A jumping owners’ decision to secretly give their stallion steroids in hope of improving semen quality has resulted in their unwitting rider being suspended for a year.
The FEI accepted that Brazil’s Jefferson Martins Maquieira could not have known about the owners’ intentions, and so bore “no significant fault or negligence.” But under the strict liability principle he is still accountable. He accepted a one-year suspension and 1,500 Swiss franc fine, in a negotiated settlement ratified by the FEI Tribunal.
Maquieira’s ride Gucci tested positive to Boldenone and Boldienone at the CSI2* in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico from October 3-6 2019. Boldienone and Boldenone are banned anabolic steroids with anabolic effects to increase muscle mass and modify behaviour.
The rider was “very surprised”, and immediately investigated. He found that Boldenone was contained in Equi-gan and injected without his knowledge or consent “at least on two occasions” including September 4 and 22 2019, by Gucci’s owners and the driver. They thought Equigan would improve Gucci’s semen quality, as he had reproductivity issues.
Equigan’s active substance is Boldenone undecylenate. The FEI said it is well-established that Boldenone can be detected long after administration, having a biological half-life of 14 days.
The standard tariff for a banned substances offence is a two-year suspension. In settling on one year the FEI took into consideration the “great efforts” put in place by the rider in applying a rigid and strict anti-doping protocol at his barn, which the owners had signed up to in January 2019; and that he had been “upfront, clear and adamant as from the beginning.”
Click here to read the full FEI Tribunal decision.
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