Cian O'Connor and his legal team are taking time out after Sunday's marathon 12-hour judicial hearing in Zurich before deciding whether to appeal the stripping of the Olympic gold medal and three-month suspension imposed by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) judicial committee.
O'Connor and his head groom, Jane Doyle, flew out of Zurich yesterday morning en route to the Italian three-show Toscana Gold Tour in Arezzo, which winds up on April 10th.
But the 25-year-old Kildare rider cannot initiate the appeals process until he has received a detailed report from the judicial committee.
The report, which will include the reasoning behind the decisions to strip O'Connor of his medal and impose a three-month suspension, will be prepared by judicial committee chairman Ken Lalo over the next few weeks.
Mr Lalo, who returned to Israel on Sunday night for a meeting in Tel Aviv yesterday morning, is expected to consult with his three committee members, Philip O'Connor, Francis Michielsens and Erik Elstad, during the preparation of the document.
It could be well into April before the report is completed and, once it has been forwarded to the Equestrian Federation of Ireland (EFI) and to O'Connor, the rider then has a 30-day period in which he can lodge an appeal to the court of arbitration for sport. If no appeal is lodged, the three-month suspension will start at the end of that 30-day period, which could rule O'Connor out of the team for the Dublin Horse Show, where he was on the winning Irish squad last August.
EFI president Avril Doyle, who missed the chance of sitting in on Sunday's hearing as she was in San Francisco on EU business, described the loss of the gold medal as "a dreadful blow" last night.
"It is a tragedy to lose a gold medal that's so hard to win", Ms Doyle told The Irish Times yesterday.
"It is a dreadful blow, not just to Cian but to all of us in Ireland," she said.
"I'm not surprised that he lost the medal and I'm sure Cian isn't either. Whatever about the whys and whodunnits, it was a black and white case and there is zero tolerance of the use of unauthorised substances during competition.
"But he has retrieved what he could have on the day, given the rules," she continued.
"The fact that it was ruled as just a technical offence and not a deliberate attempt to enhance performance is of benefit to Cian. He has just been asked to contribute towards costs and not fined. Now we must await his and his legal team's decision as to whether he appeals this or accepts it."
If O'Connor opts to waive his right to appeal and accepts the sanctions imposed, the gold medal will be awarded to Brazilian Rodrigo Pessoa, with America's Peter Wylde taking silver.
Germany's Marco Kutscher, who finished fourth in Athens, will be promoted to bronze, leaving Kevin Babington as Ireland's highest-placed rider in fourth.
Ms Doyle said O'Connor would be considered for the Irish team for the Beijing Games in 2008 once the ban had been served or an appeal heard.
"If Cian has to, if he decides not to appeal, if he decides to accept the three-month ban, yes, of course on the day we will choose the best riders with the best horses that are available to us for any team both at home and abroad," she said.
"Once the three months are up, if that is the route that Cian decides to go, we will be very pleased to have him to choose from."