Kürten may sue after B sample tests negative
The possibility of legal action emerged after Kürten revealed that a B sample from the mare, Castle Forbes Libertina had tested negative, contradicting a positive A sample.
“That [legal action] is something that has not been decided yet,” she said. “It is something for my lawyer. At the moment, I am just concentrating on my riding,” she said from the World Cup show in Sweden.
The German-based rider issued a statement yesterday revealing that a negative test on the B sample had tested negative. The A test had revealed minute amounts of caffeine and theophylline in the horse at Calgary, Canada, last September. Libertina was the only horse to show up positive of the 14 tested at the show.
From the outset, Kürten disputed the A test findings, claiming the positive result had occurred after she was forced to use feed provided at the show. In choosing to fight the case, she rejected the FEI’s proposal of a ‘symbolic’ fine of €250 Swiss francs (163).
The Antrim-born rider’s statement came as Olympic gold medallist Cian O’Connor prepared for his oral hearing before the FEI Judicial Committee next Sunday at Zurich Airport.
In her statement, Kürten said the B test was completed at the Horseracing Forensic Laboratory in Newmarket, England, before her representative, Dr Laurent Bigler, from the Organic-Chemical Institute of Zurich University.
Kürten yesterday said she had been informed of the result by Dr Bigler. She revealed that “contrary to regulations, the sample was in a regular plastic cup, not sealed properly and had leaked.”
Responding yesterday, the FEI said it hoped to receive the official report on the B sample test before Easter and would not comment until then.
