Two-time Olympic eventing individual gold medalist Sir Mark Todd can go back to training racehorses after a ruling yesterday by the British Horseracing Authority that he should be suspended for four months, with two months deferred.
An interim suspension in February came after an outcry over a video showing him hitting a horse with a tree branch to convince it to go into a water obstacle during a clinic for eventers. He had been charged with conduct prejudicial to the reputation of racing in February, after the video emerged on social media.
Although the horseman issued an apology, his license was suspended in February pending an initial hearing on Mar. 24, which was adjourned due to legal issues. Panel chairman Brian Barker heard the case privately yesterday and explained “The appropriate sentence is one of four months suspension, with two months of that deferred for two months.
“That means that the eight weeks that he has already served is sufficient and that Sir Mark is able to operate under his license immediately and that further, providing that there are no transgressions” until June 14, that deferment will disappear.”
Judge Brian Barker, chair of the independent panel, said that the BHA and Sir Mark’s legal team reached a “common ground” for his punishment.
After analyzing the footage of the incident, Barker said that both parties agreed that the horse showed no “sign of fear or distress at any time” and that the well-being of the horse did not appear to have been “compromised”.
Barker noted Sir Mark was “calm in his attempt to encourage the horse to drop into the water, having first satisfied himself that the horse was capable of doing so”, while adding that the use of a “light branch” instead of a BHA-approved whip was not appropriate.
“Those who are more likely to be in the public eye must expect a greater level of scrutiny by the public,” Barker said.
Although the whip can be used in British racing for the purpose of correction, there are limits on the amount of times it can be used.
After the hearing, the BHA stated, “As Sir Mark has himself recognized in public statements since the video emerged and in accepting that he was in breach of Rule (J)19, his behavior on this occasion fell short of the standard expected of all licensed individuals and ran contrary to the values of care and respect for the horse that underpin British racing.”
Sir Mark, who was knighted in 2013 for his service to equestrian sport, became dependent on racing for his livelihood after retiring from eventing for the second time in 2019.