Britain has lost its three-day eventing team bronze medal from the World Equestrian Games and its qualifying slot for next year's Sydney Olympic Games following the announcement yesterday that one of the team members has been disqualified following a positive dope test on her horse.

Polly Phillipps, who finished seventh individually at the World Games in Italy last October, has been disqualified as her horse Coral Cove was found to have excessively high levels of salicylic acid (aspirin) in a urine sample taken after the show-jumping phase on October 4th.

Salicylic acid is not a prohibited substance in small doses, but the levels found in Coral Cove's sample exceeded the threshold established under international rules. According to the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), exceeding the threshold levels to such an extent effectively constitutes use of a prohibited substance.

The FEI judicial committee met in London at the end of April and, during a lengthy hearing lasting over eight hours, an enormous amount of evidence was produced by the British defence team in a bid to prevent Polly Phillipps being disqualified. Almost £20,000 of British Horse Trials Association (BHTA) money has been used in defence of the case.

The judicial committee has now found against the British rider and, in a long-awaited statement issued finally yesterday morning, declared that Phillipps and Coral Cove have been disqualified from their World Games placing, which includes the team bronze, and that Phillipps has been suspended from competition for a month. She is also liable for costs incurred during the judicial procedure.

Phillipps is to meet with representatives of the BHTA and its legal adviser Matthew McLoy at the end of this week to decide if an appeal is to be lodged against the judicial committee's ruling.