South African horse tests positive for prohibited substance

The FEI has imposed a provisional suspension on a South African rider whose horse has tested positive for a prohibited substance.

Samples taken at a CSI1*-W event in Polokwane (RSA) on 29 August 2015 from the horse Felix Van De Mispelaere (FEI ID 104JQ57/RSA), ridden by Jonathan Clarke (RSA) to win the competition, have returned positive for the banned substance Minoxidil, which is a vasodilator (causes blood vessels to dilate).

The athlete has been provisionally suspended from the day of notification (21 October 2015), and the horse has been provisionally suspended for two months.

The athlete and the horse owner/s have the opportunity for a preliminary hearing before the FEI Tribunal to request the lifting of the provisional suspensions.

Notes to Editors:

The FEI’s Prohibited Substances List is divided into two sections - Controlled Medication and Banned Substances. Controlled Medication substances are those that are regularly used to treat horses, but which must have been cleared from the horse’s system by the time of competition. Banned substances (doping), are substances that should never be found in the body of the horse.