Olympic show jumper to argue case before tribunal

SHOW JUMPER Denis Lynch appears before a tribunal of the International Equestrian Federation at 1pm today in Lausanne, Switzerland.

He will argue his case following the discovery of a banned substance in the horse Lantinus at the Olympics.

The Tipperary rider, who is based in Münster, Germany, is facing the prospect of a lengthy ban after two samples from the gelding tested positive for capsaicin.

The FEI said after the tribunal has considered his case, final decisions will be announced prior to the end of the first week in October, though this is subject to change.

Lynch has said capsaicin was found in Lantinus through his usage of a product Equi-block to loosen the back muscles of the 10-year-old gelding, owned by Swiss millionaire Thomas Straumann. Equi-block was likened to Deep Heat. Capsaicin, an ingredient of Equi-block, is derived from the chilli pepper and can have a hypersensitising effect when applied to the skin.

It also acts as a pain relief and it is considered performance enhancing.

Lynch said he had been using Equi-block for years and that Lantinus had been tested a number of times without consequence.

The positive test was an embarrassment for the governing body Horse Sport Ireland, with many questioning if anything had been learned after gold medal winner Cian O’Connor’s horse Waterford Crystal tested positive at the Athens Olympics.

Five other show jumping horses tested positive for a capsaicinoid. The latest was Brazilian Rodrigo Pessoa, who received the gold medal in 2005, after it was handed back by Cian O’Connor. Pessoa’s hearing is on September 25.

Bernardo Alves (Chupa Chup) had his hearing yesterday. while Norway’s Tony Andre Hansen (Camiro) and Germany’s Christian Ahlmann (Coster) will to appear on September 26.

American Courtney King will explain tomorrow how the drug felbinac came to be in his horse Mythilus.