Four Riders Disqualified For Doping, And Norway May Lose Their Medal For It

August 21, 2008

Restrictions on drugs at the Olympics ban virtually every kind of drug for horses at the Games, and riders are careful to even avoid certain treats like peppermints that can trigger a positive drug test. Who knows how many horses would have failed had they been tested, seeing as how four of just 15 horses tested in the show jumping team event failed. These 15 of the 49 show jumpers were tested randomly, including one horse from each medal winning team.

The drug test results - positive for capsaicin in each case - were announced Thursday afternoon by the sport’s international governing body. Capsaicin, a derivative of chili peppers, is prohibited for its pain-relieving properties. It is applied topically, not given orally.

The horse Camiro, ridden by Tony Andre Hansen, was part of Norway’s bronze-medal team, and the team could lose its medal. The other three horses are Ireland’s Lantinus, ridden by Dennis Lynch; Brazil’s Chupa Chup, ridden by Bernardo Alves; and Germany’s Coster, ridden by Christian Ahlmann. Hansen, Lynch, and Ahlmann had qualified to ride in today’s individual competition, but were disqualified.

The Federation Equestrian Internationale is holding off on the decision to revoke the bronze medal until after test results have been confirmed. Another round of tests on medical samples from the horses will take a week, the FEI said in a statement. A hearing on the second round of tests is to be held by Sept. 8, and a final decision issued by the first week of October.

Some suspect that the drug was not used as a pain reliever, but to increase sensitivity in the legs to make the horse more cautious over the fences and less likely to drop rails. That’s all speculation though, and not something that can be proved.

A New York Times article on the incident says:

Denis Lynch, the suspended Irish rider, said at a news conference on Thursday that he had used an ointment, Equi-Block, for more than a year to help warm the back muscles of his horse, Latinus, for competition. He said that he had never thought to mention it to his team’s veterinarian or noticed that the label mentioned that the ointment contained capsaicin.

Dr. Midge Leitch, a veterinarian at the University of Pennsylvania who worked for the United States equestrian team at the 1988, 1996 and 2000 Olympics, said in a telephone interview that the riders might have unknowingly used products containing capsaicin. “It’s pretty readily detected, so most people would not use it knowingly at an Olympic Games,” she said.

Skin swabs are routinely taken from horses at the Olympics to test for capsaicin. Capsaicin is widely used in horse ointments, but sometimes in such small quantities that Equi-Block and other products are widely marketed as being legal for use on horses engaged in competitions.

Drugs are carefully regulated in equestrian sports not necessarily because of performance enhancing qualities, but for the horses’ welfare. They can’t tell their riders if something hurts, and if even a mild pain reliever is masking soreness it’s possible to accidentally push a horse too far and seriously injure him. The problem, however, with drug testing is that commonly used drugs can remain in the equine system for weeks, and it’s easy to use an ointment or something with a banned substance unknowingly. A horse may get a cut, and the groom may use a common ointment without realizing it contains a banned substance.

That’s not to say that these horses weren’t potentially doped on purpose. We really have no way of knowing. If it was an accident, it’s very unfortunate. However, the rider is the one whose reputation is on the line, and they are responsible to let the people working with their horse know what is safe and what isn’t. Either way, it’s a hard lesson to learn.

When it comes down to it, the potential of tarnishing your international reputation definitely isn’t worth a gold medal, or bronze in this case. Even more unfortunately, a doping case is likely to get much more media attention for our sport than any of the phenomal performances put out by the horses and riders.

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