Kenneth Kraus and Mason Phelps of PhelpsSports.com have decided to open up the exclusive interview Kenny did with McLain Ward after his press conference today in Geneva. Phelps Sports is a member only website, but both Kenny and Mason believe that this information needs to be shared with as many people as possible with the hopes that the truth and facts will prevail over the rash decision which has been made.
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Thank you very much for your time and effort!
“PhelpsSports.com, a member only website, has generously offered to allow the
publication of this exclusive interview with McLain Ward earlier this afternoon
with the hopes that facts will prevail over the rash decision which has been made
by the FEI.”
AN EXCLUSIVE CONVERSATION WITH MCLAIN WARD
What happened? What’s ahead now? Why?
Provided Exclusively by PhelpsSports.com
Interview by Kenneth Kraus
Photos by Valeria Streun and Rebecca Walton
McLain and Sapphire at press conference
McLain, I know how hectic it is right now for you over there, so thank you for
taking time to discuss this incredible turn of events. I am shocked, as I am sure the
entire is county is shocked.
This is unbelievable. This is, without question, the most incredibly unjust decision in the
history of the sport of show jumping.
There are going to be a bunch of people waking up this morning, they’re going to
read the FEI press release, and they aren’t going to completely understand what
happened. Can you run it down for us? By the way, from this reporter’s point of
you, I watched the broadcast, and Sapphire appeared to be completely sound, she
performed beautifully and looked happy. What happened?
They tested her after the class had started, they did a thermography. The class started at
7:15pm, they came at 7:30pm and did the thermography. The palpated her and found it
not abnormal. There was a small, pinpoint area on the top of her left pastern that was
more sensitive than the right, but they cleared her and said, ‘go on and compete as normal
for the two rounds.’ They came back at 11p.m. and did the thermography again and they
found that there was no change. They palpated her fifty-seven times! They left, saying
there was nothing wrong. They then returned at 12:15am and palpated the horse again,
and claimed that this one tiny pin prick, pimple-sized area was hypersensitive, not caused
by any malicious practice in any way, but that the horse was unfit to compete was
eliminated from the competition.
Is this type of test, the initial test before the class, a normal test?
Sure. We have used thermography for several years now. And they feel the legs. In this
case, the palpation was certainly extreme, but that’s fine, I welcome that kind of scrutiny.
But in this case, they palpated her 57 times! And of those 57 times, she lifted her leg
seven times, not high, but you keep pressing and pressing and pressing, the horse is of
course, going to pick up her leg.
And afterwards, that is normal as well?
Well they can come at any time. They can come at random times. They normally don’t
come once the class has started, that’s somewhat abnormal, but you know what? I
welcome that. We’re not hiding anything. Today, we brought the horse out to the press
conference for the whole world to see, to touch, to jog, to do anything they wanted to her.
The FEI is totally unjust in this ruling. This is just unprecedented.
Well, you’re right. It is unprecedented. Which leads me to go ahead and just ask the
question that I’m sure is on many minds. Do you think this is some kind of payback
from your incident years ago? Or why do you think they are doing this?
I don’t think it is payback, but unfortunately, with my history at Aachen, I find it hard to
defend myself because there’s already a preset and preconceived notion. But, we’re
talking about an incident that occurred over eleven years ago. I have had a perfectly clean
record ever since. I think this is a situation where the FEI is not democratic, there’s no
logic being used, and it’s just a completely corrupt decision on their part.
What’s your recourse? Can you get an emergency hearing before the Court of
Arbitration for Sport?
You may be able to go to the Court of Arbitration, but that’s not going to happen today.
They take several months to hear anything and this will be long since over.
What other options do you have?
They have no appeal process. I don’t know why the have an FEI Appeals Committee, if
you aren’t allowed to use the appeals process. The head of the ground jury made this
decision without the consultation of the other members of the jury. It took us until three
in the morning to bring out the rest of the ground jury. And then, those members had a
closed door meeting with the head of the ground jury, and they decided that his story was
correct and that was the end of it.
This is just incredible.
At the end of that closed door meeting with the three veterinarians on the panel and the
four members of the ground jury, I requested that they be polled. Just like in a regular
jury case. I wanted to go to each one of them, and I wanted each of them state their name,
and state that this horse is unfit to compete. Not one of them was willing to state that
individually. Two of the vets clearly stated that they requested of the ground jury, to
allow the horse to be presented today, and that the decision be made after that
presentation at 1 p.m. today with the rest of the horses. The ground jury absolutely
refused, said she was eliminated, and there will be no further discussion on the matter.
emotions overflow at the press conference.
Incredible is the word that keeps coming to mind, the more you reveal. Was
Princess Haya involved in this at all?
Haya was here until five in the morning. I have great respect for Haya. I’ve known her
for many years. Unfortunately, she just continued to fall back on the line that this is
protocol, and whether it’s a logical decision or not, this is their protocol and that’s how it
is. You know, that’s the one huge difference between America and Europe, we use logic
to make the decisions, where in Europe, it’s a bunch of bureaucrats that are unwilling to
listen and unwilling to change.
By not allowing you to compete, they have completely closed the door to you, even if
it’s eventually decided that they were wrong.
This makes no sense to me.
Absolutely. Also, I want to tell you that last night we requested full doping and swabbing
and they refused to do both. We finally did our own private doping today. But they
refused to do either of those tests that we requested.
Dr. Tim Ober
And our USEF team vet, Dr. Tim Ober, what’s been his role and his take during
this fiasco?
He said that it’s the most unjust thing he has ever seen in this sport, that the horse is
absolutely as competent to compete and in good health as any horse in the world, and he
finally left the building at 5a.m. this morning in tears.
Sapphire has never ever missed an event because of lameness in a long and stellar
career…..
She’s 100% sound. We just jogged her in front of the entire press corps and most of the
riders in the World Cup. We called a press conference and jogged her and presented her
to the entire horse show. This horse has been at the top of the sport for several years, two
Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008, and still going strong now. She is most well cared for
horse in the world. She only jumped 16 times last year. How many grand prix show
jumpers jumped just 16 times? 16 times! And she was still the leading money winner for
the year.
McLain and Sapphire meet the press
Is there any hope that more rational minds will prevail, and this will change?
Well, you always have hope, but I highly doubt it. That’s one specific problem here, but
the bigger issue is the direction that the FEI is going with this sport. It is unacceptable.
The FEI is an in-house organization that is making unjust decisions, unjust persecutions
against athletes, and needs to completely overhauled and completely remade.
What will you do now in an effort to get this overturned? What is your plan for the
rest of the day? I know you’ve had no sleep.
The press conference and meeting was quite a circus. It’s been a long two days. At this
point, five rider representatives are coming down now, to represent the group of twentynine
riders, to inspect the horse. That will be within the hour. Then, we’ll just go one step
at a time. I haven’t slept now in two days. But you know, I didn’t realize, growing up in
America that someone could be this unjustly treated. Our country isn’t of that, we don’t
believe in that. This is just so unfair.
We certainly have a process. If there’s a charge brought against you, there’s a
chance to appeal and to……
But wait. There’s no charge against me. They just simply eliminated the horse. And they
worded their press release so cleverly, if you’ll notice. At the beginning, they make it a
point to mention hypersensitivity, which makes it sound like we were cheating, and then
they end by saying that McLain did nothing wrong, his team did nothing wrong, it’s
simply that the horse is unfit to compete. There is no charge though, and because there’s
no charge, there is no recourse.
Let’s talk about your emotions. I’m guessing you’re more angry than sad?
I think I’m in shock. I’ve never seen or experienced anything like this in my life. All of
the work, not just from me, but from my team of Lee and Erica and my Dad, to my wife,
and my owners, we have done over the years to get to this level, and to get into the
position we were in last night, and now with this unjust and unfair and unprecedented
decision, it all seems to be almost worthless. Why do all of that work, you know?
You’ve met every goal with Sapphire over the course of her career and your
partnership. You aimed for Olympic Gold and got that twice. You set your sights on
the CN Million Dollar class at Spruce Meadows; you targeted the big money classes
atWEF and this year, it was theWorld Cup Finals andWEG that you were
seeking, and appeared to be right on track for that. And now, the decision of one
man, the head of the ground jury, basically, has derailed that.
Who is an engineer by profession. He has nothing to do with horses.
So, there is no one in our organization, the FEI, or anywhere that’s powerful enough
to say, whoa, let’s talk about this arbitrary decision made by an engineer?
Our folks are fighting very hard. I have to commend George (Morris), Lizzy (Cheson),
and the entire USEF legal team. John Long, David O’Connor, they have all been up all
night long battling on our behalf. The press release that is coming out now is from the
USEF on my behalf. My hats are off to them. They have been behind me 100% fighting
this. But, the damage that is going to be done in 24 hours is something we can’t go back
and change.
George Morris meets the press
Is this set in stone, or do you have any hope at all that this might get overturned?
Well, I guess there’s always a chance.
Is it 50-50?
I don’t know Kenny. We keep battling for what’s right. I think it’s very clear, and the
press agrees, that this is completely unjust and not right, and not just unjust and not right,
but to the extreme, to an unprecedented level of unfairness.
What was the reaction of the world-wide press corps there? Do they seem to be on
your side with this?
I can’t put words into their mouths, but my sense was that they were in absolute shock.
They got to feel and touch and handle Sapphire and watch her jog, and they appeared to
be in utter disbelief.
Did you go face to face the President of the Ground Jury?
I was face to face with him for four hours last night.
And not a bit of movement.
This is protocol was all he would say.
That’s it?
I said your protocol has no logic. He said, that doesn’t matter, it is our protocol.
Alright, I know you have to get rolling. What exactly will happen now? I know you
have a group of riders coming to meet you. What will happen with them?
They will look at the horse, so that when the riders go to bat for me, they will feel
comfortable in knowing that there is nothing wrong with the horse.
Is there any chance the riders might organize a boycott of the event on your behalf?
The twenty-nine riders had a meeting, and there were many of the riders, a good majority
of them that were willing to do that. Unfortunately, there were a few that weren’t willing.
And I can’t really blame them, they are also chasing the same dream that I’m chasing.
Of course, with you not competing, their dream becomes easier, doesn’t it?
It won’t be a real win.
If anything changes, will you call me?
Absolutely. And, whether it changes or not this weekend, this is not over. We will not
drop the ball on pursuing the injustice of this whole episode. I can promise you that. The
FEI is asking for full disclosure in the sport, we have to be transparent about everything
that we do. We can¹t be anymore transparent. We asked everyone to look at the horse,
touch the horse, see the horse. How can a jury make a decision like this about the most
important competition in show jumping?
Thank you McLain.
Thanks for getting the facts out there Kenny.
This interview was provided exclusively by
www.PhelpsSports.com
