US eventer Marilyn Little has been dropped by two sponsors amid social media outrage over the latest blood-in-mouth incident involving her horses.
In the past 24 hours, Enviro Equine and Pet and MDC Stirrups have severed ties with the new national champion by “mutual agreement.”
MDC’s Martin D Cohen said: “We support our customers wholeheartedly. Our customer base has indicated that they would prefer we withdraw our sponsorship with Marilyn Little. Although there have been no official findings against her, we will support our customers in 
their belief in the integrity of the sport.
“MDC does not support animal abuse, human abuse or brand abuse.”
Enviro Equine noted they had come to the decision “despite the ground jury/veterinary decision to allow her to continue to compete.”
Little was third and top-placed US rider at Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event last weekend, after being cleared to go cross-country with RF Scandalous, in accordance with FEI rules. The original presence of blood at the start-box was attributed to a cut lip and wiped clean, according to officials. But blood again became visible during her ride, and photographs circulating on social media seem to show her groom wiping the mare’s mouth with a red cloth at the finish.
Social media concern results both from the failure of the ground jury to eliminate, and the serial nature of the offence – four other “blood” incidents involving Little at three-star events since 2015 drew widespread criticism. There is also considerable debate about her bitting arrangements, and the alleged tightness of a flash noseband on RF Scandalous during her dressage ride last weekend, though that topic was not officially raised on the field-of-play.
FEI blood rules differ radically from discipline to discipline. There is zero tolerance in dressage and eventing dressage, though considerable discretion applies on cross-country.
Eventing rule 526.4 reads: “Blood on Horses must be reviewed case by case by the Ground Jury. Not all cases of blood will lead to elimination. In minor cases of blood in the mouth, such as where a Horse appears to have bitten its tongue or lip, or minor bleeding, after investigation in consultation with the Veterinarian, the Ground Jury may authorise the Athlete to continue.”
The rule allows for blood indicating Abuse to be dealt with according to FEI Article 526.2 (Abuse of Horse – Warnings and Penalties), though there is no record of this provision ever being applied.
FEI officials at Kentucky issued this comment: “At the warm-up Marilyn and the groom went to official veterinarian Duncan Peters to have it checked because there had been some blood that was wiped clean. The vet noticed a small cut inside the lip away from the bit. It had stopped bleeding, which said to the vet that the horse had bitten herself. The bleeding stopped, the ground jury was informed, and there was no report of blood at the finish.”
Blood was visible on RF Scandalous at the Fair Hill International in 2016 and Boekelo (Holland) 2015, and on Little’s other rides RF West Indie at Fair Hill 2015 and RF Demeter at Galway Downs 2015. At Galway Little retired on cross-country for reasons not attributed to blood. On none of those occasions was she eliminated.
In a statement published before her two sponsors withdrew, Little said: “First, I want to offer my sincere regret for the negative attention this has brought to the horses and sport that we all love, as well as the pressure that is being put on my personal sponsors. I could never achieve any success in this sport without my horses, my incredible support team, the people who make this sport great, and the sponsors who help me along the way.
“I tried my very best to be transparent in every possible way in Kentucky and followed our sport’s protocol in the best interest of my horse. My horse was checked multiple times by FEI officials before the start of cross country, again at the finish, and at the second horse inspection on Sunday morning, and at all times was passed fit to continue.
“I believe very deeply in following the rules our sport has in place and am beyond devastated by the comments and negative perception of how my horses are cared for. I love my horses very, very much and their happiness and wellbeing mean the world to me. I want to personally thank the officials doing their jobs to keep our sport fair and safe, as well as my sponsors and those who have stood by me at this time.”
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