Jessica Kurten, who declared that she would not ride on any Irish team with Cian O'Connor after his horse tested positive for prohibited substances at the Athens Olympics, has withdrawn from next week's Dublin Horse Show, even though her two horses were confirmed as definite starters only last Wednesday.
Kurten was unavailable for comment when contacted by The Irish Times last night, but reports that her withdrawal was due to "medical" reasons were denied by the rider's husband.
"Our horses are fine," Eckhard Kurten said last night. "Not one horse is sick, not one horse is lame."
Kurten met Dan Butler, secretary general of the Irish Equestrian Federation during the European show jumping championships in Italy at the weekend and said her horses would not be available for Dublin, despite the fact that her husband had confirmed to the Irish Equestrian Federation (EFI) last Wednesday that Castle Forbes Maike and Quibell would be at the RDS.
"It's very disappointing", chairman of selectors Taylor Vard said last night, after being told by Eckhard Kurten earlier in the day that the horses were being withdrawn for "medical" reasons.
"I'm totally shocked and I'm disappointed for the team and all those that are making the effort to stay in the super league." Ireland is currently second last in the Samsung Super League, just half-a-point ahead of the Dutch and in danger of relegation next season. There are only four remaining fixtures in the league at Hickstead, Dublin, Aachen and Barcelona.
Co Antrim born Kurten, who is now based in Germany, was among five riders - including O'Connor - selected for Dublin, but Kurten had stated last year that she would not ride with O'Connor when news broke that his horse Waterford Crystal had tested positive for prohibited substances fluphenazine and zuclopenthixol after winning individual gold in Athens.
O'Connor was stripped of his medal at a meeting of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) judicial committee in Zurich on Easter Sunday, but was cleared of any deliberate attempt to enhance the horse's performance. He was also given a three-month suspension, which expired on July 10th.
Cian O'Connor would not comment on Kurten's withdrawal when contacted by The Irish Times last night, but did say that he was "delighted" to be back on the Irish team.
"It's vital now that the team members pull together for the remaining rounds of the super league," he said.
"It's in the best interests of the team that we try and avoid relegation from the league." Kurten herself was the subject of an alleged doping offence when her horse Libertina tested positive for caffeine and theophylline at the Spruce Meadows show in Canada just after the Olympics.
Kurten refused to accept the findings, claiming that the positive result was caused by contaminated feed. The case was subsequently dropped by the FEI.
Reserve rider Clem McMahon has now been drafted in.