Gelo Delle Schiave (“the “Horse”) participated at the CDI-W in Lipica, Slovenia, from 24 to 26 May 2019 which was ridden by Mr. Pierluigi Sangiorgi (the Person Responsible “PR”), was selected for sampling. The FEI approved laboratory reported an adverse analytical finding of ‘Aripiprazole’ which is a banned substance under the FEI list. The FEI legal department notified the PR through the National Federation of Italy (“ITA-NF”). Consequently, the PR was suspended for 2 years and the horse was suspended for 2 months from the date of notification.
The Groom who has escorted the horse to the event admitted that he had frequently fulfilled his physiological needs (urine) in the box of the Horse from the moment he arrived at the event. The PR presented a statement from the Groom’s doctor along with a copy of the prescription for the medication and an expert statement from a specialist in Toxicology.
In the FEI’s view, although the PR’s Support Personnel should have been aware of the risk of human to horse cross contamination through urination on the horse’s bedding, the PR in this case could not quite have acknowledged the fact that the Groom was on medication which could lead to the presence of the prohibited substance in the horse’s system. As a result, the FEI was convinced that the PR has proved that he bore No Fault or Negligence for the Rule violation and the applicable period of ineligibility (two years) shall be eliminated.