Wyndham HRC 16 November 2014 – R 4
ID: JCA14754
Meet Title:
Wyndham HRC - 16 November 2014
Meet Chair:
GHall
Race Date:
2014/11/16
Race Number:
R4
Decision:
Having regard to Mr C Lee’s denial and the clear evidence from Mr G Lee, the Committee is not satisfied that the breach is proved to the necessary standard of on the balance of probabilities.
The charge is dismissed.
Facts:
Mr Wallis alleged that Mr C Lee drove WAIARIKIKI in race 4 with a safety vest that failed to comply with the Board’s Safety Gear Regulations.
Rule 847(1) and the Safety Gear Regulations provide:
847(1) No horseman shall check out or attempt to check out unless he wears safety gear which complies with the requirements of the Safety Gear Regulations made by the Board.
A driver may not wear or have in their possession a vest or helmet that has been modified in any way.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Wallis stated that the vest that Mr C Lee had worn in race 4 had been modified. He believed the stitching at the bottom of the vest had been loosened and padding removed from the lower flap of the vest. He said any padding in this flap would make sitting in the cart less comfortable than were there to be no padding. He did not believe that a vest without padding in the flap was the condition in which it was approved, and he confirmed it was his view that the vest had been tampered with.
Mr C Lee vehemently denied that he had tampered with the vest in any way, shape or form. He said he had been given the vest by his son who had imported it for him from the manufacturers in America. He said his son was not a participant in the industry and would not have altered the vest. The respondent stated he had had the vest for about 20 years and there had never been an issue with it.
Mr G Lee spoke on behalf of Mr C Lee. He said he was the southern representative of the New Zealand Trainers and Drivers Association. He explained that some years ago the Association had brought into the country a supply of vests from the US manufacturer. These were approved by HRNZ. They had proved to be very popular as they had no bottom flap and they had sold out very quickly. He said the vest worn by Mr C Lee was the same as the ones imported except for the fact it had a flap. He supported his brother’s statement that the vest had been imported as a one-off from the US and that this was the form in which it had been supplied by the US manufacturer. He said the vest appeared to be from a different batch to the ones supplied to the Association. He believed any modification would have been by the manufacturer. He demonstrated that the badge was the same as the one on the vest he had in his possession, which was one of the 150 imported by the Association. It was agreed that the issue was whether the vest had been modified not whether it was not approved. Mr G Lee added that the vests with padding in the bottom flap were uncomfortable and were unsafe.
Reasons for Decision:
The vest in question was closely inspected by the Committee, in particular the area where Mr Wallis believed the stitching at the bottom had been loosened to enable padding to be removed from the flap. The vest was showing signs of wear and tear but there was no obvious indication that the vest had been unpicked and restitched, as Mr Wallis alleged.
Mr C Lee was asked to confirm to the Committee that he had not modified the vest in any way. He reiterated the vest was in exactly the same form as when the manufacturer supplied it to him. Again this was confirmed by Mr G Lee.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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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: 77f1af9fd0c2ecf7900efc41ad4bebe9
informantnumber: A1798
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: modified vest
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 0
decisiondate: 12/11/2014
hearing_title: Wyndham HRC 16 November 2014 - R 4
charge:
facts:
Mr Wallis alleged that Mr C Lee drove WAIARIKIKI in race 4 with a safety vest that failed to comply with the Board’s Safety Gear Regulations.
Rule 847(1) and the Safety Gear Regulations provide:
847(1) No horseman shall check out or attempt to check out unless he wears safety gear which complies with the requirements of the Safety Gear Regulations made by the Board.
A driver may not wear or have in their possession a vest or helmet that has been modified in any way.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Wallis stated that the vest that Mr C Lee had worn in race 4 had been modified. He believed the stitching at the bottom of the vest had been loosened and padding removed from the lower flap of the vest. He said any padding in this flap would make sitting in the cart less comfortable than were there to be no padding. He did not believe that a vest without padding in the flap was the condition in which it was approved, and he confirmed it was his view that the vest had been tampered with.
Mr C Lee vehemently denied that he had tampered with the vest in any way, shape or form. He said he had been given the vest by his son who had imported it for him from the manufacturers in America. He said his son was not a participant in the industry and would not have altered the vest. The respondent stated he had had the vest for about 20 years and there had never been an issue with it.
Mr G Lee spoke on behalf of Mr C Lee. He said he was the southern representative of the New Zealand Trainers and Drivers Association. He explained that some years ago the Association had brought into the country a supply of vests from the US manufacturer. These were approved by HRNZ. They had proved to be very popular as they had no bottom flap and they had sold out very quickly. He said the vest worn by Mr C Lee was the same as the ones imported except for the fact it had a flap. He supported his brother’s statement that the vest had been imported as a one-off from the US and that this was the form in which it had been supplied by the US manufacturer. He said the vest appeared to be from a different batch to the ones supplied to the Association. He believed any modification would have been by the manufacturer. He demonstrated that the badge was the same as the one on the vest he had in his possession, which was one of the 150 imported by the Association. It was agreed that the issue was whether the vest had been modified not whether it was not approved. Mr G Lee added that the vests with padding in the bottom flap were uncomfortable and were unsafe.
reasonsfordecision:
The vest in question was closely inspected by the Committee, in particular the area where Mr Wallis believed the stitching at the bottom had been loosened to enable padding to be removed from the flap. The vest was showing signs of wear and tear but there was no obvious indication that the vest had been unpicked and restitched, as Mr Wallis alleged.
Mr C Lee was asked to confirm to the Committee that he had not modified the vest in any way. He reiterated the vest was in exactly the same form as when the manufacturer supplied it to him. Again this was confirmed by Mr G Lee.
Decision:
Having regard to Mr C Lee’s denial and the clear evidence from Mr G Lee, the Committee is not satisfied that the breach is proved to the necessary standard of on the balance of probabilities.
The charge is dismissed.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 847(1) and the Safety Gear Regulations
Informant: Mr S Wallis stipendiary steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr C Lee, Open Horseman
Otherperson: Mr G Lee, Open Horseman
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: c077e926a54215472e6ad579c2093c08
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R4
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 598b108a94045d537c809be5490e92b5
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 16/11/2014
meet_title: Wyndham HRC - 16 November 2014
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: wyndham-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: none
meet_pm2: none
name: Wyndham HRC