Following a positive medication case to the prohibited substance Gabapentin, Holger Hetzel (GER) and his horse Oreade were disqualified by the FEI Judicial Committee from CSI2* Neuendorf (SUI) that had taken place on 24-26 June 2005; the rider was suspended for a period of five months. Mr Hetzel had lodged an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS”) against this decision. On 28 July, the CAS confirmed the decision of the FEI Judicial Committee.
Mr Hetzel challenged FEI’s decision on the grounds that there had been no violation involving the deliberate doping of a competition horse. Prior to the sporting event, the horse had demonstrated episodes of unusual behaviour diagnosed as epileptiform seizures. The rider had administered the horse a treatment for legitimate medical purposes prescribed by his veterinary surgeon in good faith. Mr Hetzel had been unaware of the fact that the medication contained the prohibited substance Gabapentin (a human anti-epileptic drug). The rider also argued that the quantity of Gabapentin present in the horse’s body at the time of the competition would not have been sufficient to affect the horse’s performance and that milder sanctions had been imposed on other riders for more serious violations.
In its analysis, the CAS agreed that it is undisputed that Gabapentin acts on the nervous system, which is one of the effects listed on the list of prohibited substances that was in force prior to 1 June 2006. The CAS took into consideration the expert evidence adduced by the parties and concluded that Gabapentin is presently unknown as an appropriate treatment for horses. The CAS considered that in light of the obvious possible dangers linked to the epileptiform seizures which the horse was suffering from, the use of Gabapentin to enable the participation of the horse at the event could not be viewed as risk free for the horse, its rider and the public and the Appellant should have made use of the procedure provided by the FEI Veterinary Regulations, which entails filing Medication Form 1 with the FEI Veterinary Commission/Delegate prior to the event.
The CAS concluded that: “Given the fact that the Appellant used a human medication, graded 1 by the FEI Medication Sub-Committee on a scale of 1 to 5, given the fact that the substance used had not been scientifically tested before and therefore was of an unknown risk for the Horse, the rider and the public and considering other cases decided by the FEI Judicial Committee, the Panel finds it proportionate to confirm the suspension of five (5) months decided by the FEI Judicial Committee. Based on article 173 para 4 of the FEI General Regulations, the Panel rules that the suspension shall commence on the date of this decision [28 July 2025].”
The full decision is published on the FEI website at http://www.horsesport.org/FEI/fei_05_03.html
“The FEI is satisfied with the outcome of this action,” FEI Acting Secretary General Michael Stone said. “The line of defence put forward by the Mr Hetzel is being used increasingly by riders in disputes over positive medication cases. The fact that the FEI won the appeal on all the issues shows that we are now on the right track. The fight against doping in horsesport is our absolute priority and it is of the utmost importance that offenders are caught and sanctioned. It is encouraging to see that the measures taken by the FEI in this respect are being recognized and supported by international institutions.”
Note:
Epilepsy is a chronic condition characterized by spontaneous, recurrent seizures. An epileptic seizure is a clinical event associated with a neuronal discharge and is the symptom of a potential underlying brain pathology. The term “epileptiform” applies to distinctive waves which resemble the waveforms recorded in subjects suffering from an epileptic disorder.
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