BNT. Of course, by now BNT has lost his source of income and now has a hefty legal bill. How long will it take to rebuild BNT’s career, if it can be rebuilt at all. Suspending BNT before Sample B is assessed is the wrong way to go IMO.
I have to agree with Rel6 - very, very rarely are trainers hurt by a positive blood test. There’s many who have been caught giving GABA even recently (like past 2 years) that still have booming businesses. They get their “ducks” in a row before they’re officially set down, and get new trainers/riders in and then run business as usual, just from home.
ETA too, there are people who still sell horses everyday, that BNT send horses to, that have been set down more than once for GABA and other things.
This goes back to my comment, that the USEF should not just “erase” grievances and rulings on individuals from the public eye after their time is up. It should be something we have access to at all times.
The scenario I was referring to is a positive test for Class IV drugs and IMMEDIATE suspension. As I understood the synopsis, immediate suspension does not apply lesser offenses.
That is rich. Imaginary instances don’t count. Let’s look at how many real BNTs have actually been harmed in such a manner. There are folks who have been suspended for worse and they still have a thriving business. Paul Valliere, Andy Kocher, Eric Lamaze, any number of folks a search here on COTH forums will uncover,…seem to be pretty ok, even if not showing.
Your argument is predicated in supposition and not factual evidence.
I understand what you are saying, but that simply is not the reality. There are quite a few BNTs who have been set down for positive tests over the years. Can you name ones that have lost clients, sales horses, and have been shunned?
To your point, I think the recent case in GA illustrates how that is more likely to go down - they just shifted things around and kept right on going, including showing under matching banners with the owner’s farm name that they just happened to have handy. The clients appear to have gotten on board with thumbing their noses at the system.
And to @DMK’s point, until there are consequences for the pocketbooks behind said trainers, you won’t see many consequences for the trainer.
You’re so right, my crystal ball is out for a tuneup. And if you check the rules, people are not allowed to do business with these people. Critical thinking and problem solving involves investigating all possibilities. If you don’t, you end up where the USEF is now.
Andy Kocher, Eric Lamaze, Paul Valliere, George Morris to name a few.
Until the horse and owner are suspended along with a trainer nothing will change. And USEF needs to crack down on the trainer just sending everyone with the assistant while head trainer relaxes in the Caribbean during their suspension continuing to bring in the $$ from the clients.
None of these people were suspended/banned due to positive drug testing of the horses.
Bit off your point, but Rich Fellers is still doing his 4 years in the federal pen. Admittedly, he didn’t appear to have drugged any horses.
Kocher and Lamaze were suspended by the FEI.
Valliere was suspended by USEF for life and Morris was banned by Safe Sport.
USEF, and every other NF, has reciprocity with FEI suspensions and the FEI requires participants to be in good standing with their NFs.
Three different entities with different procedures. USEF seems to be contemplating becoming more FEI-like in their disciplinary procedures for doping.
Not to mention, that is about the worst possible example of a list of people being financially hurt by a suspension. I’m not saying people weren’t hurt, that la Croix shot out of my nose at high speed I snorted so hard. Seriously, when you are going for dark unexpected humor like that, you should add a warning. People can get hurt when they laugh that hard…
Right, are we supposed to feel sorry for Valliere that his income may have been negatively impacted because he was banned for having horses electrocuted for insurance money??
That is a criminal case and not horse welfare. Sexual assault is a bit more dire than using a drug inappropriately.
I know that. As I said “a bit off point” . . . …
On one of the FB threads owners having accountability made people furious. Their excuses were: we just show up and have nothing to do with the horse, we know nothing about the CCC, we just pay the bills, how are we supposed to know what they are getting and the good old- someone could go and sabotage my horse.
It. Was. Gross
I think penalizing the owners along with trainers would be the most effective way to make changes. But I’d be shocked if that ever got implemented.
Same . People were OUTRAGED 
If the owners took the heat, maybe things would start to change. I will go and see where the owners were making these comments- it was on FB bc my vet and I just had this discussion this AM about it. There are a few threads floating around but high profile people and on TPH (but sometimes opinions that differ from PK disappear).
