Equestrian Australia on Its Knees: Public Apology for Grievances Caused

Dressage

Australia

One week after confirming the lost case of Equestrian Australia (EA) vs Viv Lipshut in a press release, the Australian equestrian federation issued a second statement and made a public knee fall.

In the statement issued on 31 July 2026 the Australian federation publicly admitting its wrong-doing and apologizes for the grievances it caused by fighting the correct calculation of the 2024 Australian Grand Prix champion's title in a 21-month legal battle.

Lost Case

The National Sports Tribunal recently found that the wrong scoring method was used to determine the Australian Grand Prix Champion at the 2024 Australian Dressage Championships. The Tribunal determined that Estupendo and rider David McKinnon, owned by Viv Lipshut, should have been awarded the title and not Mary Hanna on Ivanhoe.

After the Championships Lipshut lodged a complaint with Equestrian Australia but she was vehemently opposed by the federation and show organizer to be heard, preventing fair play.

After an almost two-year battle before the Australian National Sports Tribunal owner Viv Lipshut got her justice. The Tribunal ruled in her favour.

Public Knee Fall

The lack of empathy shown in EA's first press release of 24 July 2026 for Lipshut's struggles to find justice sparked heavy debates on social media.

Seven days later EA followed up with a second statement.

"Simply put, we are sorry. We are sorry for the technical error and for the impact that it had on recognising Viv, Estupendo and David as the 2024 Australian Grand Prix Champions," EA admitted. " Getting a rule wrong is one thing; what that error meant for those directly affected is another. Viv believed the result was incorrect from the moment it was announced. She raised her concerns through the appropriate channels but was unsuccessful. It then took close to two years - and ultimately a formal hearing - for the correct outcome to be recognised."

EA further added, " This required considerable time, cost and effort from Viv and David and extended well beyond the impact of the original scoring error. We acknowledge the effect this process had on them and that the matter should have been resolved sooner."

Concerning the faulty changed method to determine the winner, the federation explained that, "this was not a field-of-play judgment made by an official during competition. It was a change to the method used to determine a national title, made in the lead-up to the event and not adequately communicated. This was a governance matter. Once it became clear that the concern was not being resolved through the usual channels, Equestrian Australia should have intervened sooner. We take responsibility for not doing so."

Mary Hanna

In its statement, EA maintained a very appeasing tone towards Mary Hanna, who lost the title following the ruling.

"We are also mindful of Mary Hanna and Ivanhoe I, who competed at the Championships in good faith and were awarded the title in good faith. They found themselves at the centre of a situation that was never of their making," said EA. "We are grateful to David (McKinnon) for his understanding and to Mary for the grace she has shown throughout."

Lipshut's battle was food for much discussion on social media. Months ago Mary Hanna took to Facebook to state she won "fairly and squarely" but would concede the title (because of public pressure). For Lipshut it was not up to Hanna to decide who won the 2024 Championships, but for EA to acknowledge rules were broken.

"Fairness, Accountability, Integrity of the Sport"

Lipshut's perseverance to see the matter through in front of the Tribunal was, according to her, to stand up "for fairness, accountability, and the integrity of our sport."

EA concludes with, "to Viv and David, we offer our sincere apology. The correct result has now been recognised, and we will celebrate the win at the upcoming Equestrian NSW Awards function in August and are committed to ensuring that the lessons arising from this matter lead to meaningful and lasting improvement that creates certainty for owners and riders competing in our sport."