It was reported last week that the UAE allegedly falsified results from two apparently faked endurance rides, supposedly held December 23rd and January 21st. Now, it was been revealed, in an article by Pippa Cuckson in The Daily Telegraph, that 10 more suspicious races have been found in the FEI’s database.
Cuckson reports that the FEI has now turned the investigation over to Quest, the integrity services agency run by former police commissioner Lord Stevens.
The equine welfare practices in the UAE have been roundly criticized over the last few years, including the most recently reported incident of Splitters Creek Bundy that suffered two broken forelegs in a race held in Abu Dhabi. The UAE equestrian federation will now have to explain how portions of 11 sets of results, entered into the FEI’s database by UAE officials, show duplication from older, legitimate races.
As Cuckson noted, “one motive for fabricating results is to ensure qualification for bigger races, and to give the impression horses have successfully completed arduous rides and are therefore seasoned endurance horses.” As such, this type of cheating is not only un-sportsmanlike, it flouts equine welfare in the worst way.
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