EQUESTRIAN SPORT: Jessica Kürten has been given a two-month suspension by the Federation Equestre Internationale following Castle Forbes Maike's positive result to a banned substance at the five-star show in La Baule last May, reports Margie McLoone.
The horse was selected for random testing following its win in a €22,000 class at the French show and tested positive for Etoricoxib, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug prohibited in competition by the FEI who classify it as a medication rather than doping substance.
When the B sample also revealed the presence of the drug in the horse's sample, Kürten could have opted to accept disqualification from the class, loss of prize-money and a small fine. However, denying all knowledge of the drug, the rider appealed the decision to the FEI tribunal while also accusing the organisation of "gross procedural errors" in its handling of the case. Under the procedure of the Tribunal, Kürten had to prove the absence of negligence on her part in ensuring that her horse was free from any prohibited substance in competition which the tribunal found she had not done.
Yesterday evening, Kürten's press contact Martina Bruske said that the rider and her team had not yet had time to study the decision and would wait until the return of her Swiss lawyer before issuing any statement. Should she not appeal she would be suspended from June 7th to August 6th.