Only Fools and Horses; Strict Liability and Doping in the Context of Olympic Equestrian Sport

In equestrian sport there are three sets of drug controls. There human athlete doping control rules, equine anti-doping rules and also equine controlled medication rules. All of these rules are heavily based on the WADA Code which was developed with human athletes in mind. This paper uses the cases of two KSA Olympic showjumpers to illustrate how the rules administered by the sports governing body, the FEI, deserve close scrutiny. It is clear that there are significant unresolved issues around the appropriateness of strict liability, burdens and standards of proof in doping and medication cases involving horses.