The FEI warning and yellow card list has been updated and, as usual, it is filled with ridiculous descriptions of often ridiculous actions. The biggest celebrity on the list is none other than the US Eventing Team’s coach Captain Mark Phillips. The Captain was issued a verbal warning for “Incorrect behaviour” at the Pan American Games in October. Before your imagination gets the better of you, the warning officially specifies “Incorrect behaviour / moving flags on XC“. I spoke with two sources who told me that the incident was related to fence #7A, which was a large rake shaped vertical with potted bushes and the handle of the rake on the landing side and a narrow #7B a few strides away. As the story goes, someone observed the bushes on the landing side being moved during a course walk, perhaps to make for a better line on the landing side. When inquiries were made, it was said that the bushes had been blown over and were being put back upright. The net result was that Mark Phillips was given an official verbal warning by the FEI. To my knowledge, a verbal warning means nothing other than just that–a warning. Considering that Mark Phillips was given a warning for incorrect behavior involving Mexico, a rake, and some bushes, I’d say we should all be grateful this story turned out the way it did folks.
The rake in question:
There were two other items related to the Pan Ams on the yellow card list. Chilean Martinez Felipe Antonia was given a full yellow card for “Abuse of horse / riding an exhausted horse.” I saw that ride and I would say it deserved about 7 yellow cards. Juan Pablo of Guatemala was giving a verbal warning for “Dangerous riding / tried to jump a fence after elimination.”
As a few other quick notes from the yellow card list, Gina Fiore was given a yellow card for “continuing after three refusals” at the Galway CCI3*. Two riders were given yellow cards for the same reason at the CCI2* at Fair Hill and Kadi Eykamp of Australia was given a yellow card at Fair Hill for excessive use of spurs. I don’t know the full story there, but the horse did have spur marks at the Sunday vet inspection. As always, I think it’s critical to give the riders–and team coaches I suppose–the benefit of the doubt when it comes to yellow cards especially if we didn’t see the incident ourselves. That is except for the truly classic cases such as the rider from Belgium who “remounted after a fall and jumped 3 fences before stopping” or “blood on flank cause by spurs.”
Go eventing.
