EQUESTRIAN:THE STEVENS commission's far-reaching recommendations to combat doping within equestrian sport and to ensure the integrity of its governing body, the FEI, were published yesterday.

In May, the former chief of London’s Metropolitan Police, Lord Stevens, was appointed to the FEI’s ethics panel investigating practices among members of the German equestrian team, and its officials, at the 2008 Olympics.

The commission’s remit was subsequently broadened to include a wider overview of equestrian sport which would dovetail with the work of the Ljungqvist commission and provide the FEI with a complete spectrum of changes to be implemented in its fight against doping.

The four-man commission comprises Stevens as chairman; David O’Connor, Sydney Olympic champion and president of the United States Equestrian Federation; Ken Lalo, chairman of the FEI tribunal and president of the Israel Equestrian Federation; and Irishman John Roche, the FEI’s director of jumping.

Among the key recommendations in the six-page report is the establishment of an independent integrity unit to maintain the status of a corruption-free environment in the FEI and its sports.

“A hotline should also be considered to ensure anyone within the sport who had concerns regarding sporting integrity could report any issues and anonymously if desired.”

The commission also proposes more paid officials; an urgent review of protocols for all anti-doping testing, including an assessment of conflicts of interests; more sophisticated and effective stable security during competition including CCTV surveillance systems; and that the FEI simplifies and streamlines its rule change process and rule books.

The four-man panel recommends that a list of specific doping substances should be agreed that could be tested for in out of competition environments and that a medication logbook should be obligatory for all horses competing internationally.

They support a review of the yellow card system with the use of yellow and/or red cards for unsporting behaviour, bringing the sport into disrepute, and also to extend the list of those individuals who can receive these sanctions.

The commission’s recommendations will be put forward for approval by the national federations at the FEI general assembly in Copenhagen in November for implementation by January 1st, 2010.