Italian dressage coach banned from Rio Olympics following appeal
The trainer and father of Italian Olympic dressage rider Valentina Truppa (pictured) will not be allowed to coach his daughter in Rio.
Enzo Truppa was fined €10,000 and given a four-month suspension from his Italian Equestrian Federation (FISE) roles, postponed until 1 September, following a dispute over the sale of a horse.
Following the hearing on 27 June, Mr Truppa — a trainer and judge — lauched an appeal against the decision.
But the FISE Federal Court of Appeal has now partially amended the ruling, suspending Mr Truppa from his roles immediately.
His daughter, Valentina, is Italy’s sole dressage entry at the Rio 2016 Olympics, riding the 19-year-old chestnut gelding Chablis.
A statement from FISE, posted on its website on Sunday (31 July) said it had “taken note” of the Court of Appeal’s judgement and would not be commenting “at this time”.
Sanctions were brought against Mr Truppa following the sale of grand prix dressage horse Eremo Del Castegno. A civil case is due to begin in November.
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The horse had achieved qualifying results for Rio 2016 with Valentina, but was sold in January to Brazilian millionaire Jorge Ferreira Da Rocha.
Mr Da Rocha, a long-term sponsor and investor in Brazilian dressage, had been hoping to ride at his home Games.
FISE claimed the sale was a breach of contract, which Mr Truppa disputed.
In 2012, H&H reported that FISE had renewed a 2010 agreement with Enzo that Italy’s top grand prix horse would be retained for the country until the Rio Games.
The federation gave Enzo €70,000 per year for securing the horse, which Enzo’s daughter Valentina competed for Italy in two European championships and the London Olympics.
Related articles:
- Grand prix dressage horse sold to Brazil
- €10,000 fine for owner who sold horse ahead of Rio 2016
- Owner sued for selling horse before the Olympics
However, Mr Truppa told H&H at the time that the money was given not only for Eremo and Chablis, but also for a number of goals. He said these included training horses and riders up to grand prix level with the purpose of taking part with a team at European and World Championships to qualify for the Olympics.
“All obligations up to 31 December 2015 were fulfilled, including qualification for Rio,” said Mr Truppa.
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.