FEI open case against Kevin Thornton after death of horse

The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) has opened a case against Irish show jumper Kevin Thornton for alleged abuse of the horse Flogas Sunset Cruise at Cagnes-sur-Mer on October 10th this year.

A statement released on Thursday: “This case is taken in accordance with Articles 142 and 163 of the FEI General Regulations. The athlete has been given the opportunity to provide a written reply to the allegations, including any documents, witness statements or other evidence that may be used in any legal proceedings arising out of this case.

“Once this information has been received and a full case file has been compiled, the FEI will submit the matter to the FEI Tribunal under Article 142.2 of the FEI General Regulations. As the matter is now the subject of legal proceedings, the FEI will not comment further at this time.”

Thornton (28) from Dundalk, Co Louth but living in Switzerland for the past six years was at the centre of allegations that his actions caused the death of Flogas Sunset Cruise, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse owned by the rider and Co Mayo's Vinnie Duffy. The rider immediately refuted these allegations when first published and again in a press release issued though his Zurich-based attorney Dr Monika Gattiker following a post mortem on the horse.

Thornton expressed himself surprised by the FEI's statement yesterday and, after consulting with Dr Gattiker, said he stood behind the findings of German veterinary expert Dr Peter Cronau who attended the mid-October post mortem on the rider's behalf. At that stage Thornton stated: "According to D. Cronau neither sweat nor sweating consequences (incrusted areas, change of skin surface etc.) were visible on the horse's coat. He also stated that the existent skin was undamaged. This refers also to spur and whip marks.

“As to the cause of the death, there are no conclusive results yet. Pathologic anatomic-wise neither an aortic rupture nor any rupture of other blood vessels nor heart lesions which could be related to the sudden death were found. Further investigations have to be carried out, including blood analysis.

“Based on these findings the statements accusing me of having worked (lunged and/or ridden) excessively cannot be maintained, as the horse did not show any signs of having sweated when he died. Further, any accusations that I had abused the horse with a whip and/or spurs also prove to be false.”

Meanwhile on the competition front, Shane Sweetnam finished fourth in Wednesday night's Longines FEI World Cup qualifier at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, Canada riding his own and Spy Coast Farm's Chaqui Z.

Only five combinations got through to the second round where the Cork native picked up four faults in 37.49 as the USA’s McLain Ward recorded the only double clear to win on HH Azur. Sweetnam won the earlier 1.40m speed class on the 10-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding Cobolt which he owns in partnership with The Blue Buckle Group.