Walsh determined to clean up equestrian sport after Beijing
The former agriculture minister was speaking after a meeting of the Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) board, which, as expected, set up an expert group to advise it on the procedures required to avoid another repeat of the Olympic controversy.
“There is no place for performance-enhancing substances in equestrian sport and I’m determined to clean it up,” said Mr Walsh.
In an effort to show HSI was taking a firm hand, he said the governing body, which was set up in January, was committed to a sport where the welfare of the horse was a priority. “This is a very complex area with very difficult veterinary and legal issues to be looked at. I have asked this expert group to propose measures that will ensure prohibited substances have no part to play in equestrian sport. As an industry, we must adopt a zero-tolerance approach.”
Mr Lynch will appear before a three-person tribunal of the International Equestrian Federation tomorrow week at the FEI headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Tipperary rider claims capsaicin was found in Lantinus as a result of him using a product called Equi-block on the gelding’s back. Mr Lynch, who was one of four riders whose horses tested positive for capsaicin, claims he had used Equi-block for some time with no consequences.
Yesterday’s meeting was addressed by HSI chief executive Damian McDonald, who was with Mr Lynch in Hong Kong, the venue for the equestrian element of the Olympics.
The expert group will be chaired by Dr Gordon Holmes, a solicitor and former deputy chief steward of the Turf Club. Also on the group are: head of forensics at the Irish Equine Centre in Co Kildare Professor Tom Buckley; head of the Irish Sports Council’s Anti-Doping Programme since 2001; Dr Una May; FEI testing veterinarian for Ireland Dermot Forde; Showjum-ping Ireland chairman and HSI board member Ronan Corrigan and chairperson of HSI’s international show jumping management committee Bernie Brennan.
Walsh wants the group to provide its findings before the end of the year with a view to having the new procedures in place for 2009.
