Christian Ahlmann banned from competition for four months and fined
German show jumper Christian Ahlmann has been fined and banned from competition after his horse tested positive for a banned drug at this summer’s Olympics.
Ahlmann has been banned from competing for four months and fined 2,000 Swiss Francs (£1,046) with 1,500 Swiss Francs (£785) costs, by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI).
Ahlmann’s horse, Coster, tested positive for a banned substance, capsaicin, in Hong Kong during the Beijing Olympic Games in August.
His ban from competition runs until 18 December.
Ahlmann was one of five Olympic show jumpers to be investigated for suspected horse doping offences in Hong Kong.
The FEI disciplinary tribunal has so far fined and banned from competition, for periods of up to four and a half months, Brazilian riders Rodrigo Pessoa and Bernardo Alves and Irishman Denis Lynch.
Traces of the same drug — capsaicin — were found in all of the riders’ horses.
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A decision has still to be made by the tribunal in the case of Norwegian rider Tony Andre Hansen.
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.