Pat Wall: Horse Sport Ireland must remain vigilant

Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) chairman Pat Wall believes the organisation is doing enough to ensure equestrian sport is clean, but concedes “we have to continue to be vigilant”.

He commented after HSI gave the Irish Examiner details of its testing regime for 2014, showing there were two equine controlled medication violations. The non-steroidal, anti-inflamatory drug phenylbutazone, ie ‘bute’, was the substance involved in both cases.

“There are two types of substances, those that are banned and have no place in a horse at any time; then there are substances which are permitted in a horse, but not during competition. Bute is a common enough drug used in a performance animal for minor injuries, such as an athlete would use ibuprofen or aspirin. It is not a crime to use it, but it should not be used in competition. Competitors need to realise it can take seven to 10 days to clear the system and they must leave ample time for this to happen.