Taranaki TC 21 April 2013 – R 10
ID: JCA15131
Meet Title:
Taranaki TC - 21 April 2013
Meet Chair:
TUtikere
Meet Committee Member 1:
ISmith
Race Date:
2013/04/21
Race Number:
Race 10
Decision:
As the charge was admitted it was found to be proved.
Penalty:
Mrs Neal is fined the sum of $200.
Charge:
Following Race 10, (Revital Fertilisers Taranaki Cup) Open Horsewoman L Neal was charged under Rule 869(2)(a). The information stated: ”Horsewoman L Neal used her whip excessively driving THREE JEWELS”.
Facts:
Rule 869(2)(a) states:
“No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner;”
Mrs Neal indicated to the committee that she understood Rule 869(2)(a), and that she admitted the breach.
Stipendiary Steward, Mr Muirhead identified Mrs Neal’s drive THREE JEWELS, the eventual winner of the race, and using the side-on film pointed out her using the whip and the reins. She struck the horse 27 times with the whip and the reins together. She had used the whip in a continuous fashion from the 350m mark and had also moved striking her horse in a freehand manner approximately 5 times. He submitted that the ‘Use of Whip Guidelines’ state that it was permissible to use the whip and rein alternately, but not continuously; otherwise it was deemed to be considered as excessive use.
Mrs Neal indicated she was aware of the guidelines, and that Mr Muirhead’s interpretation was correct. She accepted that she needed to change her style of whip use. She also acknowledged that as the rules in this regard had changed, she simply needed to adapt so that her action was within the rules. She had identified that she had not hit her horse hard, but that she was required to pause under the rules.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead submitted that even though the number of strikes was high, he did not believe it to be extreme, and placed it at the low to medium level. In presenting Mrs Neal’s record, Mr Muirhead stated that Mrs Neal had been issued a warning by the stipendiary stewards with regard to modifying the use of her whip, but that no breaches of this rule were listed within the last 12 month period. He also identified her as being co-operative during this process.
Mrs Neal stated that it looked worse than it actually was, and that this was a major race and she was giving her horse every possible chance. She also submitted a preference for a financial penalty.
Reasons for Penalty:
The committee had regard to all of the submissions put before it. The committee believed that a financial penalty was an appropriate penalty to impose on this occasion, and adopted a starting point in line with the JCA Penalty Guidelines of $300. Mrs Neal’s horse went on the win the race, but the committee must also balance this with the need to ensure that the rules are adhered to. Mrs Neal admitted the breach at the earliest opportunity and accepted that her whip use was not in line with the rules and that it was her responsibility to conform. Mrs Neal is a very regular driver who has not recorded a breach under this rule within the last 12 months. In the committee’s view, these issues of mitigation reduce the starting point by a quantum of $100, and the resultant fine is also in line with previous penalties of judicial committees for similar excessive breaches under Rule 869(2)(a).
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: 6d8e831ef496440054e76eb6a51f2ad9
informantnumber: A2508
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 21/04/2013
hearing_title: Taranaki TC 21 April 2013 - R 10
charge:
Following Race 10, (Revital Fertilisers Taranaki Cup) Open Horsewoman L Neal was charged under Rule 869(2)(a). The information stated: ”Horsewoman L Neal used her whip excessively driving THREE JEWELS”.
facts:
Rule 869(2)(a) states:
“No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner;”
Mrs Neal indicated to the committee that she understood Rule 869(2)(a), and that she admitted the breach.
Stipendiary Steward, Mr Muirhead identified Mrs Neal’s drive THREE JEWELS, the eventual winner of the race, and using the side-on film pointed out her using the whip and the reins. She struck the horse 27 times with the whip and the reins together. She had used the whip in a continuous fashion from the 350m mark and had also moved striking her horse in a freehand manner approximately 5 times. He submitted that the ‘Use of Whip Guidelines’ state that it was permissible to use the whip and rein alternately, but not continuously; otherwise it was deemed to be considered as excessive use.
Mrs Neal indicated she was aware of the guidelines, and that Mr Muirhead’s interpretation was correct. She accepted that she needed to change her style of whip use. She also acknowledged that as the rules in this regard had changed, she simply needed to adapt so that her action was within the rules. She had identified that she had not hit her horse hard, but that she was required to pause under the rules.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As the charge was admitted it was found to be proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead submitted that even though the number of strikes was high, he did not believe it to be extreme, and placed it at the low to medium level. In presenting Mrs Neal’s record, Mr Muirhead stated that Mrs Neal had been issued a warning by the stipendiary stewards with regard to modifying the use of her whip, but that no breaches of this rule were listed within the last 12 month period. He also identified her as being co-operative during this process.
Mrs Neal stated that it looked worse than it actually was, and that this was a major race and she was giving her horse every possible chance. She also submitted a preference for a financial penalty.
reasonsforpenalty:
The committee had regard to all of the submissions put before it. The committee believed that a financial penalty was an appropriate penalty to impose on this occasion, and adopted a starting point in line with the JCA Penalty Guidelines of $300. Mrs Neal’s horse went on the win the race, but the committee must also balance this with the need to ensure that the rules are adhered to. Mrs Neal admitted the breach at the earliest opportunity and accepted that her whip use was not in line with the rules and that it was her responsibility to conform. Mrs Neal is a very regular driver who has not recorded a breach under this rule within the last 12 months. In the committee’s view, these issues of mitigation reduce the starting point by a quantum of $100, and the resultant fine is also in line with previous penalties of judicial committees for similar excessive breaches under Rule 869(2)(a).
penalty:
Mrs Neal is fined the sum of $200.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(2)(a)
Informant: J Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: L Neal - Driver of THREE JEWELS
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 69d965db2703b09b804033fbd51113f6
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: Race 10
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 401f811b686325ef41b6454a4159bef0
meet_expapproval: approved
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 21/04/2013
meet_title: Taranaki TC - 21 April 2013
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km: [{"Comment": [], "MemberRole": "Chair ", "MemberID": "TUtikere", "Member": "", "OtherExpenses": "305", "KMs": "500", "Total": "615.0", "kmprice": 310.0, "Approved": "on"}]
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: taranaki-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: TUtikere
meet_pm1: ISmith
meet_pm2: none
name: Taranaki TC