An experienced FEI dressage steward hopes that her acquittal from an accusation of libel will give more officials the confidence to report riders for horse abuse and other offences.
The decision in favour of Birgitte Tribler by the Danish courts on Wednesday (November 26) also highlights risks for riders in making their grievances “personal” when the official is correctly performing duties on behalf of a regulatory body.
Tribler, a national and FEI official of 20 years standing, was “loaned” by the Danish national federation to the Danish Warmblood Society to act as technical delegate at a regional mares under-saddle show in August 2023.
She reported leading young dressage rider Anders Uve Sjøbeck Hoeck for his “violent and unacceptable riding” of JJ Sophie in the warm-up area, in breach of the society’s code of conduct. He had allegedly ignored several requests to “tone down” his riding. Judges disqualified him from the class. In due course he was handed a one-year suspension from the society’s activities. The rider and his father Hans Jørgen Hoeck run the prominent stud farm and training centre Hesselhøj Hestecenter.
Aged only 20 at the time of the alleged abuse, Hoeck had already been suspended for one month in 2022 for spraying deodorant in and around the nose of a mare at another Danish Warmblood show. A consultant vet had “ no doubt that it is a question of inflicting physical discomfort and pain, and that the act is against the [Danish] Animal Welfare Act.”
Following his second sanction, over JJ Sophie, Hoeck opened a lawsuit against the Society to quash the suspension. This failed, and a costs order was made against him.
He then decided to sue Tribler for libel under section 269 of the Danish penal code. Hoeck said there was no evidence her report was true and that she hadn’t acted in good faith.
The courtroom was full for a hearing last month. A key piece of evidence was an official video from the warm-up, with dispute over whether the sounds heard came from a whip, pats on the horse’s neck or from the rider’s boot hitting the barrier. The video contains several sequences with blind spots. It was argued that any instructions to desist from Tribler were not audible. There was legal argument over whether Tribler was bound by the regulations of the Danish Warmblood Federation or the Danish national federation.
Tribler told media organisation Ridehesten Hoeck sought over one million krone (CAN$ 218,000) in damages. However, there is no reference in reports of these proceedings as to how he calculated these alleged losses to his business or reputation.
Tribler countered that she performed her duty by reporting the incident and it was then up to that regulatory body to make the further assessment and possibly impose sanctions.
Speaking after Wednesday’s ruling, Danish equestrian federation’s Secretary General Jens-Erik Majlund said: “There is no doubt that it is an inhumanly hard process to be personally accused and sued for a piece of correct and well-done work. Especially considering that the work, which was questioned as voluntary work, was carried out by a very experienced official with more than twenty years of experience in the role of technical delegate.” The federation also emphasised that the rider was mistaken in thinking his grievance was personal against Tribler, rather than against the federation.
The federation relies on “a large, good and well-educated network of volunteers and officials, and therefore it is also a very basic premise that the association of course stands behind and supports these at all times, regardless of what decisions are made.”
Tribler said, “This sends a signal that we do not want to see horses used in this way. The judgment shows the outside world that the rules matter and that our work as officials is taken seriously.
“With this decision, we send a signal to other officials that it pays to stand firm on what you see. Our task is to communicate and enforce the regulations, and we are trained to react when something is not as it should be.”
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