Two-month ban for Salzgeber
Ulla Salzgeber has been suspended from competing for two months by the German Equestrian Federation, following Rusty’s positive test for higher than permitted levels of testosterone at the 2003 World Cup final.
The top German rider has also been fined 2,000 euros and will have to pay all legal costs. She has one week in which to appeal against the German Federation’s decision.
The penalty imposed by the German disciplinary committee is in addition to that issued by the FEI, which stripped Ulla of her title and fined her 2,500 Swiss francs last year. Click here to read more.
Ulla told HHO: “I don’t think it is fair that I can be punished twice for the same offence. I don’t think the German Federation should have the jurisdiction to act on this.”
Ulla is currently considering whether to appeal and is hopeful that the German National Olympic Committee (NOK) will allow her to represent German at the Athens Olympics.
Under German National Olympic Committee (NOK) rules any candidate involved in a doping case is not normally eligible for a place on the Olympic squad, but Ulla’s case may be an exception because the FEI found that Ulla had played no part in Rusty’s positive test.
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Carol is an experienced journalist and editor, who is also a passionate amateur rider and dedicated horse owner, having ridden since childhood. She has a particular interest in the emotional well-being and ethical training of horses, alongside veterinary matters, having garnered extensive first-hand experience of numerous equine health conditions through more than 30 years of horse ownership.