and still the raging amongst the membership continues..........................

Since the original anonymous email hit jumpingaround.com's inbox on the 10th October, 2004 we have been in touch with authorities from the Australian Equestrian Federation, through to the Australian Olympic Committee and all committees in between and I must say that most agencies have been forthcoming and prompt with their responses which has been excellent.

The equestrian world is a small one, and the results of the Positive A sample returned by Armitrano's Mr Innocent was known of by many for some time prior to the anonymous email - as was Cian O'Connor's positive A sample with ABC Landleibe in Rome and many others as well. I would contend that it is almost impossible to keep these things "totally secret" as Equestrian Offices, like all others, are staffed by human beings and human beings like to be the "ones in the know" and will thus spread information, some of which will eventually be proven to be true and some of which will be found to have no basis in fact.

I would like to state at this point, that it is the "job of the legitimate media" to bring issues to the attention of the general public, to ask questions and to seek answers - it is not our "job" to cast an opinion and I would like to hope that I have not at any stage throughout the debate regarding a positive swab returned by Mr Armitrano's horse, Mr Innocent voiced an opinion or a leaning. I have asked for answers to the questions which have been raised by the way the issue has surfaced.

Our first editorial was, as I have said, prompted by the anonymous email and there were questions raised by it that had to be answered by "someone" but there were those in authority who believed that the situation could be "toughed out" and that has made it seem to many that there were things being "hidden" - whether this was true or not, that was the perception in the marketplace and it continues to be so with many emails still circulating.

I understand that Mr Venhaus, CEO, Australian Equestrian Federation, is upset at my pointing out the incorrect conversion of time zones in my editorial comment in relation to the official EFA Press Release regarding the positive swab of Mr Innocent but I believe that "crossing t's and dotting i's" is very important with such a contentious issue and there was nothing more sinister than this in my doing so.

The issues of doping within the equestrian world is consuming riders, officials, owners, vets and officials worldwide at this point in time brought on quite obviously by the results of the positive testing of Olympic medallists and it is definitely NOT good for our sport but, and it is a very big but - it is happening and it is against the rules and this raises many of it's own questions regarding the regulations themselves and whether or not changes should or shouldn't be made with regards to the testing of horses. However, whether or not changes will or will not be made in the future has little to do with the current discussions as they are based on the rules as they stand - rules which every rider is, or should be, well aware of - the list of prohibited substances are well documented and freely available to all via either printed matter or on the web site of the official governing body, the FEI.

The situation which does seem to have come to light through this current debacle is that perhaps the testing and reporting procedures need to be looked at and streamlined as on investigation it appears that Federations and Persons Responsible are not being notified within the 10 to 30 day period stated, but that it is taking up to 60 days for this happen and the Australian Federation were notified of Mr Innocent's positive A sample some 58 days after the sample was taken - to those who doubt this I can assure you that it has been verified by Mr Venhaus, the CEO of the EFA and I would have no reason to doubt their honesty and nor should any of the members.

The FEI system is, no doubt, designed to be fair to all concerned, with the welfare of the horse being the most important issue but perhaps the time has come to see a streamlining of the process so that results are known in a shorter time frame to avoid the issues which have arisen for the Australian equestrian fans, who obviously have concerns about Mr Innocent's inclusion in the Athens lineup, and also for those who may lose or gain a medal as the direct result of the return of a positive sample - this issue is not one which will be fixed overnight and it is important that the membership have faith in their own governing bodies to do the "right thing".

The AOC have also verified that it was they, who made the decision to allow Mr Armitrano to compete at Athens Olympic Games as they believe that without the confirmatory B sample they could not refuse him this right as it would be a "denial of natural justice" and this was their legal advice at the time of the positive A sample. This office has, at this date, had no response from our questions to the ASDA as to their position on this issue but if we will keep you informed of their response, if one is received.

The query I would have regarding the A and B samples would be that by waiting for the B sample is there not a suggestion that there is a strong possibility of tampering with these samples and the hope by those tested positive that the B sample will show something different to the A sample - if this is the case then I would be concerned that the Persons Responsible have no faith in those in control of the testing, and that cannot be a good thing - or is the B sample being used as a way of putting off suspension from further competitions as the Person Responsible has quite some time to request a B sample testing?

The quotes and discussion regarding the Olympic positive cases are all related to acceptance that the substances were found and discussion as to why they found - there has been no quote yet which would suggest that any of the Persons Responsible are denying what has been found, hence Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum's non-inclusion in the German Olympic showjumping team for Athens.

I believe that the worldwide issue of doping is one which needs much further discussion at all levels, from the offices of our governing bodies through to the marketplace - it is an issue which concerns all those concerned with the equestrian sport and it will not go away overnight. I would urge all members of all Equestrian Federations to write to their governing bodies with their questions and to seek answers for their concerns but at this time it would seem to me that the most important thing would be to be aware of the rules and ensure that you play by them regardless of whether you agree with them or not - they are, after all, the rules as they stand.

The emails received by our offices are, I believe, confusing two issues - the first issue is the Positive A sample from Armitrano's horse, Mr Innocent with the second issue being the discontent about the selection process - I believe that the two issues need to be kept very separate.

To those in the Australian Equestrian Federation who are concerned that jumpingaround.com is working towards their downfall I would suggest that this magazine is far more concerned with bringing issues to the forefront and keeping them out of the "shelter shed gossip" as it is our belief that this is the only way to get the sport in Australia moving forward so that our riders and horses can take their rightful place in the international arenas - and we will continue to do this when issues are raised. Perhaps we are a publication which the membership trust to ask the questions and demand answers to and this is why we have raised the hackles of the governors of our sport - for this we do not apologise!