Feed, supplements and contamination risks under FEI Rules: Insight from the Guerdat and Bichsel decisions.

The research article discusses the steps taken by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) during the allegations against Swiss Equestrian athletes, Steve Guerdat and Alessandra Bichsel, who were initially suspected of doping violations. The paper presents a case where the athletes were cleared of doping-related offences as subsequent investigations revealed that the substances found in their horses’ samples were due to feed contamination from a common supplier.

Research Background and Context

• The accusations were made following the detection of Banned Substances and Controlled Medications in samples taken from their horses at the La Baule CSI05* event in France in May 2015.
• The detected substances included codeine, oripavine, and morphine. While codeine and oripavine are classified as Banned Substances, morphine is categorized as a Controlled Medication.
• Although these substances are opiate analgesics that can potentially affect a horse’s performance, they are also associated with possible feed contamination through inadvertent presence of opium poppy parts in feed ingredients or processing agents.

Investigations and Findings

• The athletes and the FEI, together with the Swiss National Federation and Swissfritz (the common feed supplier), found the feed contamination to be the source of the aforementioned substances.
• The finding was underpinned by prior incidents such as the positive morphine test of the Queen’s horse, Estimate, in 2014, which was traced back to opium poppy contamination in the feed.

Outcome and Implications

• Due to the evidence of feed contamination and the lack of fault on the part of the athletes, the FEI ruled out sanctions, apart from the compulsory disqualification of their results from the event.
• This case highlighted the issue of potential contamination risks in equine feed, throwing light on a significant challenge for athletes competing under FEI rules.
• It also reinforced the notion that not all positive drug findings are indicative of an intention to cheat, urging for more lenient sanctioning procedures where the welfare of the horse is a primary concern.

Tackling Feed Contamination

• The study mentions efforts by various bodies like the British Equestrian Trade Associations to lower the risk of such contamination through codes like the Naturally Occurring Prohibited Substances (NOPS) Code.
• Nonetheless, it acknowledged the ongoing difficulty to entirely eradicate such risks due to the agriculture-dependent manufacturing process.