BERNE, May 23 (Reuters) – Two Saudi Arabian show jumpers
have been banned from the Olympic Games after their horses
tested positive for controlled medication substances at events
in February, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) said
on Wednesday.
Khaled Abdulaziz Al Eid, individual bronze medallist at the
Sydney Olympics, and Abdullah Waleed Sharbatly, individual
silver medallist at the world equestrian games in 2010, were
given eight-month bans backdated to February.
Their horses Vanoeve and Lobster 43 tested positive for the
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs phenylbutazone and
oxyphenbutazone which are listed as controlled medication
substances, said the Lausanne-based FEI.
â??”Controlled medication substances are those that are
prohibited in competition, but are permitted for treatment use
outside competition,” said the FEI.
“â??The rules provide that the suspension period for
controlled medication substances can be anywhere between a
warning and two years.”
The FEI said that â??Al Eid had failed to prove that ingestion
by means of exposure to a contaminated stable environment was
the likely source of the prohibited substances found in the
horse’s system.
â??Abdullah Waleed Sharbatly had failed to establish how the
prohibited substances entered the horse’s system.
The riders can still appeal to the Court of Arbitration for
Sport.
(Writing by Brian Homewood, editing by Dave Thompson)
