FEI open two new doping cases and impose ban on Argentine Ossa

The FEI have opened cases against Mohammad Davoud Shekofti and Camilla Malta ©FEI

Two new doping cases have been opened by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), while the governing body has also imposed a two-year ban on Argentine rider Mariano Ossa after concluding proceedings from his case from 2014.

Ossa's case involved the horse Up Date 2, which was administered with banned substance stanozolol on May 21, 2014.

He was given a backdated two-year suspension which has been reduced by five months as his “substantial assistance” helped for proceedings to be opened against the horse owner and the vet.

Having been suspended while the case was ongoing Ossa, who was also fined CHF 2,000 (£1,294/$1,967/€1,845) and ordered to pay CHF 1,000 (£647/$983/€922) towards the legal costs of the judicial procedure, is able to return from the ban on March 8, 2016.

The horse’s owner Fabio Mazzarella of Venezuela and the FEI Permitted Treating Veterinarian Dr William Yerkes of the United States were both charged under Article 2.2 of the FEI Equine Anti-Doping Regulations relating to use or attempted use of a banned substance.

Yerkes has received a two-year period of ineligibility while Mazzarella has received a 19-month suspension and a CHF 5,000 (£3,234/$4,919/€4,613) fine, with both of the suspensions having been backdated to the date of the offence.

The results achieved by the horse since May 21, 2014, have all been annulled as a result of the disciplinary proceedings.

Mariano Ossa is set to return to competition in March 2016 ©Facebook/Mariano Pablo Ossa

Meanwhile, Iranian rider Mohammad Davoud Shekofti has been provisionally suspended in one of the two new cases opened by the FEI after his horse Sir de Diamant, which has been suspended for two months, produced an adverse analytical finding following the CSIO2 jumping event in Tehran.

The samples taken at the competition, which took place from September 22 to 25, returned stanozolol and its metabolite, 16 Beta Hydroxy-Stanozol, an anabolic steroid which promotes muscle mass.

Additionally the controlled medication substance dexamethasone, a corticosteroid used to treat inflammatory and auto-immune conditions, and the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug flunixin were also detected.

Italy’s Camilla Malta has also been provisionally suspended after her horse Barbaforte Bosana tested positive for the banned substance ergonovine, an agent which narrows the blood vessels, at the Young Horse Endurance Championships in Italy on September 26.

The horse has been suspended from competition for the next two months.

Both Shekofti and Malta have the opportunity to have their suspensions provisionally lifted should they take up the option of a preliminary hearing ahead their case coming to an FEI Tribunal.

In a further case, the FEI have notified Dr Pasha Syed Kamaal that proceedings have been opened against him regarding his involvement among support personnel in a 2012 case, involving the horse Glenmorgan.

Ridden at the CEI3* 160 kilometre race at Al Wathba, United Arab Emirates, by Sheikh Hazza bin Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the horse tested positive for propoxyphene, a pain relieving substance, and its metabolite norpropoxyphene.

The Emirati rider challenged a 27-month suspension awarded by the FEI Tribunal for the positive test at the February 2012 event at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with his suspension being reduced to 18 months following his appeal.

However, during the proceedings Dr Kamaal confirmed he had administered the product fustex, which contains propoxyphene, to the horse the night prior to the event.

This has led to the FEI opening a case against the Indian.