Chaccoinfo.com - Full Article
March 5, 2026
•Translated from Spanish•
The FEI has provisionally suspended Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad al-Khalifa, double endurance world champion in 2023 and 2024, after the positive for a banned substance detected in his mane Freesia de Lap. The control, carried out after a 160-kilometre race in Dubai on January 30, revealed the presence of atenolol, a beta-blocker included in the list of substances banned in competition. The suspension, automatic in these cases, has been in effect since March 2.
The positive for Lap’s Freesia came after the binomial’s victory at Dubai’s 3* CIS, where the eleven-year-old Anglo-Arab mare, trained by Muhammad Abbas Khalid, completed the test at an average speed of 20.85 km/h and with particularly fast heart recovery times. Atenolol, used in veterinary medicine to treat arrhythmias and other heart pathologies, can reduce the heart rate of the horse, a decisive parameter in the veterinary controls of the discipline. In the same competition, another Bahraini team horse, Divine du Vialaret, also tested positive for the same substance.
According to the anti-doping regulations of the FEI, a positive for prohibited substances implies the immediate suspension of both the horse and the rider until a hearing before the FEI Court. If the infringement is confirmed, the penalties can reach up to two years of suspension for a first offense, in addition to financial fines. The binomial is equally disqualified from the test in question. Sanctions can be reduced if the athlete demonstrates the absence of negligence or manages to trace the origin of the contamination by solid evidence. For the moment, neither Sheikh Nasser nor his coach have announced whether they will request the analysis of sample B.
Bahraini endurance had already faced recent sanctions. In 2023, the national team lost the gold medal won at the Bou Thib World Cups due to the steroid positive for Héra Durances, mounted by Abdoulrahmane Mohammed al-Zayed. Following the decision of the FEI Tribunal, the title passed into the hands of the French team. This new case once again places Bahrain’s team at the center of the controversy and opens a period of uncertainty for one of the most influential riders on the international circuit.
FEI Table of suspensions updated 3 March 2026 is here:
https://inside.fei.org/system/files/Table%20of%20Suspensions%20-%2003%2003%2026.pdf
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