The FEI Tribunal has issued its Final Decision in a horse abuse case involving Olympic Dressage athlete Evi Strasser (CAN) and her daughter, Tanya Strasser-Shostak (CAN).
The FEI Tribunal concluded that Evi Strasser committed acts of horse abuse against a horse on June 12 and July 4, 2018, in breach of Article 142 of the 2018 FEI General Regulations. The Tribunal also found that the charges of bringing the FEI and equestrian sport into disrepute and breaching the FEI Code of Conduct for the Welfare of the Horse were established. As these violations were consequential to and subsumed within the findings under Article 142, no separate sanctions were imposed for them.
In its Final Decision, the FEI Tribunal suspended Evi Strasser for a period of four years. She will receive credit for the provisional suspension periods actually served, including from February 18 to May 15, 2024, and from November 12, 2024 until notification of the decision. Her suspension will end November 11, 2028. Strasser is also ordered to pay a fine of CHF 4,000 and a contribution of CHF 10,000 towards the FEI’s legal costs (a total of approx. $24,112 CAD). The pair were provisionally suspended by Equestrian Canada on Feb. 17, 2024.
The Tribunal dismissed the horse abuse, disrepute and code of conduct charges against Tanya Strasser-Shostak. No suspension, fine or other sanction is imposed on her, and her provisional suspension is lifted with immediate effect.
In response to the Tribunal’s decision, Evi Strasser posted on her Facebook page, saying in part:
“After more than two and a half years of devastating professional, personal, and financial consequences, Canadian international dressage athlete Tanya Strasser-Shostak has been completely vindicated by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Tribunal, which dismissed every charge brought against her and ordered the immediate lifting of her provisional suspension.
“For Tanya, however, the decision comes 811 days too late to restore the opportunities, championships, and Olympic dreams taken from her during the years she was prohibited from competing.
“The Strasser family maintains that the FEI’s suspension deprived Tanya of her rightful opportunity to compete for a place on the Canadian team at the World Equestrian Games and destroyed what they believe would have been her Olympic berth. Her career trajectory, competitive record, and preparation had placed her in a position to pursue those ambitions.
“For Tanya, the legal fight is over. Every charge has been dismissed. Her suspension has been lifted. Her name has been cleared. But the greatest tragedy remains that the opportunities she lost cannot be returned. And for Evi, the fight for complete vindication continues.”
The full FEI Tribunal decision will be shared once it is published.
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