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Rangiora HRC 17 September 2015 – R 4 – Mr KG Hales, Chair

ID: JCA16295

Applicant:
Mr S Renault-Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
M Edmonds-Licensed Open Horseman

Other Person:
Mr N McIntyre - Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward

Information Number:
A7709

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Foot out of rest - improper use of the whip

Rules:
Rule 867 Every horseman shall drive throughout the race with both feet in the rests of the sulky provided for that purpose., Rule 869(2) No horseman shall during any race:-, (a)use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner;

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
Rangiora HRC - 17 September 2015

Meet Chair:
KHales

Meet Committee Member 1:
GClapp

Race Date:
2015/09/17

Race Number:
R4

Decision:

As Mr Edmonds has admitted the breach it is thereby deemed to be proved.

Penalty:

Mr Edmonds is fined $200.00.

Facts:

As a result of an incident during the run for home in the "Keith Ussher Architecture Mobile Trot", Mr M Edmonds was charged with allowing his foot to drop out of the rest, and with improper use of the whip.

The video coverage of the incident was shown to the hearing by Mr N McIntyre, Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward. The coverage showed how, when reaching for the cord to activate the sliding blinds, that Mr Edmonds' foot slipped out of the rest. Before he could put his foot back, Mr Edmonds reached for the cord on the other side of his sulky to pull the earplugs, with which he also had some difficulty. However, prior to putting his foot back, he hit the horse twice with his whip, although as Mr McIntyre observed, there was minimal force in the whip strokes. Use of the whip when a foot is out of the rest is regarded as improper, as a horseman is able to get greater "purchase" into his whip stroke. On this occasion, Mr McIntyre submitted that it was a "technical" breach of the whip rule.

Mr Edmonds told the hearing that he should have put his foot back in the rest sooner. He said that his foot slipped out, because he had to reach up to pull the cord for the sliding blinds in the first instance.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Renault advised the hearing that Mr Edmonds had a clear record, not having breached these rules in the last 6 months. Mr Renault said that a fine of $100.00 for the foot out of the rest should be imposed, with an additional $100.00 for the improper use of the whip. He said that the whip use was at the lower end of the scale. Mr Edmonds generally only drives horses that that are owned and/or trained by him. He had 122 drives last season and has had 9 drives so far this season.

Reasons for Penalty:

We accept Mr Edmonds' explanation that his foot slipped when he was activating the sliding blinds. He could have put it back sooner than he did, but he also had a little bother with the cord for the ear plugs. Furthermore, the video coverage showed that Mr Edmonds did not hit the horse with any vigour, and that it was only a couple of strikes of the whip, whilst his foot was out of the rest. It is fair to describe the improper use of the whip charge as a "technical" breach only.

Mr Edmonds has a good record and credit is given for his admissions of the breaches. Other than that there are no other aggravating or mitigating factors.

The Stipendiary Stewards' submission as to the quantum of the fine (in total) is regarded as appropriate.

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: d5eea2e1dd365079d7b79d54005641b3


informantnumber: A7709


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Foot out of rest - improper use of the whip


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 21/09/2015


hearing_title: Rangiora HRC 17 September 2015 - R 4 - Mr KG Hales, Chair


charge:


facts:

As a result of an incident during the run for home in the "Keith Ussher Architecture Mobile Trot", Mr M Edmonds was charged with allowing his foot to drop out of the rest, and with improper use of the whip.

The video coverage of the incident was shown to the hearing by Mr N McIntyre, Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward. The coverage showed how, when reaching for the cord to activate the sliding blinds, that Mr Edmonds' foot slipped out of the rest. Before he could put his foot back, Mr Edmonds reached for the cord on the other side of his sulky to pull the earplugs, with which he also had some difficulty. However, prior to putting his foot back, he hit the horse twice with his whip, although as Mr McIntyre observed, there was minimal force in the whip strokes. Use of the whip when a foot is out of the rest is regarded as improper, as a horseman is able to get greater "purchase" into his whip stroke. On this occasion, Mr McIntyre submitted that it was a "technical" breach of the whip rule.

Mr Edmonds told the hearing that he should have put his foot back in the rest sooner. He said that his foot slipped out, because he had to reach up to pull the cord for the sliding blinds in the first instance.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Mr Edmonds has admitted the breach it is thereby deemed to be proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Renault advised the hearing that Mr Edmonds had a clear record, not having breached these rules in the last 6 months. Mr Renault said that a fine of $100.00 for the foot out of the rest should be imposed, with an additional $100.00 for the improper use of the whip. He said that the whip use was at the lower end of the scale. Mr Edmonds generally only drives horses that that are owned and/or trained by him. He had 122 drives last season and has had 9 drives so far this season.


reasonsforpenalty:

We accept Mr Edmonds' explanation that his foot slipped when he was activating the sliding blinds. He could have put it back sooner than he did, but he also had a little bother with the cord for the ear plugs. Furthermore, the video coverage showed that Mr Edmonds did not hit the horse with any vigour, and that it was only a couple of strikes of the whip, whilst his foot was out of the rest. It is fair to describe the improper use of the whip charge as a "technical" breach only.

Mr Edmonds has a good record and credit is given for his admissions of the breaches. Other than that there are no other aggravating or mitigating factors.

The Stipendiary Stewards' submission as to the quantum of the fine (in total) is regarded as appropriate.


penalty:

Mr Edmonds is fined $200.00.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: Rule 867 Every horseman shall drive throughout the race with both feet in the rests of the sulky provided for that purpose., Rule 869(2) No horseman shall during any race:-, (a)use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner;


Informant: Mr S Renault-Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: M Edmonds-Licensed Open Horseman


Otherperson: Mr N McIntyre - Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 53c98eb7d7481d94e0bc05ef637283f5


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: cdf9aba4d9a204b27120ff398bc6a6be


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


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meetdate: 17/09/2015


meet_title: Rangiora HRC - 17 September 2015


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: rangiora-hrc


meet_racingtype: harness-racing


meet_chair: KHales


meet_pm1: GClapp


meet_pm2: none


name: Rangiora HRC