The Court of Arbitration of the German Equestrian Federation has sentenced Isabell Werth to pay a fine and to bear all legal expenses in the positive medication case of her horse El Santo. Today the Court of Arbitration ended the long lasting legal battle between Werth and the German FN which started in 2012.
The Court of Arbitration agrees with the decision of the Disciplinary Committee that there was a breach of the anti doping and medication regulations of the German FN, but gave Werth a "milder" sentence: not a 6-month suspension from competition as the disciplinary committee ruled, but Isabell will have to pay all legal fees as well the 2,000 euro fine.
The Court of Arbitration found Werth guilty of a "minor" violation of the anti-medication regulation as it believes that the stomach medication found in El Santo's urine had no performance enhancing effect.
In July 2012 El Santo tested positive to the FN prohibited medication cimetidine at the Rhinelander regional championships. According to
Werth, El Santo had drunk contaminated water when the water system in
her barn failed, as El Santo's box neighbour Warum Nicht FRH was treated
with the medicine for stomach ulcers. Two experts were assigned to investigate the probability of this scenario.
FN president Breido Graf zu Rantzau commented after the trial that "it is good that this process has come to a conclusion within our own legal system. Now the sport can come back to the forefront."
In an interview with St. Georg, Werth said, "I'm very relieved that this is the end of this topic. Of course I wish this could have been behind us sooner, but better late than never. Now they should work swiftly on harmonizing national and international medication regulations."
Photo © Astrid Appels
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