NORTH Vancouver's Tiffany Foster had her first Olympic experience come to a crushing end when her horse Victor was disqualified from the equestrian jumping event due to a cut on its left front leg.
On Sunday morning, shortly before Foster was to compete in the team jumping event, officials conducting a random test discovered a hypersensitivity in the horse's leg, just above the hoof. The sensitivity showed up in a tiny scratch during a thermological exam, which uses highly detailed infrared images. Victor was deemed unfit to compete - hypersensitivity can be an advantage in jumping - and Foster's Olympic debut was over.
"What happened today was devastating to me,'' Foster said while sobbing in an emotional press conferences held after the decision was announced. "I understand why this rule is in place, and why they look for hypersensitivity in horses, but I would never jeopardize the welfare of my horse. I feel bad for my team, and I am disappointed that this is how my first Olympic Games will end."
Members of the Canadian team were furious with the decision.
"It's insane. . . . A joke," said Eric Lamaze, the 2008 Olympic champion who employs Foster as head trainer at his Torrey Pines Stables in Ontario and who has helped her reach this level in the show jumping world.
The official ruling stated there was "no accusation of malpractice, but the horse has been deemed unfit to compete by the Grand Jury."
An appeal was launched but the decision was not overturned.
"It's a girl's Olympic dream," said Torchy Millar, Canada's chef d'equipe. "It's an FEI rule to protect the welfare of the horse. It makes no allowance for just normal everyday procedure. . . . This is like getting a scratch on your finger and the referee saying you're unfit for competition. That's the equivalent. Every rule needs to be applied with a sense of balance, perspective and common sense. To me, and compatriots from other teams, this seems to lack any balance at all."
The Canadians, fielding only three riders instead of the usual four due to the disqualification, went on to finish fifth in the team competition.
With files from Postmedia Olympic Team
NORTH Vancouver's Tiffany Foster guides her horse Victor during a recent competition. Foster was disqualified from the Olympic jumping event Sunday.
