Archive Decision

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R Te Aroha 1 October 2017 – R 9 – Chair, Mr A Dooley

ID: JCA11971

Applicant:
Mr A Coles - Stipendiary Steward

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

Other Person:
Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward

Information Number:
A8883

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:
R9

Decision:

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

Penalty:

Ms Farr was fined $500

 

Facts:

Following the running of race 9, House of Travel 1600, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii).The Informant, Mr Coles, alleged that Ms Farr used her whip in an excessive manner when riding BAY ROCKER.

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 13 times prior to the 100m. He said the whip use was not continuous and identified that 3 strides was the longest pause.

Ms Farr acknowledged that she struck her mount 13 times. She stated that BAY ROCKER was her “own horse” and the gelding hadn’t raced since June 2015 and she just wanted the horse to run on strong to the finish line.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Coles said that this was Ms Farr 2nd breach today and submitted a monetary penalty uplift would be appropriate.

Ms Farr asked the Committee to consider a suspension instead of a fine.

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 2nd breach of this Rule is a $500 fine. The expectation is that no reduction in penalty is applied unless there are exceptional circumstances.

The Committee deemed that a suspension would be not be an appropriate penalty. Especially as Ms Farr had advised the Committee that today was going to be her last day of riding in New Zealand for this year.

When reviewing the incident it was clear that the 13 strikes were not forceful or continuous.

The only mitigating fact was Ms Farr’s admission of the breach.

BAY ROCKER finished in 2nd 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: 3335fe6025b9647482347614cea8f35e


informantnumber: A8883


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 9 - Chair, Mr A Dooley


charge:


facts:

Following the running of race 9, House of Travel 1600, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii).The Informant, Mr Coles, alleged that Ms Farr used her whip in an excessive manner when riding BAY ROCKER.

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 13 times prior to the 100m. He said the whip use was not continuous and identified that 3 strides was the longest pause.

Ms Farr acknowledged that she struck her mount 13 times. She stated that BAY ROCKER was her “own horse” and the gelding hadn’t raced since June 2015 and she just wanted the horse to run on strong to the finish line.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

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


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Coles said that this was Ms Farr 2nd breach today and submitted a monetary penalty uplift would be appropriate.

Ms Farr asked the Committee to consider a suspension instead of a fine.

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 2nd breach of this Rule is a $500 fine. The expectation is that no reduction in penalty is applied unless there are exceptional circumstances.

The Committee deemed that a suspension would be not be an appropriate penalty. Especially as Ms Farr had advised the Committee that today was going to be her last day of riding in New Zealand for this year.

When reviewing the incident it was clear that the 13 strikes were not forceful or continuous.

The only mitigating fact was Ms Farr’s admission of the breach.

BAY ROCKER finished in 2nd place.


penalty:

Ms Farr was fined $500

 


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: 204481a2e208fa98fc67f8f113c269ba


race_expapproval:


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race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R9


submittochair:


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meetid: fcbe34d925579b75b0edb5b4d72133f8


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meetdate: 01/10/2017


meet_title: Racing Te Aroha - 1 October 2017


meet_expappcomment:


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tracklocation: racing-te-aroha


meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing


meet_chair: ADooley


meet_pm1: GJones


meet_pm2: none


name: Racing Te Aroha