Rangiora HRC 14 August 2011 – R 9
ID: JCA14152
Meet Title:
Rangiora HRC - 14 August 2011
Meet Chair:
JPhelan
Meet Committee Member 1:
KHales
Race Date:
2011/08/14
Race Number:
R9
Decision:
On resuming the hearing we advised the parties that a written decision with full reasons would be provided later. We gave brief reasons for our decision and advised that we found that the charge had been proved.
Penalty:
Mrs O’Connor’s Open Horsewoman’s Licence was suspended from the completion of racing on 14 August 2011 until after the completion of racing on 26 August 2011. This period includes race meetings at NZMTC on 19, 23 and 26 August 2011.
Charge:
Alleged excessive use of the whip.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 9, the Canterbury Breeders – Joan Belcher Legacy Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mrs K. R. Williams against Open Horsewoman Mrs K. P. O’Connor alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) in that she used her whip excessively when driving “Datmymulligan” (7).
The charge reads as follows.
“I the above named informant allege that the above named Defendant committed a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) in that you used your whip in an excessive manner over the concluding stages when driving “Datmymulligan”.
Rule 869(2)(a) reads as follows.
“(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”
Submissions for Decision:
Mrs O’Connor had indicated on the Information that this breach of the Rules was not admitted, and she confirmed this at the hearing. Mrs O’Connor also agreed that she understood the charge, the Rule it was brought under, and the “Use of Whip” guidelines.
Mrs Williams gave evidence and used video coverage to show that Mrs O’Connor started to use her whip on entering the home straight, and had used it on 27 or 28 occasions by the end of the race. Mrs Williams also pointed out that this use of the whip was continuous.
Mrs O’Connor did not dispute the number of times she had used her whip, but said that the strikes were not forceful, and had she not used her whip as much she might not have finished third in the race.
We adjourned to consider our decision.
Reasons for Decision:
Mrs O’Connor said that she was aware of and did understand the “Use of Whip” guidelines, but after hearing her evidence we are not convinced that she does. These guidelines provide as follows.
“Excessive use of the whip simply means “too much” and relates to the number of times and/or the force with which the whip is used.
Applies whether striking the horse, harness or sulky.
A horse does not need to be marked for an excessive charge to be preferred.
Subject to the provisions of Rule 869(2) no horseman shall use the whip continuously at any time during a race and there must be distinct pauses between the whip being used or the use of the whip shall be interrupted by alternative acceptable actions.
These actions include:-Running the rein(s) over the horse’s rump
Touching or holding the whip on the top of the horse’s tail or rump
Running the whip through the horse’s tail”
After considering the evidence and the video coverage we were satisfied that 27 – 28 strikes with the whip were clearly “too much” and therefore excessive. It was also clear to us that Mrs O’Connor had used her whip continuously, which is also contrary to the guidelines.
We also reject Mrs O’Connor’s submissions that she might not have finished third had she used her whip any less than she did. The following excerpt from the E decision [M. J. E v New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (16 July 1996)], deals with this argument as a defence to a charge of excessive whip use.
“All horses are meant to compete in the race under the same conditions and Rules. If a horse has an inherent flaw in its personality or makeup so that it needs to be ridden hard with the whip, sobeit. But it still must only be ridden within the provisions of the Rules of Racing. Likewise it is not an excuse for a breach of the Rules for one to say it was necessary to ride in that particular way in order to win a race. If the horse race cannot be won within the application of the Rules of Racing which govern the manner in which the race is to be run, then sobeit and it cannot win. The same rules apply to all competitors and if there is some inherent deficiency or makeup in the character or ability of a horse that requires it to be treated in a way that is outside the Rules then that is not permitted.”
Submissions for Penalty:
In relation to penalty Mrs Williams advised that Mrs O’Connor had not previously breached this Rule, and submitted that a fine of $200-00 should be imposed.
Mrs O’Connor made submissions that she would prefer a suspension to a fine. It was established that Mrs O’Connor has one drive per meeting. Mrs Williams submitted that if a suspension were to be imposed it should be for 2 – 3 race days.
Reasons for Penalty:
After considering the submissions on penalty we took into account that Mrs O’Connor has not previously breached this Rule. We were satisfied that in the circumstances a three day suspension would be imposed in this case.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
Dmitry: This section contains all JCA fields migrated from the raw data.
Data from these fields should be mapped appropriately to display amongst the standard fields above; please make note of any values below that are missing in the above standard fields but should be there.
hearingid: 9f935b72b3656cdff2c5ba5891bb1432
informantnumber: 66847
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 14/08/2011
hearing_title: Rangiora HRC 14 August 2011 - R 9
charge:
Alleged excessive use of the whip.
facts:
Following the running of Race 9, the Canterbury Breeders – Joan Belcher Legacy Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mrs K. R. Williams against Open Horsewoman Mrs K. P. O’Connor alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) in that she used her whip excessively when driving “Datmymulligan” (7).
The charge reads as follows.
“I the above named informant allege that the above named Defendant committed a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) in that you used your whip in an excessive manner over the concluding stages when driving “Datmymulligan”.
Rule 869(2)(a) reads as follows.
“(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mrs O’Connor had indicated on the Information that this breach of the Rules was not admitted, and she confirmed this at the hearing. Mrs O’Connor also agreed that she understood the charge, the Rule it was brought under, and the “Use of Whip” guidelines.
Mrs Williams gave evidence and used video coverage to show that Mrs O’Connor started to use her whip on entering the home straight, and had used it on 27 or 28 occasions by the end of the race. Mrs Williams also pointed out that this use of the whip was continuous.
Mrs O’Connor did not dispute the number of times she had used her whip, but said that the strikes were not forceful, and had she not used her whip as much she might not have finished third in the race.
We adjourned to consider our decision.
reasonsfordecision:
Mrs O’Connor said that she was aware of and did understand the “Use of Whip” guidelines, but after hearing her evidence we are not convinced that she does. These guidelines provide as follows.
“Excessive use of the whip simply means “too much” and relates to the number of times and/or the force with which the whip is used.
Applies whether striking the horse, harness or sulky.
A horse does not need to be marked for an excessive charge to be preferred.
Subject to the provisions of Rule 869(2) no horseman shall use the whip continuously at any time during a race and there must be distinct pauses between the whip being used or the use of the whip shall be interrupted by alternative acceptable actions.
These actions include:-Running the rein(s) over the horse’s rump
Touching or holding the whip on the top of the horse’s tail or rump
Running the whip through the horse’s tail”
After considering the evidence and the video coverage we were satisfied that 27 – 28 strikes with the whip were clearly “too much” and therefore excessive. It was also clear to us that Mrs O’Connor had used her whip continuously, which is also contrary to the guidelines.
We also reject Mrs O’Connor’s submissions that she might not have finished third had she used her whip any less than she did. The following excerpt from the E decision [M. J. E v New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (16 July 1996)], deals with this argument as a defence to a charge of excessive whip use.
“All horses are meant to compete in the race under the same conditions and Rules. If a horse has an inherent flaw in its personality or makeup so that it needs to be ridden hard with the whip, sobeit. But it still must only be ridden within the provisions of the Rules of Racing. Likewise it is not an excuse for a breach of the Rules for one to say it was necessary to ride in that particular way in order to win a race. If the horse race cannot be won within the application of the Rules of Racing which govern the manner in which the race is to be run, then sobeit and it cannot win. The same rules apply to all competitors and if there is some inherent deficiency or makeup in the character or ability of a horse that requires it to be treated in a way that is outside the Rules then that is not permitted.”
Decision:
On resuming the hearing we advised the parties that a written decision with full reasons would be provided later. We gave brief reasons for our decision and advised that we found that the charge had been proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
In relation to penalty Mrs Williams advised that Mrs O’Connor had not previously breached this Rule, and submitted that a fine of $200-00 should be imposed.
Mrs O’Connor made submissions that she would prefer a suspension to a fine. It was established that Mrs O’Connor has one drive per meeting. Mrs Williams submitted that if a suspension were to be imposed it should be for 2 – 3 race days.
reasonsforpenalty:
After considering the submissions on penalty we took into account that Mrs O’Connor has not previously breached this Rule. We were satisfied that in the circumstances a three day suspension would be imposed in this case.
penalty:
Mrs O’Connor’s Open Horsewoman’s Licence was suspended from the completion of racing on 14 August 2011 until after the completion of racing on 26 August 2011. This period includes race meetings at NZMTC on 19, 23 and 26 August 2011.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mrs K. R. Williams - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mrs K. P. O'Connor - Open Horsewoman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 5e8311152b04fc732e4099dde2797d1c
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R9
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 625da448ec25fde21219bffe44f89c8c
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 14/08/2011
meet_title: Rangiora HRC - 14 August 2011
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: rangiora-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: JPhelan
meet_pm1: KHales
meet_pm2: none
name: Rangiora HRC