Irish showjumping, already reeling from the doping cases surrounding Olympic gold medallist Cian O'Connor and team mate Jessica Kurten, was hit by another major controversy yesterday when news emerged of a pony that had tested positive to a cocktail of three prohibited substances at an international fixture in Italy last September.
Loughnatousa Bart, a pony ridden on the winning Irish team at the Arezzo Nations Cup meeting by the then 14-year-old Cailin Power, was tested positive for anti-inflammatory and relaxant drugs. The substances have been named as two anti-inflammatory drugs, Flunixin Naproxen and Desmetnylpyrilamine, and a metabolite of Pyrilamine, a relaxant.
The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) has declared the case to be a Grade I infringement, the most serious breach of the medication control programme, but details were delayed due to problems identifying the person responsible.
In senior competition, the person responsible is always the rider, but when minors are involved, the owner of the pony is deemed to be the person responsible.
The pony had changed hands last year when the original owner, Tim Beecher from Waterford, sold it to Terry Power, father of the rider. Details in the pony's passport had not been changed, however, resulting in the delay.