Archive Decision

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R Te Aroha 1 October 2017 – R 6 – Chair, Mr A Dooley

ID: JCA12449

Applicant:
Mr A Coles - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Ms E Farr - Class B Rider

Other Person:
Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward

Information Number:
A8882

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Excessive use of the whip

Rules:
638(3)(b)(ii)

Plea:
admitted

Code:
Thoroughbred

Meet Title:
Racing Te Aroha - 1 October 2017

Meet Chair:
ADooley

Meet Committee Member 1:
GJones

Race Date:
2017/10/01

Race Number:
R6

Decision:

As Ms Farr admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.

Penalty:

Ms Farr was fined $350


 

Facts:

Following the running of race 6, Make A Wish NZ 2200, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii).The Informant, Mr Coles, alleged that Ms Farr used her whip in an excess manner when riding IN A MINUTE.

Ms Farr acknowledged that she understood the Rule and confirmed her admission of the breach.

Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides: A Rider shall not:

(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is excessive


The “Guidelines With Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” effective 1 August 2017 provides:

Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3)(b) a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:
Inside the final 600 metres of any Race, official trial or jump-out a horse may be struck with the drawn whip up to five times after which the rider must cease their use of the whip for a minimum of five strides before striking the horse again with the drawn whip, with this restriction to apply prior to the final 100 metres. The whip may then be used at the rider’s discretion until the winning post is reached. Prior to the final 600 metres of a race, official trial or jump-out the use of the drawn whip is acceptable if used in moderation and not continually.

Mr Oatham demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified Ms Farr and showed that she struck her mount 18 times from the top of the straight to the 100m. He said there was no force applied and there were breaks of 4 strides but not for the minimum 5 strides.

Ms Farr acknowledged that she struck her mount 18 times and in explanation said she pushed her mount for 4 strides but accepted that it was not for the minimum 5 strides. Ms Farr stated that IN A MINUTE is a big, difficult horse who has not been trying in his races.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Coles said that Ms Farr had a clear record under this Rule since the reset period of 1 August 2017. He submitted a monetary penalty would be appropriate.

Ms Farr stated that this is her last day of riding in New Zealand. She said she has “handed in her license” and is returning home to Ireland.

The Committee advised Ms Farr the JCA Penalty Guide starting points for excessive use of the whip.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented.

The starting point for a 1st breach of this Rule is a $300 fine. That level of fine assumes a good record and admission of the breach, otherwise the fine should be higher. The expectation is that no reduction in penalty is applied unless there are exceptional circumstances.

We believe the 18 strikes were well outside the allowable guidelines and on that basis an uplift in penalty was required.

When reviewing the incident it was clear that the 18 strikes were not forceful. It was also evident that the strikes were not continuous.
The mitigating factors were Ms Farr’s clear record under this Rule since 1 August 2017 and her admission of the breach.

IN A MINUTE finished in 6th place.

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: 5dd94d1207e02de4c572a15f0f2033fc


informantnumber: A8882


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Excessive use of the whip


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 01/10/2017


hearing_title: R Te Aroha 1 October 2017 - R 6 - Chair, Mr A Dooley


charge:


facts:

Following the running of race 6, Make A Wish NZ 2200, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii).The Informant, Mr Coles, alleged that Ms Farr used her whip in an excess manner when riding IN A MINUTE.

Ms Farr acknowledged that she understood the Rule and confirmed her admission of the breach.

Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides: A Rider shall not:

(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is excessive


The “Guidelines With Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” effective 1 August 2017 provides:

Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3)(b) a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:
Inside the final 600 metres of any Race, official trial or jump-out a horse may be struck with the drawn whip up to five times after which the rider must cease their use of the whip for a minimum of five strides before striking the horse again with the drawn whip, with this restriction to apply prior to the final 100 metres. The whip may then be used at the rider’s discretion until the winning post is reached. Prior to the final 600 metres of a race, official trial or jump-out the use of the drawn whip is acceptable if used in moderation and not continually.

Mr Oatham demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified Ms Farr and showed that she struck her mount 18 times from the top of the straight to the 100m. He said there was no force applied and there were breaks of 4 strides but not for the minimum 5 strides.

Ms Farr acknowledged that she struck her mount 18 times and in explanation said she pushed her mount for 4 strides but accepted that it was not for the minimum 5 strides. Ms Farr stated that IN A MINUTE is a big, difficult horse who has not been trying in his races.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Ms Farr admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Coles said that Ms Farr had a clear record under this Rule since the reset period of 1 August 2017. He submitted a monetary penalty would be appropriate.

Ms Farr stated that this is her last day of riding in New Zealand. She said she has “handed in her license” and is returning home to Ireland.

The Committee advised Ms Farr the JCA Penalty Guide starting points for excessive use of the whip.


reasonsforpenalty:

The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented.

The starting point for a 1st breach of this Rule is a $300 fine. That level of fine assumes a good record and admission of the breach, otherwise the fine should be higher. The expectation is that no reduction in penalty is applied unless there are exceptional circumstances.

We believe the 18 strikes were well outside the allowable guidelines and on that basis an uplift in penalty was required.

When reviewing the incident it was clear that the 18 strikes were not forceful. It was also evident that the strikes were not continuous.
The mitigating factors were Ms Farr’s clear record under this Rule since 1 August 2017 and her admission of the breach.

IN A MINUTE finished in 6th place.


penalty:

Ms Farr was fined $350


 


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 638(3)(b)(ii)


Informant: Mr A Coles - Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Ms E Farr - Class B Rider


Otherperson: Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 6dd371bdcb83b432c2b4f454c5b34bbe


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R6


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: fcbe34d925579b75b0edb5b4d72133f8


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 01/10/2017


meet_title: Racing Te Aroha - 1 October 2017


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: racing-te-aroha


meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing


meet_chair: ADooley


meet_pm1: GJones


meet_pm2: none


name: Racing Te Aroha