FEI warns sport is 'as good as dead' if not cleaned up

Lord John Stevens, head of the ethics committee for the FEI (international equestrian federation), wasn't kidding around at the organization's annual meeting last week, when he told delegates that they needed to approve a series of recommendations aimed at cleaning up the sport and its image.

"This is the most important decision in the history of your organization,'' he maintained during the often-contentious Copenhagen session.

"Without clean sport, quite simply, you're going to lose your public, you're going to lose your sponsors and your sport actually is going to be as good as dead.''

Whoa.

After the disastrous fallout from six positive equine drug tests at the Olympics last year, the FEI appointed a Clean Sport Commission headed by Arne Ljundqvist, vice president of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Subsequently, Stevens -- the former chief of the London Metropolitan Police who led the investigation into the death of Princess Diana -- was named to head an ethics panel looking into the practices of the German equestrian team, after news reports had indicated that cheating with drugs appeared endemic. 

The panel's mission later was widened to consider the integrity of the sport. Both committees came up with a wide-ranging series of recommendations that called for greater clarity in drug regulations, upgrades in everything from stable security to professionalizing officials, and setting up a permanent integrity unit to maintain a corruption-free environment in the FEI and its disciplines. 

"The FEI is really determined to deliver a clean and uncorrupted product to its commercial partners and to the public that comes and sees what goes on and also participates,'' said Stevens.

"You can't put a price on integrity. It means fair play for the sport. We need to turn all these words into action. With clean sport, you can restore the image of your sport and public confidence in it,'' he contended.

Stevens' stern words were convincing. The vote to approve the procedures was 90-8. New anti-doping and medication control measures were okayed 95-5.

There was, however, a much closer vote, 53-48, on authorizing a so-called "progressive'' list of prohibited substances, which will allow use in FEI competition of two non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, phenylbutazone (bute) and Banamine, as well as salicylic acid (aspirin) to be used in competition horses. The FEI previously had a zero tolerance policy toward such substances. 

That upset many riders, who felt there was no reason to deny horses the equivalent of ibuprofen that would ease muscle aches for equine athletes, the same way it is allowed for human athletes.

But some felt use of these substances would tarnish the sport's image in parts of Europe where the idea of analgesics for horses in competition is anathema. Director Frank Kempermann of Germany's Aachen show, which is one of the world's best, contended that "we organizers have to sell the sport to the public. I cannot understand how we can sell the sport...with a new policy with bute on the list,'' he said, fearing that will cause shows to lose sponsors and spectators. 

Hours after the progressive list was approved, a number of delegates called for a re-vote, but FEI President Princess Haya of Jordan vetoed the request. The Princess, meanwhile, wants to see federations follow FEI doping rules in their national shows, unless their country's laws bans the use of NSAIDs in competition horses, as some do.

The U.S. has the opposite problem. The FEI's permitted levels of bute and Banamine are approximately half of what the U.S. Equestrian Federation allows. And was reported in The Star-Ledger last week, leaders of the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association already are bridling at a U.S. Equestrian Federation rule proposal barring use of two NSAIDs in conjunction with each other and allowing only one.

Having to cut the amount of bute and Banamine to comply with the FEI standards would cause a furor. (USEF has no levels on salicylic acid.)

USEF CEO John Long, who told the FEI general assembly that the progressive list was not the USEF's idea, would not say how the federation voted on the issue. But he did note the FEI agreed to an accommodation that would enable countries such as the U.S., which have had drug testing programs for five years, to decide how the program would be implemented for national-level (non-FEI) classes. Long said he saw no reason for amateur riders with no international aspirations "to comply with rules...for purposes of qualifying for a team. That's the line we have to find over the next couple of years. I'm sure it's going to be a huge topic of conversation at the annual meeting.''

People already are talking.

"The FEI is 1 percent of what we do in this industry; it doesn't concern the rest of it,'' said Susie Schoellkopf, a member of the USHJA's Hunter Zone Committee.

Olympic double-medalist Chris Kappler of Flemington, president of the North American Riders Group, said he thought the FEI initiative was "a great start. It will help make a difference,'' but he likes the USEF levels of medications.

"It's been a proven commodity for us for a long time,'' he commented. "Hopefully, they'll (the FEI) see the positive effects of this and ... it will become more broadband with the allowance.''

Kappler, who would like to see a certain uniformity on rules globally, nationally and regionally, noted, "it's hard to keep up with them all. Some sort of continuity would be important. But there needs to be give and take on both sides.''

On the other hand, he noted, "our somewhat lenient'' medication program has enabled shows not to have the best footing, since horses can receive analgesics.

He pointed out that many European shows have top-notch footing because no medication was permitted.

"The zero-tolerance rule meant it was imperative the shows had only the best footing, riders didn't go unless the shows had the best footing.'' 

Kappler would like to see the new medication rules signal improvement.

"Hopefully,'' he said, "all around it goes to better horsemanship.''