Winton HRC 7 September 2017 – R 7 – Chair Mr P Knowles
ID: JCA15613
Meet Title:
Winton HRC - 7 September 2017
Meet Chair:
PKnowles
Meet Committee Member 1:
VMUnro
Meet Committee Member 2:
MConway
Race Date:
2017/09/07
Race Number:
R3
Decision:
The guidelines are clear that continuous use, of any action, is not allowed and may lead to a breach of the Rule. The committee is satisfied that Mr Williamson used his whip excessively in the home straight by striking Tas Man Bromac 21 times continuously over the final 200m. The breach is found proved.
Penalty:
In setting a penalty we take a starting point of 3 days suspension. We uplift that to 4 days due to this being Mr Williamson's second offence within a short period of time. Mr Williamson is suspended for four days from the completion of today’s meeting up to and including the 28th September 2017.
This includes Addington on the 16th, Invercargill 23rd, Oamaru 24th and Winton 28th of September.
Facts:
Following the running of R#& the Macca Lodge Handicap Pace the Stewards lodged an information alleging Mr NP Williamson (Tas Man Bromac) was in breach of rule 869 (2) (a) in that he “…used his whip in an excessive manner over the concluding 400 metres.”
Rule 869 (2) (a) reads:
No horseman shall during any race:
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
The Whip Guidelines read:
Stewards deem the “use of the whip” throughout the race as listed below:
Free of the rein
On the horse itself
On the sulky or dust sheet
Back handers
Excessive use of the whip simply means “too much” and relates to the number of times and/or force with which the whip is used. The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these Guidelines
At no stage of a race will Stewards permit continuous use of the whip, Horseman must show distinct pauses between the whip being used. The horseman shall interrupt the use of his/her whip by using any of the suggested alternative actions:
Running the reins over the horse’s rump
Running the whip through the horse’s tail
Holding the ship on the horse’s tail or rump
A rein in each hand while using the whip – not continuous
Mr Williamson did not admit the breach of the rule and appeared at the hearing.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Renault, with the assistance of the video, stated Tas Man Bromac was the leading horse into the home straight. He said Mr Williamson used his whip approximately 21 times from approximately the 200 metre mark to just short of the finish line.
He said despite Mr Williamson using the whip with “hand on rein”, he had used it continuously without any discernible breaks in it use. He further stated there was no alternative whip action and the continuous use was outside the Whip guidelines.
Mr Williamson stated he was of the view he had broken up his action by using a round hand motion with the stick and running the whip through the horse’s tail. He had also used the rein and whip in the same hand and not “crossed the reins”. He said he had got the best out of the horse by different actions in using the whip. He was conscious of the 10 strike rule but in his opinion his use of the whip were not decent strikes and he had used several actions. Through the use of several whip actions the number of strikes was “considerably less than the 21 continuous strikes”. He did not believe he was in breach of the guidelines.
Reasons for Decision:
Mr Williamson is charged with excessive use of the whip in that he used his whip 21 times in the home straight without any discernible break in its use. While he held the whip and rein in the same hand the Stewards deemed the 21 strikes to be excessive under the guidelines. Mr Williamson believed had had used several different whip actions and did not believe his whip use were decent strikes of the whip. When his whip action was broken down he did not believe 21 continuous strikes was excessive.
After viewing the videos and hearing the evidence from both parties the committee has to consider whether Mr Williamson’s use of the whip fell within the guidelines. The Stewards viewed his use of the whip as continuous strikes without a discernible break in his action over a distance of approximately 200m. Mr Williamson was of the view he had used several different actions, mainly a round hand action across the horses rump and onto the tail - this in his view was not a strike. He had also used his whip “rein in hand” which was allowable under the guidelines.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault stated Mr Williamson had had 13 drives this season and over 400 last season. He had a previous breach of the whip rule at Oamaru on the 21st May where he was suspended for two days and fined $300. He was given a fine to allow him to drive at the Ashburton Jewels. He said for a second breach of the rule in a short period of time the JCA Penalty guide was a suspension of between 3 – 5 days.
Mr Williamson said he averaged 7 – 8 drives per meeting. He said there was a possibility he would be driving at Christchurch on the 16th of September, but mostly at meetings in Otago/Southland.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Stewards submitted a suspension of 3-5 days as recommended in the JCA Penalty Guide for a second offence. This is based on Mr Williamson's previous suspension/fine in May this year, a split penalty which allowed him to drive at the Ashburton Jewels. Mr Williamson asked that any suspension include Addington on the 16th September where he had the possibility of driving in a major race. He also firmly believed he was not in breach of the rule, through the use of alternate actions and his understanding of the whip guidelines. That was his basis to not admitting the charge. The committee was unanimous in its decision that Mr Williamson breached the guidelines by using his whip 21 times continuously. Given the video evidence and the submissions of the Stewards a suspension is the appropriate penalty.
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: bb5ea7d5009cc290c4429a2bae0490bf
informantnumber: A09857
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: 869 (2) (a)
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 11/09/2017
hearing_title: Winton HRC 7 September 2017 - R 7 - Chair Mr P Knowles
charge:
facts:
Following the running of R#& the Macca Lodge Handicap Pace the Stewards lodged an information alleging Mr NP Williamson (Tas Man Bromac) was in breach of rule 869 (2) (a) in that he “…used his whip in an excessive manner over the concluding 400 metres.”
Rule 869 (2) (a) reads:
No horseman shall during any race:
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
The Whip Guidelines read:
Stewards deem the “use of the whip” throughout the race as listed below:
Free of the rein
On the horse itself
On the sulky or dust sheet
Back handers
Excessive use of the whip simply means “too much” and relates to the number of times and/or force with which the whip is used. The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these Guidelines
At no stage of a race will Stewards permit continuous use of the whip, Horseman must show distinct pauses between the whip being used. The horseman shall interrupt the use of his/her whip by using any of the suggested alternative actions:
Running the reins over the horse’s rump
Running the whip through the horse’s tail
Holding the ship on the horse’s tail or rump
A rein in each hand while using the whip – not continuous
Mr Williamson did not admit the breach of the rule and appeared at the hearing.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Renault, with the assistance of the video, stated Tas Man Bromac was the leading horse into the home straight. He said Mr Williamson used his whip approximately 21 times from approximately the 200 metre mark to just short of the finish line.
He said despite Mr Williamson using the whip with “hand on rein”, he had used it continuously without any discernible breaks in it use. He further stated there was no alternative whip action and the continuous use was outside the Whip guidelines.
Mr Williamson stated he was of the view he had broken up his action by using a round hand motion with the stick and running the whip through the horse’s tail. He had also used the rein and whip in the same hand and not “crossed the reins”. He said he had got the best out of the horse by different actions in using the whip. He was conscious of the 10 strike rule but in his opinion his use of the whip were not decent strikes and he had used several actions. Through the use of several whip actions the number of strikes was “considerably less than the 21 continuous strikes”. He did not believe he was in breach of the guidelines.
reasonsfordecision:
Mr Williamson is charged with excessive use of the whip in that he used his whip 21 times in the home straight without any discernible break in its use. While he held the whip and rein in the same hand the Stewards deemed the 21 strikes to be excessive under the guidelines. Mr Williamson believed had had used several different whip actions and did not believe his whip use were decent strikes of the whip. When his whip action was broken down he did not believe 21 continuous strikes was excessive.
After viewing the videos and hearing the evidence from both parties the committee has to consider whether Mr Williamson’s use of the whip fell within the guidelines. The Stewards viewed his use of the whip as continuous strikes without a discernible break in his action over a distance of approximately 200m. Mr Williamson was of the view he had used several different actions, mainly a round hand action across the horses rump and onto the tail - this in his view was not a strike. He had also used his whip “rein in hand” which was allowable under the guidelines.
Decision:
The guidelines are clear that continuous use, of any action, is not allowed and may lead to a breach of the Rule. The committee is satisfied that Mr Williamson used his whip excessively in the home straight by striking Tas Man Bromac 21 times continuously over the final 200m. The breach is found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault stated Mr Williamson had had 13 drives this season and over 400 last season. He had a previous breach of the whip rule at Oamaru on the 21st May where he was suspended for two days and fined $300. He was given a fine to allow him to drive at the Ashburton Jewels. He said for a second breach of the rule in a short period of time the JCA Penalty guide was a suspension of between 3 – 5 days.
Mr Williamson said he averaged 7 – 8 drives per meeting. He said there was a possibility he would be driving at Christchurch on the 16th of September, but mostly at meetings in Otago/Southland.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Stewards submitted a suspension of 3-5 days as recommended in the JCA Penalty Guide for a second offence. This is based on Mr Williamson's previous suspension/fine in May this year, a split penalty which allowed him to drive at the Ashburton Jewels. Mr Williamson asked that any suspension include Addington on the 16th September where he had the possibility of driving in a major race. He also firmly believed he was not in breach of the rule, through the use of alternate actions and his understanding of the whip guidelines. That was his basis to not admitting the charge. The committee was unanimous in its decision that Mr Williamson breached the guidelines by using his whip 21 times continuously. Given the video evidence and the submissions of the Stewards a suspension is the appropriate penalty.
penalty:
In setting a penalty we take a starting point of 3 days suspension. We uplift that to 4 days due to this being Mr Williamson's second offence within a short period of time. Mr Williamson is suspended for four days from the completion of today’s meeting up to and including the 28th September 2017.
This includes Addington on the 16th, Invercargill 23rd, Oamaru 24th and Winton 28th of September.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Excessive use of the whip
Informant: Mr S P Renault - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr NP Williamson - Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
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race_title: R3
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meetdate: 07/09/2017
meet_title: Winton HRC - 7 September 2017
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