FEI official avoids ban as Olympic probe starts

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — A disciplinary tribunal of equestrian's governing body rejected a request Friday from within its own organization to suspend one of its officials over an alleged banned drugs treatment given to a horse at the Beijing Olympics. The International Equestrian Federation's tribunal ruled that Hanfried Haring can continue working on the body's ruling bureau during a wide-ranging investigation of the German Olympics team's activities. Haring's colleagues on the 18-member bureau had asked the tribunal to suspend him for allegedly keeping quiet about the treatment. The tribunal said that "rules in horse-abuse cases did not allow for suspension prior to a final decision." Princess Haya of Jordan, the FEI president, said the verdict had proved the tribunal's independence. "Hanfried Haring remains a member of the bureau and his fellow bureau members will accord him the respect that he deserves," Princess Haya said in a statement. The tribunal also refused to suspend German showjumper Marco Kutscher, a bronze medalist at the 2004 Athens Games, whose horse Cornet Obolensky is at the center of the probe. Kutscher was reported to have broken competition rules by having the horse secretly treated between rounds at Hong Kong, where the Olympic equestrian events were held. The FEI said it received reports the treatment "may have resulted in pain or discomfort to the horse when he fell against a stable wall, that the horse subsequently competed and that neither the treatment nor the welfare issue were reported at the time." The tribunal could still act against former German team vet Bjorn Nolting, who was unable to attend hearings last week. Kutscher placed 42nd in individual jumping and also competed in team jumping. Germany topped the equestrian medal table at the Bejing Games with three golds, one silver and one bronze. However, Germany disbanded its equestrian teams last week after separate drugs revelations involving Olympic horses ridden by Christian Ahlmann and Ludger Beerbaum. A special FEI ethics panel is investigating the German team for possible "violations of FEI rules, Olympic rules or any other relevant state laws." Led by John Stevens, a former chief of London's Metropolitan Police, the panel will also examine whether medals or standings were affected at previous Olympics. – AP