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Racing and FEI have totally
different lists of what is banned.
Obtaining an actual list of what is
banned from the FEI has been an
enormous and frustrating task in
itself.
The EFA advised me to contact the
hotline on drugs and to make a long
story short, I was told that the
decision would be based on the
result of the A sample and as the A
sample was positive, there seemed to
be little point for me requesting
that the B sample (mine) was tested.
I did not have the B sample tested
and did myself an injustice. In
horses if the B sample comes back
negative which does happen the case
is null and void, outcome is ALWAYS
test the B sample.
Be aware as I now know, that the
correct procedure to prevent this
problem occurring, is that you MUST
supply your vet of choice with the
FEI list. I was unaware that we can
contact our EFA vet Warwick Vale on
0418 903095 to ensure that the
correct swabbing information is
given.
While it gets down to
technicalities, the loss of the
State Title really comes down to a
letter and authority. Had my vet
been an EFA vet, the letter he
provided stating the he had
prescribed the drug and had advised
me that Mindgames would not swab
positive for a prohibited substance
whilst using this drug the situation
would be different. The officials
would have looked at the swab
result, checked if it was the same
as the one recorded on the
medication sheet and all would have
been cleared.
There is no need to believe me. The
decision is on the EFA website and
makes it clear that it is a
notification issue for medication.
Mindgames swabbed negative at all
events prior to the State titles. He
has since swabbed negative at the
Nationals, Canberra and Sydney and
will continue to swab negative in
the future.
To say that I am exceedingly
disappointed at the lack of promised
confidentiality does not begin to
describe my feelings. I was told
that it was my legal right to
present my case before anything was
publicised. I was told that no one
was to be told, nor was I to discuss
it before any hearing was held. Now
I know that many of you discussed it
before I was notified via an email
to my daughter on Nov 26th. I now
know that there was a meeting at the
Nationals amongst the competitors
where this was discussed. I now know
you told my clients while I was
still held to the confidentiality
clause.
In many aspects, I do not believe
that I have been fairly treated. I
hope that many of you take this as
it is intended – informed advice. |
