Irish show jumper Kevin Thornton guilty of horse abuse

Irish show jumping rider Kevin Thornton, who had a case opened against him last November by the FEI tribunal following the death of the Irish Sport Horse gelding Flogas Sunset Cruise in Cagnes-Sur-Mer the previous month, has been found guilty of horse abuse.

The 28-year-old from Co Louth has been suspended from competing for four months and was imposed a fine of 5,000 Swiss francs (€4,600) and costs of a similar amount. The decision can be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 21 days from the date of notification (June 6th).

In announcing its final decision on Wednesday, the tribunal stated that its findings had shown that when riding Flogas Sunset Cruise during a training session at the Hippodrome de la Cote d’Azur racetrack on October 10th, “the athlete’s behaviour went way beyond what could be considered an acceptable conduct towards a horse” and further concluded “with confidence that the horse has been whipped repeatedly, substantially and excessively and clearly more than the three times alleged by Mr Thornton”.

Cause of death

An autopsy carried out on the 10-year-old Ard VDL Douglas stallion, which was owned by Co Mayo's Vinnie Duffy, could not clarify the cause of death but, in its testimony, the FEI stated that "even if the horse had survived, a case of horse abuse would still have been opened by the FEI".

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As the autopsy did not confirm the cause of death, the FEI tribunal clarified that it was “not deciding on the potential responsibility of Mr Thornton for the tragic death of the horse”.

"The FEI stood up for horse welfare by taking this case to the FEI Tribunal and given the severity of this incident I truly would have expected a much tougher sanction," FEI secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez said. "It was important to the FEI that the allegation of horse abuse was confirmed by the Tribunal. We had requested a two-year suspension, but the level of sanctions is at the discretion of the Tribunal and we respect its independence."

Core value

Asked for its response to the tribunal’s decision, Horse Sport Ireland, the national governing body for equestrian sport in Ireland, issued the following statement on Thursday:

“Horse welfare is a core value of Horse Sport Ireland. As this incident happened at an international location, an investigation was carried out by the FEI (International governing body of equestrian sports). Horse Sport Ireland recognises the findings of the FEI Tribunal. As stated by the FEI, the athlete in question can if desired, appeal the decision within 21 days from the date of notification (6 June 2017). Horse Sport Ireland will not be commenting further until this process is completed.”

The Irish Times has been unable to contact Thornton whose last international appearance was at the Cagnes-Sur-Mer show where Flogas Sunset Cruise died.