Speechless.
It’s hard to know what to say about the events of this past weekend. On Friday evening, McLain Ward and Sapphire were right where we assumed they’d be – sitting first at the Rolex FEI Show Jumping World Cup Finals in Geneva, Switzerland. Two stellar clean rounds and the pair were right on point to finally grab the individual World Cup title that McLain has been itching to win.
By Sunday evening, everything had changed. Sapphire was disqualified from the competition on the grounds of hypersensitivity in her left front leg. The FEI determined that she was unfit to compete in a mind-boggling sequence of events that seemed to make no sense to anyone but the FEI. USEF released this statement on the situation, surely a harbinger for things to come. There’s one heck of a storm brewing over this debacle, and McLain has already promised to see it through to the end.
For what it’s worth, I visited McLain at his barn in Florida over the winter to interview him for Sidelines’ March cover story. Going there as a reporter, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d been prevented from poking my head into the tack room, wandering up the barn aisle to visit with Sapphire, or walking around the property at my leisure. But this was not the case. McLain and his entire staff were open, friendly and absolutely comfortable with a member of the media hanging about their barn while I waited for the interview to start. As far as I could see (and believe me, my eyes were wide open), there were no secrets or dark corners at that operation. McLain has made a huge effort to show he has nothing to hide and that he has his horses’ best interests in mind at all times. If he’d been faced with a horse that was actually sore and unfit to compete at the World Cup, I have no doubt he would have pulled her from competition without a second thought. Sapphire is the horse closest to his heart, and it goes without saying that she receives nothing less than the best of care. Standing outside her stall and obliging her with pats on the head and neck was a really fun perk of my job that day, and it also showed me that the most famous mare in the world is an expressive, interested, and well adjusted horse. Might she have raised her left front leg as FEI vets palpated it 57 times? Maybe. Does that mean she was sore and unfit to compete? Does it?? We’ll all find out soon enough.
Ears askance, licking and chewing, Sapphire was happy to visit with me when I was in Florida in January.
To be so unjustly torn down from the top of the sport for a completely subjective and bogus “reason” is a tragedy, for McLain and for the entire sport of show jumping. For what it’s worth, back in January McLain Ward proved to this reporter that he’s been playing the game on honest ground. It’s too bad the game hasn’t returned the favor.
Sidelines web editor Erin Gilmore writes on the line between life and the riding world.
Loading...
You wonder if they would have been quite as “thorough” had McLain not been in such a good position.
1http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/mclainandsapphire/
2There is an online petition site – I posted it above…if it comes thru. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/mclainandsapphire/
This pair is so talented; it would be unfortunate if they were not allowed to compete. Competing against a pair like this can only raise the bar for the competition, which is a good thing all around.
3I have read quite a bit about the FEI’s decision to eliminate Sapphire. Based on what I have read I have concluded that the entire process engaged in by the FEI on this occasion was completely devoid of procedural fairness. I find this quite astounding! First of all, the “standard” they have established for unfitness is illogical and impossible to understand. Using such an arbitrary standard to determine which horse is unfit to compete is the first gross unfairness. The second and perhaps even more devastating unfairness is that there is absolutely no right of appeal.
It is hard to understand why the FEI would act in this manner. I personally find it hard to believe that it is carrying out some grudge against the mare just because she was winning or some equally vindictive grudge against McLain just because of his prior difficulties in Aachen. It seems that the FEI has created an illogical and vague standard of “unfit” in its misguided attempt to protect the welfare of the horse. It seems that in its attempt to ensure a “fair” playing field for all horses and riders, the FEI has itself engaged in the most stunning display of callous unfairness imaginable. It simply defies logic that a “sound” horse who has not been subjected to any provable malpractice can still be eliminated as “unfit”. This is an impossible standard to understand and I would suggest that it is even more impossible to enforce in any clear, logical and predictable fashion.
I would think that the FEI has opened itself up to a world of hurt in imposing this arbitrary and apparently unimpeachable standard. It must understand that is not cheap to campaign a mare to the standards required to qualify for the World Cup. It must understand that it is not cheap to ship a world-class mare a great distance in order to compete at the World Cup. Furthermore, it must understand that the loss of earnings to McLain and his team is enormous. Beyond all the financial ramifications, though, I would expect that the FEI, as the world’s governing equestrian body, would understand more than anyone the true meaning and importance of this particular competition. This was the World Cup. The disqualified horse and her rider had a real chance to win the competition. Both horse and rider have doubtlessly worked tirelessly for the chance to compete with the best in the world. To have that opportunity denied through the imposition of an arbitrary in indefensible standard is simply incomprehensible.
Legal action may result in the FEI being ordered to compensate McLain Ward’s team for their enormous financial losses. However, I am willing to bet that every member of the Ward team would say that no amount of financial compensation could ever make up for the opportunity to win that was so unfairly taken away from them.
4