Riders on high horses banned from Olympics, Norway may have to give up bronze

The riders — representing Brazil, Germany, Ireland and Norway — were suspended after their horses tested positive for capsaicin, which is “a prohibited substance for its pain relieving properties,” the FEI said in a statement. The four banned riders are Bernardo Alves of Brazil and his horse Chupa Chup; Germany’s Christian Ahlmann and Coster; Ireland’s Denis Lynch and Latinus; and Hansen and his horse Camiro.

The announcement throws into doubt the medal order of the team jumping competition earlier in the week, in which Norway won a bronze medal. “It is quite absurd,” said Morten Djupvik, who along with Hansen and Stein Endresen made up the bronze medal-winning team.

“I never heard anything about testing positive for this substance and suddenly there are so many horses with tests that are coming back positive,” he said. “He is devastated,” Djupvik said of Hansen.

The FEI’s secretary general Alexander McLin could not confirm when the B-sample results would be available, or when an announcement would be made on whether Norway would have to relinquish its medal. If the team bronze is taken from Norway, Switzerland will take third place.

The FEI said the four horses had been “provisionally suspended by the FEI further to doping/medication control tests that indicated the present of capsaicin in each horse”. One horse from each medal-winning team was tested for banned substances, said Farrington. Djupvik said two Norwegian team horses were tested, his and Hansen’s.

“Mine came back negative, his was positive,” he said. “We will be appealing if the B sample comes back positive.”