PrintIn an effort to explain the controversial decision to eliminate Sapphire from the Rolex/FEI Show Jumping World Cup Final, the Fédération Equestre Internationale held a press conference this afternoon, April 17, at the Palexpo Arena in Geneva, Switzerland.
A huge crowd that included journalists, riders, trainers and other curious equestrians packed in to hear why late last night the FEI decided to disqualify McLain Ward’s mount from Round 2 following a hypersensitivity test.
Sapphire and Ward had just jumped two clean rounds to finish second in the class leaving Ward standing first in the World Cup Final. The FEI also decided to eliminate Sapphire from the rest of the competition.
FEI President HRH Princess Haya, clearly distressed at the developments, opened with a prepared statement, then fielded questions alongside FEI First Vice President Sven Holmberg, President of the Ground Jury René Billardon and FEI-appointed veterinarian Paul Farrington, DVM.
Just The Facts
Farrington administered two hypersensitivity tests on Sapphire, one at 7:30 p.m. just at the start of Round 2 of the competition, and the second at 12:30 a.m., about two hours after the end of the competition. Both times Farrington and Foreign Veterinary Delegate Emile Welling performed a thermography exam and clinical exam with identical results: The thermography test came back negative, but the clinical exam showed sensitivity in a small area on the dorsal surface of the pastern on her left foreleg.
During the second exam, a third veterinarian, Markus Mueller of Switzerland, and Billardon were also present.
“Each and every time I touched that point on the surface of the horse’s pastern, the horse showed a very marked reaction by picking the leg up very sharply and stamping it down to the ground,” said Farrington.
Despite Farrington’s concerns, Sapphire was not eliminated before the class. That decision must be made by the Ground Jury, who was presiding over the class at the time and could not leave the jury box to make a decision at that moment.
“The vets also felt in light of the type of investigation that had been carried out, the horse could jump,” said Holmberg. “The fact that the Ground Jury didn’t have the immediate possibility to attend to the horse was also one of the reasons the horse was re-inspected five hours later.”
As per protocols, the second examination was filmed, and that video will be used in case of a further investigation. The FEI declined to make that video available to the public.
According to Holmberg, the Ground Jury decided to wait so long for the second exam and to eliminate Sapphire out of prudence.
“In light of the graveness of the eventual decision, we felt it was necessary make sure the protocol as decided by the General Assembly was followed to the letter, and it took some time to get all that organized,” he said.
Sapphire was not the only horse tested for hypersensitivity at the competition. Indeed, according to Farrington, some 35 horses had been examined before Sapphire, starting on the Thursday of the competition, and some of them were examined twice. And 30 horses have been examined since then.
