Spain: Sabotage blamed for positive drug test in Endurance horse

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

September 11, 2019
Horsetalk.co.nz

An Endurance rider from Spain whose horse tested positive for a controlled medication blames sabotage, but says he cannot prove it.

Miguel Vila Ubach was suspended for six months and fined 3000 Swiss francs over the drugs breach. He was ordered to contribute a further 1500 francs towards the cost of the case, heard by the FEI Tribunal.

Ubach had ridden TBO Joy in a CEI3* 160km ride at Fontainebleau, France, on March 30 last year.

TBO Joy was selected for testing and returned a positive urine test for salbutamol, a bronchodilator used in the treatment of inflammatory airway disease. It is classified as a controlled medication under the FEI’s anti-doping regulations.

Ubach was advised of the drugs breach through the Spanish Equestrian Federation.

He explained to the tribunal that the horse was usually stabled in a private stable. TBO Joy has always been “in perfect condition” without any respiratory problems or allergies.

He talked of a 30-year involvement in endurance, and said he had never used salbutamol in his entire career for any of his horses...

Read more here:
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/09/11/sabotage-blamed-positive-drug-endurance-horse/