Central Otago TC 2 January 2011 – R 2
ID: JCA14473
Meet Title:
Central Otago TC - 2 January 2011
Meet Chair:
Ghall
Meet Committee Member 1:
JEagles
Race Date:
2011/01/02
Race Number:
R 2
Decision:
The charge is dismissed.
Charge:
Mr McIntyre, stipendiary steward, alleged that Mr R Swain (MIGHTY MEMORIES) used his whip excessively in the home straight.
Facts:
Mr McIntyre demonstrated on the 2 video angles that he believed the defendant had used his whip 23 or 24 times on MIGHTY MEMORIES in the home straight. He accepted there was a slight pause early in the straight but thereafter he believed the use of the whip was continuous. He acknowledged the use of the whip was in conjunction with the use of the reins.
Mr Swain said he had paused and he had his hand on the rein with the whip. He emphasised his hands were never off the reins. He said he could only count 12 strikes and that these were hits to the shaft of the sulky. He said he was shaking the reins at times and was not hitting the rump of the horse.
Mr Swain called Mr M Swain who said there were 15 to 18 hits but on 2 or 3 occasions it was just the reins.
Mr McIntyre acknowledged there was a change in Mr Swain’s whipping action half-way up the straight. He said it changed from a side on motion to a slapping motion.
Submissions for Decision:
These are incorporated under the previous heading.
Reasons for Decision:
Excessive in this context means too much. We count some 18 to 20 strikes to MIGHTY MEMORIES with the whip in the home straight. There is a pause after some 3 strikes before the defendant continues to use the whip again. None of the strikes were particularly forceful.
The matter is complicated by the fact that the majority of the time Mr Swain is using the whip and the reins simultaneously on the horse or its gear. The whip guidelines require there to be a pause in the use of the whip. In this regard half-way done the straight the defendant changes his action on 3 or 4 occasions. Rather than pulling his right hand back with the whip in it and then hitting the horse or the cart with a forward motion, he slaps the reins at the horse’s rump in a downwards motion. The issue is whether this is one way in which the reins can be run over the horse’s rump and thus be an “alternative acceptable action” for the purpose of the whip guidelines. After some hesitation, we have determined that it is, and we therefore dismiss the charge. However, we strongly recommend the defendant change his whip/rein action so there is no room for doubt as to whether the whip is being used continuously and thus in breach of the rules.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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hearingid: 87b0a1b65e8502c1d20a12f8c0b62748
informantnumber: 69378
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 0
decisiondate: 31/12/2010
hearing_title: Central Otago TC 2 January 2011 - R 2
charge:
Mr McIntyre, stipendiary steward, alleged that Mr R Swain (MIGHTY MEMORIES) used his whip excessively in the home straight.
facts:
Mr McIntyre demonstrated on the 2 video angles that he believed the defendant had used his whip 23 or 24 times on MIGHTY MEMORIES in the home straight. He accepted there was a slight pause early in the straight but thereafter he believed the use of the whip was continuous. He acknowledged the use of the whip was in conjunction with the use of the reins.
Mr Swain said he had paused and he had his hand on the rein with the whip. He emphasised his hands were never off the reins. He said he could only count 12 strikes and that these were hits to the shaft of the sulky. He said he was shaking the reins at times and was not hitting the rump of the horse.
Mr Swain called Mr M Swain who said there were 15 to 18 hits but on 2 or 3 occasions it was just the reins.
Mr McIntyre acknowledged there was a change in Mr Swain’s whipping action half-way up the straight. He said it changed from a side on motion to a slapping motion.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
These are incorporated under the previous heading.
reasonsfordecision:
Excessive in this context means too much. We count some 18 to 20 strikes to MIGHTY MEMORIES with the whip in the home straight. There is a pause after some 3 strikes before the defendant continues to use the whip again. None of the strikes were particularly forceful.
The matter is complicated by the fact that the majority of the time Mr Swain is using the whip and the reins simultaneously on the horse or its gear. The whip guidelines require there to be a pause in the use of the whip. In this regard half-way done the straight the defendant changes his action on 3 or 4 occasions. Rather than pulling his right hand back with the whip in it and then hitting the horse or the cart with a forward motion, he slaps the reins at the horse’s rump in a downwards motion. The issue is whether this is one way in which the reins can be run over the horse’s rump and thus be an “alternative acceptable action” for the purpose of the whip guidelines. After some hesitation, we have determined that it is, and we therefore dismiss the charge. However, we strongly recommend the defendant change his whip/rein action so there is no room for doubt as to whether the whip is being used continuously and thus in breach of the rules.
Decision:
The charge is dismissed.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr McIntyre
JockeysandTrainer: Mr R Swain
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: c7f954ad588eb80ea9aa87577f73de79
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 2
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 10f6fd5387faf9d30429a9fdb86cf8a0
meet_expapproval: approved
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 02/01/2011
meet_title: Central Otago TC - 2 January 2011
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km: [{"Comment": [], "MemberRole": "Panel member 1 ", "MemberID": "JEagles", "Member": "", "OtherExpenses": "0", "KMs": "130", "Total": "80.6", "kmprice": 80.599999999999994, "Approved": "on"}]
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: central-otago-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: Ghall
meet_pm1: JEagles
meet_pm2: none
name: Central Otago TC