Rider suspended for positive drug test

BRITISH reining competitor Jessica Sternberg, 27, has been cleared of any intentional wrongdoing after a horse she was competing tested positive for the prohibited anabolic steroid, Stanozolol.

Jessica was riding her mother Rosanna Sternberg’s Shiners Chic in a three-star reining competition in Katy, Texas, USA (20-21

April 2017) when the positive test occurred. The pair were disqualified from the competition as a result of the test.

Evidence submitted to the

FEI Tribunal (30 August 2018) showed the substance had been given to the horse by vet Dr McCarroll, who was undertaking a pre-competition check of the horse’s health, but he did not inform anyone he had done so.

Dr McCarroll told the tribunal: “Nobody was trying to seek a competitive advantage or do anything that would harm the welfare of the horse.”

He said he had used the steroid to treat joint soreness.

The FEI Tribunal ruled that Jessica bore “no significant fault or negligence” for the banned substance that was found in Shiners Chic’s system.

However, as the ‘person responsible’, she was suspended from competition for 17 months from the date of the notification (5 July 2017), fined 3,000

CHF (£2,346) and must pay legal costs of 1,000 CHF (£782).