Olympic event rider Shane Rose has been allowed back to competition following an investigation by Equestrian Australia (EA) in response to a complaint about him wearing a mankini in a novelty showjumping competition at Wallaby Hill on 11 February. Commonly seen on Australian beaches – and not a million miles away from sports attire for some other Olympic disciplines – the mankini was worn to entertain spectators. However it resulted in Shane being briefly stood down from competition while the investigation took place. Thousands of riders came out in support of Shane, who was part of the Australian team that won silver at the 2021 Olympics.
On the conclusion of the review, Shane shared his thanks for the tremendous public support, adding: “I’m pleased that the Equestrian Australian review has been completed and I have been reinstated and allowed to continue my campaign towards the Paris Olympic Games. The support and interest in this story has been like nothing I have experienced before.”
2. Cob rescued from railway line goes on to great things
A cob who was rescued from a railway line as a three-week-old foal has gone on to compete in prix st georges dressage and contested Horse of the Year Show. Farrier Lucy Hamblett-James, who was working as a warden 14 years ago and was part of the group who found “Coblet”, said she’s amazed at what the tiny orphaned foal has gone on to do.
3. Proposed changes to rules in light of videos showing abusive training
United States Equestrian (USEF) is proposing to strengthen rules to include covering horse abuse outside of competition – and to insist on incidents being reported. The governing body made this proposal shortly after it was announced that US dressage rider Cesar Parra was being investigated in relation to videos of what USEF described as “abhorrent abusive training techniques”.
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Sarah has worked at an equestrian journalist and editor since 2004 and has held the position of Horse & Hound Editor-in-Chief since 2014. She has reported for Horse & Hound from major championships including Europeans and World Equestrian Games. She has co-written books on horses and horse sport including The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horses & Ponies. She has owned and ridden horses since 1993, and worked for and trained with Olympic gold medallist event rider Leslie Law prior to going to university. While studying for a BSc at London School of Economics Sarah also worked for top British dressage rider Louise Spate.
