Showjumpers’ horses disqualified for hypersensitivity in Rio
Irish showjumpers Billy Twomey and Denis Lynch, and French rider Simon Delestre were all disqualified from the penultimate leg of the Global Champions Tour in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday following hypersensitivity tests on their horses’ legs.
Following tests, which include veterinary examinations and the use of a thermographic camera, all three riders’ horses — Twomey’s Romanov, Lynch’s All Inclusive NRW and Delestre’s Vancouver DML — were deemed unfit to compete.
In a statement the International Equestrian Federation stated that although the horses had been disqualified there was “no indication of malpractice”.
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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.