Cambridge-Te Awamutu HRC 29 December 2011 – R 1
ID: JCA15565
Meet Title:
Cambridge - Te Awamutu HRC - 29 December 2011
Meet Chair:
BScott
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2011/12/29
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
We find the charge against Mr Oliver proved.
Penalty:
The Committee suspends Mr Oliver's Driver's Licence from the conclusion of racing today up to and including the 3rd day of February 2012.
Charge:
Breach of Rule 869(3)(b) Careless Driving.
Facts:
An Information was lodged by Stipendiary Steward, Mr JM Muirhead against Mr W Oliver alleging that Mr Oliver drove EARLY SUMMER carelessly shortly after the start causing interference to BRYDON SPUR (Driver A Grayling) which resulted in SNELLE JELLES (Driver M McKendry ) and GRANT OUR CHANCES (Driver B Hackett) dislodging their Drivers when they were taking evasive action.
Mr Oliver was present at the Hearing and advised this Committee that he did not admit the charge.
Rule 869(3)(b) provides "No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly ".
Mr Muirhead told the Committee that shortly after the start Mr Oliver driving EARLY SUMMER was on the outside of BRYDON SPUR which was driven by Mr Grayling. He then said that ATA MO (Driver J Stormont) crossed over in front of Mr Oliver and that Mr Oliver then tried to follow Mr Stormont's horse down and into a better position. He said that by doing so he caused BRYDON SPUR to cramped up for room and it then ran over pylons and broke. This then resulted in the drivers of SNELLE JELLES and GRANT OUR CHANCES having to take evasive action and they locked wheels and dislodged their drivers.
Mr Muirhead then demonstrated the incident by use of the video films. He showed the positions of the horses involved and showed the inwards movement from Mr Oliver and showed Mr Grayling's horse being cramped for room and running over pylons and breaking.
Mr Oliver was given the opportunity to question Mr Muirhead on his evidence but he declined to do so.
Mr Grayling then gave evidence and he confirmed that he was the driver of BRYDON SPUR. He said that his horse was a little slow away after the start but after about 150 metres he was on the running line and then his horse was being squeezed tighter and tighter for room. He said that as a result he hit a pylon and then his horse jumped a pylon and broke. He said that he was tightened from the outside and that this was caused by Mr Oliver. He said he called out for room but it was too late.
Mr Oliver was given the opportunity to question Mr Grayling on his evidence but declined to do so.
Mr Oliver then gave evidence and he said that he was trying to follow Mr Stormont on ATA MO down into a more favourable position. He said that he hoped there was a gap on his inside so that he could get in behind Mr Stormont's horse. He used the video films to show the position of his horse and his movement and he showed where he had taken corrective action when he could not get behind Mr Stormont.
He thought that he had moved out in time and that he had not caused any difficulties for Mr Grayling.
Mr Muirhead then asked Mr Oliver if there was sufficient room on his inside to allow him to get in behind Mr Stormont. In answer he said that at the time he hoped there was sufficient room. He acknowledged that obviously there was not sufficient room and his inwards movement had cramped up BRYDON SPUR and caused it to break. He further accepted that if he had stayed in his line the incident would not have happened.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Muirhead in summary said that the evidence was clear and that by trying to follow Mr Stormont's horse Mr Oliver had tightened up BRYDON SPUR and had caused it to run over pylons and break.
He said that Mr Oliver made a mistake at a critical point.
Mr Oliver was still not sure that he had caused Mr Grayling's horse to break but he accepted that his inwards movement could have tightened up BRYDON SPUR. He did say that he took corrective action and he thought he had done so in sufficient time.
Reasons for Decision:
The Committee has not only listened to the evidence but we have viewed the films several times. The evidence from Mr Grayling is very clear and he has told us that his horse was tightened up for room, ran over pylons and broke. He said that Mr Oliver caused this to happen. Mr Oliver did not challenge any of Mr Graylings evidence.
This incident took place on a bend and as such the camera angle of the incident was not of complete assistance to us. The fims were clear however in that they showed the location of the horses, the movement firstly by Mr Stormont and then by Mr Oliver , the actions of Mr Graylings horse in going over pylons and then breaking and the corrective action by Mr Oliver.
We are satisfied that Mr Oliver did move inwards and did tighten up BRYDON SPUR causing that horse to go over pylons and break which in turn caused Messrs McKendry and Hackett to take evasive action and this resulted in them being dislodged from their sulkies.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead said that the JCA Guidelines provide for a starting point penalty of a fine of $400.00. He said that Mr Oliver has an excellent record although he has very few drives.
He said that the Stewards considered this incident to be at the upper end of the scale because interference was not only caused to Mr Grayling's horse but that the chances of 2 other horses were eliminated. He asked for a suspension of Mr Oliver's driver's Licence for a period of 6 weeks.
Mr Oliver said that he had only one horse in work and he is involved purely for the enjoyment of the game. He said that if he has made a mistake then he apologises to Mr Grayling.
He has also told us today, that he thinks that the last time he faced any charge was about 25 years ago and that was for hitting a wheel.
Reasons for Penalty:
The evidence in our view is clear and we are unsure whether Mr Oliver is aware that he caused the problem.
We note Mr Oliver's record but also note that he drives infrequently.
We are concerned however about the effects of the incident on 3 other horses in the race 2 of which had their chances eliminated.
We will deal with this by suspension of Mr Oliver's Licence but any suspension needs to be meaningful.
Mr Oliver has told us that he does not have any declared drives at this time.
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: b47b31acb92d05eba294a29f328bb039
informantnumber: 69044
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 20/12/2011
hearing_title: Cambridge-Te Awamutu HRC 29 December 2011 - R 1
charge:
Breach of Rule 869(3)(b) Careless Driving.
facts:
An Information was lodged by Stipendiary Steward, Mr JM Muirhead against Mr W Oliver alleging that Mr Oliver drove EARLY SUMMER carelessly shortly after the start causing interference to BRYDON SPUR (Driver A Grayling) which resulted in SNELLE JELLES (Driver M McKendry ) and GRANT OUR CHANCES (Driver B Hackett) dislodging their Drivers when they were taking evasive action.
Mr Oliver was present at the Hearing and advised this Committee that he did not admit the charge.
Rule 869(3)(b) provides "No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly ".
Mr Muirhead told the Committee that shortly after the start Mr Oliver driving EARLY SUMMER was on the outside of BRYDON SPUR which was driven by Mr Grayling. He then said that ATA MO (Driver J Stormont) crossed over in front of Mr Oliver and that Mr Oliver then tried to follow Mr Stormont's horse down and into a better position. He said that by doing so he caused BRYDON SPUR to cramped up for room and it then ran over pylons and broke. This then resulted in the drivers of SNELLE JELLES and GRANT OUR CHANCES having to take evasive action and they locked wheels and dislodged their drivers.
Mr Muirhead then demonstrated the incident by use of the video films. He showed the positions of the horses involved and showed the inwards movement from Mr Oliver and showed Mr Grayling's horse being cramped for room and running over pylons and breaking.
Mr Oliver was given the opportunity to question Mr Muirhead on his evidence but he declined to do so.
Mr Grayling then gave evidence and he confirmed that he was the driver of BRYDON SPUR. He said that his horse was a little slow away after the start but after about 150 metres he was on the running line and then his horse was being squeezed tighter and tighter for room. He said that as a result he hit a pylon and then his horse jumped a pylon and broke. He said that he was tightened from the outside and that this was caused by Mr Oliver. He said he called out for room but it was too late.
Mr Oliver was given the opportunity to question Mr Grayling on his evidence but declined to do so.
Mr Oliver then gave evidence and he said that he was trying to follow Mr Stormont on ATA MO down into a more favourable position. He said that he hoped there was a gap on his inside so that he could get in behind Mr Stormont's horse. He used the video films to show the position of his horse and his movement and he showed where he had taken corrective action when he could not get behind Mr Stormont.
He thought that he had moved out in time and that he had not caused any difficulties for Mr Grayling.
Mr Muirhead then asked Mr Oliver if there was sufficient room on his inside to allow him to get in behind Mr Stormont. In answer he said that at the time he hoped there was sufficient room. He acknowledged that obviously there was not sufficient room and his inwards movement had cramped up BRYDON SPUR and caused it to break. He further accepted that if he had stayed in his line the incident would not have happened.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Muirhead in summary said that the evidence was clear and that by trying to follow Mr Stormont's horse Mr Oliver had tightened up BRYDON SPUR and had caused it to run over pylons and break.
He said that Mr Oliver made a mistake at a critical point.
Mr Oliver was still not sure that he had caused Mr Grayling's horse to break but he accepted that his inwards movement could have tightened up BRYDON SPUR. He did say that he took corrective action and he thought he had done so in sufficient time.
reasonsfordecision:
The Committee has not only listened to the evidence but we have viewed the films several times. The evidence from Mr Grayling is very clear and he has told us that his horse was tightened up for room, ran over pylons and broke. He said that Mr Oliver caused this to happen. Mr Oliver did not challenge any of Mr Graylings evidence.
This incident took place on a bend and as such the camera angle of the incident was not of complete assistance to us. The fims were clear however in that they showed the location of the horses, the movement firstly by Mr Stormont and then by Mr Oliver , the actions of Mr Graylings horse in going over pylons and then breaking and the corrective action by Mr Oliver.
We are satisfied that Mr Oliver did move inwards and did tighten up BRYDON SPUR causing that horse to go over pylons and break which in turn caused Messrs McKendry and Hackett to take evasive action and this resulted in them being dislodged from their sulkies.
Decision:
We find the charge against Mr Oliver proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead said that the JCA Guidelines provide for a starting point penalty of a fine of $400.00. He said that Mr Oliver has an excellent record although he has very few drives.
He said that the Stewards considered this incident to be at the upper end of the scale because interference was not only caused to Mr Grayling's horse but that the chances of 2 other horses were eliminated. He asked for a suspension of Mr Oliver's driver's Licence for a period of 6 weeks.
Mr Oliver said that he had only one horse in work and he is involved purely for the enjoyment of the game. He said that if he has made a mistake then he apologises to Mr Grayling.
He has also told us today, that he thinks that the last time he faced any charge was about 25 years ago and that was for hitting a wheel.
reasonsforpenalty:
The evidence in our view is clear and we are unsure whether Mr Oliver is aware that he caused the problem.
We note Mr Oliver's record but also note that he drives infrequently.
We are concerned however about the effects of the incident on 3 other horses in the race 2 of which had their chances eliminated.
We will deal with this by suspension of Mr Oliver's Licence but any suspension needs to be meaningful.
Mr Oliver has told us that he does not have any declared drives at this time.
penalty:
The Committee suspends Mr Oliver's Driver's Licence from the conclusion of racing today up to and including the 3rd day of February 2012.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr JM Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr W Oliver - Driver of EARLY SUMMER
Otherperson: Mr A Grayling - Driver of BRYDON SPUR
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 127de1bcc80236e474aa1daad313ae04
race_expapproval:
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race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
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race_title: R1
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meetid: 203e09b319cf0b47f93d49836f1828be
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meetdate: 29/12/2011
meet_title: Cambridge - Te Awamutu HRC - 29 December 2011
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meet_racingtype: harness-racing
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meet_pm1: ADooley
meet_pm2: none
name: Cambridge - Te Awamutu HRC