Brazilian rider suspended after horse abuse case

The FEI Tribunal has issued the final decision to suspend Brazilian dressage athlete Leandro Aparecido Da Silva for three years. They have reported Da Silva was filmed riding and mistreating his daughter’s small pony last year.

The FEI Tribunal has imposed a three-year period of ineligibility on the horse athlete. Moreover, a CHF 5,000 fine and costs of CHF 2,000 were imposed.

The video had spread on social media and the athlete publicly acknowledged he was riding the pony in the video.

Last September the Brazilian Equestrian Sport Tribunal decided they had no jurisdiction in this case as this was an out-of-competition incident. FEI decided to open a separate disciplinary proceeding as Article 142 of the FEI General Regulations prohibits horse abuse.

We recommend: Do you know what regulations for whips are in different equestrian sports? Find it out HERE.

The parties have 21 days to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). This is the same organization that decided to annul FEI’s decision to not count points in a series of events.